Supergroups don’t appear out of nowhere. There is always a hidden agenda, a deep and meaningful message they want to put out for the audience. However, there are instances, like in the Class of ’99’s case, that the musicians actually come together for a single project, although the public assumes that they are in it for the long haul.
Their intention as a supergroup filled with incredible artists was never to create a band or periodically release new material, but the music they produced and released had a unique output. Let’s dive into how Tom Morello and Alice In Chains’ Layne Staley created a track that would be remembered as Staley’s final appearance before he passed away.
Besides Layne Staley and Tom Morello, Stephen Perkins of Jane’s Addiction, Martyn LeNoble of Porno for Pyros, and Matt Serletic, producer of Matchbox Twenty, were also part of the supergroup. According to Revolver, their pure intention was to create the soundtrack of Robert Rodriguez’s 1998 science-fiction horror film, ‘The Faculty.’
The musicians came together to cover Pink Floyd’s ‘Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)’ and released it as a single in January 1999, and a music video to accompany it. The video showcased the members of the Class of ’99 performing with scenes cut together from the movie.
Even though the cover was not that far from the original track, Class of ’99’s version had a more grungy vibe that showed itself in Staley’s easily distinguishable voice. What makes the track stand out more than most movie soundtrack songs is that it was Staley’s last appearance in the studio before his untimely death from a drug overdose in 2002.
If you weren’t familiar with the supergroup or the movie, or even Layne Staley’s contribution on the cover of ‘Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2),’ here’s your chance to give it a listen. The track presents not only a snippet of Staley’s powerful voice but also a piece that came from amazing household-name musicians’ collaboration.
