No Excuses is the lead single from Alice in Chains‘ third EP, Jar of Flies (1994). Written by guitarist and co-vocalist Jerry Cantrell, the song was well received by music critics and was a chart hit, becoming the first Alice in Chains song to reach #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart onBillboard, spending a total of 26 weeks. On the chart It has become one of the band’s most popular songs. The song was included on the compilation albums Nothing Safe: Best of the Box (1999), Music Bank (1999), Greatest Hits (2001), and The Essential Alice in Chains (2006). Alice In Chains performed an acoustic version of No Excuses for their appearance on Alice in Chains MTV Unplugged in 1996, which marked the last time they performed the song with Layne Staley, and that version was included on the band’s live album Unplugged and on home video release.
Tracklist:
- No Excuses
- Brother (from Sap)
The music video for No Excuses was released in 1994 and was directed by Matt Mahurin, who had previously directed the Angry Chair music video for the band. Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell are the only band members to be featured on the video. The video is available on the home video release Music Bank: The Videos.
Alice in Chains
Layne Staley: co lead vocals
Jerry Cantrell: co lead vocals, guitars
Mike Inez: bass
Sean Kinney: drums, percussion
Layne Staley (August 22, 1967 – April 5, 2002)
