Nothing Safe: Best of the Box

Nothing Safe: Best of the Box is the first greatest hits album by the American rock band Alice in Chains. It was released on June 29, 1999 on Columbia Records. The previously unreleased track "Get Born Again" was released as a single to promote the album[1] and peaked at No. 4 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart,[5] and at No. 12 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.[6] "Get Born Again" was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2000.[7]

Nothing Safe: Best of the Box
Greatest hits album by Alice in Chains
Released	June 29, 1999[1]
Recorded	1989–1998
Genre	Alternative metal, grunge, alternative rock, heavy metal
Length	62:18
Label	Columbia
Producer	Alice in Chains, Alex Coletti, Dave Jerden, Rick Parashar, Tony Wilson, Toby Wright, Peter Fletcher
Alice in Chains chronology
Unplugged (1996) Nothing Safe: Best of the Box (1999) Music Bank (1999)
Singles from Nothing Safe: Best of the Box
"Get Born Again" Released: June 1, 1999[1]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
Rolling Stone	[3]
Sputnikmusic	[4]

Overview

The album is the first of Alice in Chains's best-of albums, and also served as a sampler for their Music Bank box set. Nothing Safe contains songs from previous albums Facelift, Sap, Dirt, Jar of Flies, Alice in Chains and Unplugged, as well as the previously unreleased track "Get Born Again", recorded between September and October 1998.[8][9]

Despite the "Best of the Box" album title, the demo version of "We Die Young" that appears here is not included on Music Bank and is therefore exclusive to this collection. In addition, "Iron Gland" is featured with the beginning drum found on the Dirt track "Dam That River". A "Best Buy Exclusive" issue of the CD included a bonus disc in a cardboard sleeve, with live versions of "Angry Chair" and "Man in the Box". The version of "What The Hell Have I" that appears here is the original version, not the remixed version that appears on Music Bank.

Release and reception

The album was certified platinum by the RIAA, and the revenue generated from the album was used to fund the Music Bank box set.[10]

The album has received mainly positive reviews, with critics praising the compilation's inclusion of rare material, along with the band's hits. Allmusic staff writer Steve Huey gave the album a four star rating writing "The package is not unattractive, since nearly all the hits are present in some form; also included are the new song "Get Born Again" and the better of the group's two contributions to the Last Action Hero soundtrack, "What the Hell Have I."[2]

Bill Adams of Ground Control Magazine, reviewing Alice in Chains Discography wrote "To its credit, Nothing Safe is a solid compilation of odds, ends, live tracks, studio cuts, soundtrack appearances and rarities, which serves its purpose for giving 'in-passing' fans a pretty enjoyable set".[10]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Get Born Again" (previously unreleased)	Layne Staley, Jerry Cantrell	5:26
2.	"We Die Young" (previously unreleased demo)	Cantrell	2:28
3.	"Man in the Box" (from Facelift)	Staley, Cantrell	4:46
4.	"Them Bones" (from Dirt)	Cantrell	2:30
5.	"Iron Gland" (unlisted track from Dirt)	Cantrell	0:43
6.	"Angry Chair" (from Dirt)	Staley	4:46
7.	"Down in a Hole" (from Dirt)	Cantrell	5:37
8.	"Rooster" (Live; previously unreleased in North America)	Cantrell	6:46
9.	"Got Me Wrong" (from MTV Unplugged)	Cantrell	4:24
10.	"No Excuses" (from Jar of Flies)	Cantrell	4:15
11.	"I Stay Away" (from Jar of Flies)	Staley, Michael Inez, Cantrell	4:14
12.	"What the Hell Have I" (Music from the Original Motion Picture – Last Action Hero)	Cantrell	3:57
13.	"Grind" (from Alice in Chains)	Cantrell	4:44
14.	"Again" (from Alice in Chains)	Staley, Cantrell	4:04
15.	"Would?" (from Dirt)	Cantrell	3:28
Total length:			62:18

