You live and learn, and Jerry Cantrell proves it on his solo debut, Boggy Depot. Borrowing liberally from the sound that his former group Alice In Chains developed, Cantrell's solo debut album is a promising first effort.

Depot isn't quite as heavy on the guitar crunch as Alice In Chains used to be, and it's obvious that Cantrell is trying to escape the hard rock fold-- most of the record's songs are much longer than normal due to Cantrell's long guitar solos and instrumental breaks.

To get people buying the record, Columbia picked "Cut You In" as the first single-- it literally sounds pulled directly off Dirt. But tracks like the folky "Between" and the album's final track "Cold Piece" (which sounds more influenced by Lyle Lovett than by any Seattle rock legend) show Cantrell heading in a new direction.

And surprisingly, Cantrell's voice really isn't that bad. He sings assuredly, but hangs onto Alice In Chains' three and four part harmonies to hide that he's not an incredible vocalist.

At the very least, Boggy Depot avoids being tagged as "just another sideman with a solo career." I mean, what the hell was Richie Sambora thinking?

-Lang Whitaker