Over Now
| "Over Now" | ||||||||||
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| Single by Alice in Chains | ||||||||||
| from the album Alice in Chains and Unplugged | ||||||||||
| Released | 1996 | |||||||||
| Recorded | April - August 1995 at Bad Animals Studio in Seattle, Washington | |||||||||
| Genre | Acoustic rock, alternative rock, grunge | |||||||||
| Length | 7:03 | |||||||||
| Label | Columbia | |||||||||
| Writer(s) |
Lyrics: Jerry Cantrell Music: Jerry Cantrell & Sean Kinney | |||||||||
| Producer(s) | Toby Wright, Alice in Chains | |||||||||
| Alice in Chains singles chronology | ||||||||||
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"Over Now" is a song by the American rock band Alice in Chains, released on their album Alice in Chains (1995). It was a single from the band's MTV Unplugged performance, and was used to close the televised broadcast. The B-Side consists of the original studio version of the song. This is the second longest song that Alice in Chains has released as a single, behind "A Looking in View".
Composition
Similar to "Heaven Beside You", it features mostly vocal work of guitarist Jerry Cantrell, with lead vocalist Layne Staley only harmonizing in the chorus. While the song was written by Jerry Cantrell about a failed relationship, many fans see this song—which features a traditional bugle quote of "Taps"—as an eerie foreshadowing of the band's ultimate demise because it is the closing track of their final studio album with Staley. In the liner notes of 1999's Music Bank box set collection, Jerry Cantrell said of the song: "A lot of deep shit in there, a big epic number. Plus you can get away with a hugely long tune near the end of a record." The song is written in open c# tuning, which is the first time the band experimented with it.[1]
Release and reception
The song charted on both Billboard rock charts, despite the fact that it was not released as a single and no video was filmed for it. The version that charted was the acoustic version from the band's MTV Unplugged performance. "Over Now" peaked at number four on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and at number 24 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.
Allmusic's Steve Huey regarded the song "among the band's best work."[2]
Music video
The video of the song from the performance on MTV Unplugged is considered a music video, much like the live video of "Bleed the Freak", used in support of their Live album. The video is available on the home video release Music Bank: The Videos.
Live performances
It was played heavily in the acoustic sets of Alice in Chains' 2006 reunion tour. Alice in Chains performed an acoustic version of "Over Now" for its appearance on MTV Unplugged in 1996 and the song was included on the Unplugged live album and home video release. The performance from MTV Unplugged can also be found on the box set Music Bank, the home video release Music Bank: The Videos, and the compilation album The Essential Alice in Chains. On the CD version of the MTV Unplugged concert, booing can be heard as Staley said, "Ok, that's it" at the end of the song (presumably due to the performance concluding). Staley then responded to the heckler by shouting "Hey fuck you man!". This was greeted with laughter by the audience.
Personnel
- Layne Staley – vocals
- Jerry Cantrell – guitar, lead vocals
- Mike Inez – bass
- Sean Kinney – drums, percussion
Chart positions
| Chart (1996) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Mainstream Rock Tracks[3] | 4 |
| US Modern Rock Tracks[3] | 24 |
References
- ↑ Liner notes, Music Bank box set. 1999.
- ↑ Huey, Steve. "Alice in Chains". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-05-29.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Artist Chart History – Alice in Chains". Billboard charts. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
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