iTunes release

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Get Born Again" (previously unreleased)	Staley, Cantrell	5:26
2.	"We Die Young" (previously unreleased demo)	Cantrell	2:28
3.	"Man in the Box" (from Facelift)	Staley, Cantrell	4:46
4.	"Them Bones" (from Dirt)	Cantrell	2:30
5.	"Iron Gland" (unlisted track from Dirt)	Cantrell	0:43
6.	"Angry Chair" (from Dirt)	Staley	4:46
7.	"Down in a Hole" (from Dirt)	Cantrell	5:37
8.	"Got Me Wrong" (from MTV Unplugged)	Cantrell	4:24
9.	"No Excuses" (from Jar of Flies)	Cantrell	4:15
10.	"I Stay Away" (from Jar of Flies)	Staley, Inez, Cantrell	4:14
11.	"What the Hell Have I" (Music from the Original Motion Picture – Last Action Hero)	Cantrell	3:57
12.	"Grind" (from Alice in Chains)	Cantrell	4:44
13.	"Again" (from Alice in Chains)	Staley, Cantrell	4:04
14.	"Would?" (from Dirt)	Cantrell	3:28

Personnel

Jerry Cantrell – Lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Grind", co-lead vocals on "Would?" Layne Staley – Lead vocals, rhythm guitar on "Angry Chair" Sean Kinney – Drums Mike Starr – Bass (tracks 2–8, 15) Mike Inez – Bass (tracks 1, 9–14) Tom Araya – vocals on "Iron Gland" Alice in Chains – Producer Bryan Carlstrom – engineer Ronnie S. Champagne – engineer Alex Coletti – producer John Harris – engineer Dave Jerden – producer, engineer, mixing Stephen Marcussen – mastering

Rick Parashar – producer Andy Wallace – mixing Tony Wilson – producer Toby Wright – producer, engineer, mixing Tom Nellen – engineer Peter Fletcher – producer, compilation producer Mike Walter – engineer Rocky Schenck – photography Mary Maurer – art direction, design Danny Clinch – photography Marty Temme – photography Brandy Flower – design Young Sun Lim – artwork, art direction Chris McCann – photography

Chart positions

Album

Chart (1999)	Position
US Billboard 200[11]	20
Top Internet Albums[12]	17

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions
		US Bubbling [13]	US Main [5]	US Mod [6]
1999	"Get Born Again"^[I]	6	4	12

• I^ Peaked on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, a 25-song extension to the original Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[14]	Platinum	1,000,000^^
^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. "Columbia Records Online Programming Guide for the Week Of June 1, 1999". The Free Library. Business Wire. June 1, 1999. Archived from the original on July 8, 2018.
2. Huey, Steve. "Nothing Safe: Best of the Box > Overview". Allmusic. Archived from the original on August 8, 2009. Retrieved 23 July 2009.
3. Hunter, James (1999-09-02). "Nothing Safe: Best of the Box". Album Reviews. Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2008-10-05.
4. "Alice in Chains – Nothing Safe: Best of the Box (album review)". Sputnikmusic.com. 2006-09-21. Retrieved 2016-07-27.
5. "Alice in Chains Chart History – Mainstream Rock Songs". Billboard. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
6. "Alice in Chains Chart History – Alternative Songs". Billboard. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
7. "42nd Annual Grammy Awards: List of nominations". CNN. January 4, 2000. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
8. Fischer, Blair R. (September 3, 1998). "Malice in Chains?". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 3, 2008. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
9. "Alice in Chains Timeline". SonyMusic.com. Archived from the original on October 7, 1999. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
10. Adams, Bill. (2011). Alice in Chains Discography Part 2 Archived 2015-01-20 at the Wayback Machine Ground Control Magazine. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
11. "Alice in Chains Chart History – Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
12. "Alice in Chains "Nothing Safe" Chart History – Internet Albums". Billboard. July 24, 1999. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
13. "Alice in Chains Chart History – Bubbling Under Hot 100". Billboard charts. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
14. "American album certifications – Alice in Chains – Nothing's Safe". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 

External links

• Nothing Safe: Best of the Box at Discogs (list of releases)
• Nothing Safe: Best of the Box at AllMusic