"I Stay Away" is a song from

Alice in Chains Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AiC) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1987. Since 2006, the band's lineup has comprised vocalist/guitarists Jerry Cantrell and William DuVall, bassist Mike Inez, and drummer Sean Kinney. Voca ...

' 1994 EP ''

Jar of Flies ''Jar of Flies'' is the third studio EP by American rock band Alice in Chains. It was released on January 25, 1994, by Columbia Records. The band's second acoustic EP, after 1992's '' Sap'', it was the first acoustic EP in music history to debut ...

'', and the second single from the album. This song marked the first time the band wrote with bassist

Mike Inez Michael Allen Inez (born May 14, 1966) is an American rock musician and bassist. Since 1993, Inez has been the bassist of the American rock band Alice in Chains. He is also recognized for his work with Ozzy Osbourne from 1989 to 1993. Inez also ...

. The single reached No. 10 on

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" ...

, and stayed in the chart for 26 weeks. "I Stay Away" was nominated for the

Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance The Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance was an award presented to recording artists at the Grammy Awards from 1990 to 2011. The academy recognized hard rock music artists for the first time at the 31st Grammy Awards in 1989. The category ...

in 1995. The song was included on the compilation albums '' Nothing Safe: Best of the Box'' (1999), ''

Music Bank ''Music Bank'' () is a South Korean music program which airs every Friday at 17:15 KST on KBS2. the show is also broadcast in more than a hundred countries through KBS World. Episodes are filmed at the KBS New Wing Open Hall in Yeouido-dong, Ye ...

'' (1999), ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

'' (2001), and ''

The Essential Alice in Chains ''The Essential Alice in Chains'' is a two-disc compilation album by the rock band Alice in Chains, and part of Sony BMG's ''The Essential'' series. Originally scheduled to be released on March 30, 2004, it was delayed until September 5, 2006. T ...

'' (2006).

Origin and recording

In the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

of 1999's ''

'' box set collection, guitarist

Jerry Cantrell Jerry Fulton Cantrell Jr. (born March 18, 1966) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the founder, lead guitarist, co-lead vocalist, and main songwriter of the rock band Alice in Chains. The band rose to internatio ...

said of the song:

Composition

The track is notably softer than Alice in Chains's previous recordings on both ''

Facelift A facelift, technically known as a rhytidectomy (from the Ancient Greek () 'wrinkle', and () 'excision', the surgical removal of wrinkles), is a type of cosmetic surgery procedure intended to give a more youthful facial appearance. There are ...

'' and ''

Dirt Dirt is any matter considered unclean, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty. Common types of dirt include: * Debris: scattered pieces of waste or remains * Du ...

''; however, despite the bright opening guitar riff and verse, the song's pre-chorus suddenly detours into dark and sludgy electric guitars and a haunting vocal harmony. The chorus then reintroduces the upbeat acoustic guitar accompanied by violins. An electric guitar solo plays during the bridge.

Release and reception

"I Stay Away" made its radio premiere in March 1994. It debuted at No. 39 on the ''

chart on the week of May 14, 1994, and peaked at No. 10 in the week of July 2, 1994. The song was nominated for the

in 1995. Ned Raggett of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

said, "The seeming schizophrenia between massive rock crunch and gentle acoustic numbers was actually one of Alice in Chains' strongest traits, and on the brilliant "I Stay Away" the two impulses fused to create what on balance was the band's most uplifting song, sonically if not always lyrically." "I Stay Away" was featured on

Guitar World ''Guitar World'' is a monthly music magazine for guitarists and fans of guitar-based music and trends. The magazine has been published since July 1980. ''Guitar World'', the best-selling guitar magazine in the United States, contains original a ...

and

Guitar Player ''Guitar Player'' was an American magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francis ...

's "Top 30 12-string guitar songs of all time" list in 2016 at No. 26.

Music video

The music video for "I Stay Away" was released in May 1994 and was directed by Nick Donkin, also known for his animated short film '' The Junky's Christmas''. The video was created entirely using

stop-motion animation Stop-motion (also known as stop frame animation) is an animated filmmaking and special effects technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exh ...

, and includes the band members in puppet form. The band travels to a circus aboard a bus, along with a sinister looking boy holding a jar full of flies. At the circus, the boy releases the flies that cause chaos to the animals and performers: an angry lion mauls its tamer, a daredevil loses control of his motorcycle during a stunt and crashes, two elephants panic, a trio of clowns crash their car and get in a fight, and a blindfolded knife thrower inadvertently kills his female assistant. Eventually, the circus burns down with the workers looking on in horror. Once the flies return to their jar, we see the boy petting them as a reward for a job well done. The video is available on the home video release '' Music Bank: The Videos''. The puppets used in the video are on display at the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

museum in Cleveland, Ohio.

Live performances

Despite being one of the band's highest charting singles, "I Stay Away" was never played live with original vocalist and lyricist Layne Staley, and it has only been performed twice since the band's reunion. On November 2, 2007, Alice In Chains performed the song live for the first time with new vocalist

William DuVall William Bradley DuVall (born September 6, 1967) is an American musician best known as the current co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the rock band Alice in Chains. He joined Alice in Chains in 2006, replacing the band's original lead si ...

and The NorthWest Symphony Orchestra at the Benaroya Hall in Seattle, as part of a benefit concert for the Seattle Children's Hospital.

In popular culture

"I Stay Away" was featured in "Walking Erect" (1994), episode 10, season 3 of ''

Beavis and Butt-Head ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' is an American Adult animation, adult animated Animated sitcom, sitcom created by Mike Judge. The series follows Beavis and Butt-Head, both voiced by Judge, a pair of teenage slackers characterized by their apathy, Stupi ...

''.

Track listing

Personnel

Alice in Chains * Layne Staley – lead vocals *

– guitars, vocals *

– bass *

Sean Kinney Sean Howard Kinney (born May 27, 1966) is an American musician, best known as the drummer and co-founder of the rock band Alice in Chains. Kinney also founded the short-lived Supergroup (music), supergroup Spys4Darwin, and has collaborated with ...

– drums, percussion Additional musicians *April Acevez – viola *Rebecca Clemons-Smith – violin *Matthew Weiss – violin *Justine – violoncello

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

*
I Stay Away
on Setlist.fm {{authority control 1994 songs 1994 singles 1990s ballads Alice in Chains songs Rock ballads Songs written by Layne Staley Songs written by Jerry Cantrell Songs written by Mike Inez Columbia Records singles Music videos featuring puppetry Stop-motion animated music videos