Contrary to the initial reports, the songs featuring late Alice in Chains singer Layne Staley from the film ‘Grassroots‘ may not be on everyone’s radar, but they are definitely not unknown. In fact, one of them was already released in the mid 1990s.

Anytime you hear that there is unreleased material on the way from a deceased artist, it automatically arises some suspicion. With artists that practically lived in the studio — Tupac Shakur, Jimi Hendrix — posthumous releases are a little more believable than is the case here.

We initially wrote about Paste Magazine’s report on the “previously unheard” Staley songs that were set to be included in ‘Grassroots,’ but now it seems as though that description is not completely accurate.

According to Grunge Report, the two songs that appear in the film are ‘It’s Coming After’ and ‘Things You Do.’ The former was released on Second Coming’s 1994 debut album, ‘ L.O.V.Evil,’ and is well known among Staley enthusiasts. Second Coming featured Staley’s bandmates from Alice N’ Chains, the band he was in prior to Alice in Chains.

‘Things You Do’ may technically be “unreleased,” but a few different versions of the track exist on the Internet. It’s somewhat unclear where Staley’s vocal originates from — a topic that is furiously debated in the comment section of YouTube — but most signs indicate that it’s source is from another Second Coming collaboration. The version that appears below is a song by The Aftervibes that samples Staley.

“Unheard” Layne Staley songs or no, ‘Grassroots’ stars Jason Biggs and Joel David Moore and is shooting for a nationwide theatrical release some time this summer.

Hear ‘It’s Coming After’ by Second Coming feat. Layne Staley
Hear ‘Things You Do’ feat. Layne Staley

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