In addition to singing, Cantrell also played guitar, piano, clavinet, organ, and steel drums on Boggy Depot.

Cantrell's Alice in Chains bandmates, Sean Kinney and Mike Inez are featured on the album, as well as Les Claypool, Pantera's Rex Brown, and Fishbone's Angelo Moore and John Norwood Fisher.

[7][8] In 1996, after Alice in Chains opened for the first Kiss reunion show in Detroit, Jerry Cantrell began work on his first solo album.

It also included QuickTime video interview footage where Cantrell explained that he had been wanting to venture into solo territory for a while and, with Alice in Chains at a standstill, finally had the chance.

[12] However, in the June 1998 issue of Guitar World, Cantrell made it clear that his solo venture was actually a reluctant response to Alice in Chains' diffusing: Boggy Depot incorporates piano, organ, and country elements, namely in the tracks "Hurt a Long Time" and "Between".

However, the ominous guitar styles previously heard in Alice in Chains are undeniable in tracks like "Jesus Hands" and "Keep the Light On".

[16] Boggy Depot features both bassist Mike Inez and drummer Sean Kinney of Alice in Chains.

Three other well-known bassists also contributed to the album: Rex Brown of Pantera, John Norwood Fisher of Fishbone, and Les Claypool of Primus.

Cantrell used largely the same guitars as he had in Alice in Chains, including the G&L Rampage, '52 Goldtop Les Paul, and old Stratocasters and Telecasters.

Cantrell also intermixed guitars on certain songs; for instance, in "Dickeye", a Goldtop was used for the left channel while his white Les Paul reissue went on the right.

AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine estimated that Cantrell was a reluctant solo artist who would prefer his work to be published through Alice in Chains.

He detailed how guitar solos tend to drag songs too long and that, while Boggy Depot lacks the "psychological weight" of Dirt, it "comes close to replicating the sound.

Sheffield also claimed "'Breaks My Back' sounds exactly like Led Zeppelin's 'No Quarter' except it lasts eight seconds longer and fails to mention Thor.

[29] In April 2002, Thompson gave the album a mixed review, commending "My Song" and "Between" as the best tracks while regarding "Dickeye" and "Devil By His Side" as "pedestrian".

[30] The promotion of Boggy Depot led to Jerry Cantrell's first concert experiences as a band frontman which he considered "intimidating".

Naturally, Cantrell's concert set featured songs by Alice in Chains, and he often closed with Pink Floyd's "Brain Damage/Eclipse".

[32] Despite Cantrell's uneasiness towards performing as frontman, concerts were quickly met with praise by critics from the Los Angeles Times, Variety, and other major publications.