As I would hope, instead of building on the self-titled album, sonically BGWTB basically picks up where Dirt leaves off. That is, except for the first single "check My Brain"****, whose elastic riff and almost-poppy chorus is almost a throw-back to Facelift. Well, that and such silliness would never fly on that dead-serious chronicle of addiction. The other obvious change is the new lead singer William DuVall, who may actually show up sooner, but is first apparent (to me anyway) with the more traditional heavy metal delivery on "Last On My Kind". Opener "All Secrets Known"****, on the other hand, may or may not be all Cantrell, but it sure sounds like him. The vocal texture and tension of the angular triplet riff that drives the verses would have fit beautifully on Dirt, with the exception of derailing a bit in the bridge. "A Looking In View" also skews in a creepy direction, specifically the reptilian intro to each verse. My perception is that the album slumps in the middle, with "When The Sun Rose Again" trying to relive the campfire grunge of EP favorites like "Got Me Wrong". "Your Decision" also fits this description, and going to the 'no one plans to take the path that takes you lower' chorus twice makes the song seem too long, while the annoying detours into the 'intent obsolescence built into the system' bridges that make a perfectly nice throwaway track into a 7-minute train wreck. "Take Her Out"**** on the other hand doesn't even try to make any big point or blaze any new trails, but at least this one and "Lesson Learned" make good generic hard rock songs. Winding the album down, the stately meter and melodies of "Private Hell" are actually pretty, but in the end the big effort is a mere re-hash of the classic "Down In A Hole" (from Dirt). The closing title song**** is probably the most melodic piece AIC has ever done (with Elton John no less), which though a bit of a torch song is quite an accomplishment, putting "Private Hell" in better context and adding a nice coda to the album.
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