Jane’s Addiction
Perry Farrell’s passionate, high pitched voice. Dave Navarro’s guitar godliness. Stephen Perkins’ positively huge drumming. Eric Avery’s fluid and catchy basslines. And a whole lotta heroin. This all came together to make Jane’s Addiction one of the greatest rock bands of the past 20 years.
Their sound was a mixture of alt rock, metal, funk rock, art rock, and even folk music. They were highly influenced by the Velvet Underground. They helped pave the way for the alternative explosion of the early 90s. Most of their songs were about intercourse and pharmaceuticals (aka: sex and drugs).
Their first album came in 1987, in the form of a self titled live album, recorded at the Roxy in Hollywood. It had it's flaws, but it gave people a good taste of what was to come.
What was to come, you ask? Well, that’d be
Nothing’s Shocking, my inquisitive friend.
Nothing’s Shocking often gets unfairly overlooked in favour of their masterpiece,
Ritual De Lo Habitual. While it’s not quite as good as
Ritual, it comes mighty close. There is not a bad song on there. There’s a few ball-tearing rockers (
Mountain Song), some funky little numbers (
Pigs in Zen)… and two absolute classics. Those being an anthem about the band’s namesake, called
Jane Says, and a trippy spazfest about serial killers and sex called
Ted, Just Admit It. How the hell could they top an album like that?
With
Ritual De Lo Habitual, that’s how! Ritual De Lo Habitual is a complete and utter classic. The album is split into 2 halves: the first 4 songs are funky and rockin’, while the last 4 songs are epic and arty. And these 2 halves are seperated by Jane’s Addiction’s unexpected hit song:
Been Caught Stealing. The whole album is brilliant, but the centerpiece would have to be the epic
Three Days. It’s almost 11 minutes long, featuring trippy slow sections, amazing guitar solo sections, and sections where Perry screams about “Erotic Jesus”.
Been Caught Stealing is their best known song, but
Three Days is their druggy, sexy masterpiece.
But then they done gone and broke up. Just the usual stuff: a combination of drug addiction and pressure from their new popularity. The members stayed very active though. Perry started the “Lollapalooza” festival, and started his band Porno for Pyros, and also did a solo CD. Dave Navarro joined the Red Hot Chili Peppers for one album, and he too did a solo CD.
And then they reformed! Well, except for Eric Avery. They did a reunion tour, with Flea from RHCP filling in for Avery, and they brought out the CD
Kettle Whistle: a mix of live tracks, demos, and a few new songs.
After that tour they went their separate ways again. But then they reformed again, with new bassist Chris Chaney! In 2003, 13 years after
Ritual De Lo Habitual was released, they brought out a new album:
Strays.
Maybe it was a lack of Eric Avery, or a lack of heroin, but
Strays was a bit disappointing. It wasn’t a bad album by any means, and had some great songs… but it didn’t seem like a true Jane’s Addiction CD. Rather than being original and edgy, it was more like a mainstream rock CD. Great by mainstream rock standards, but not by Jane’s Addiction standards.
And then in 2004, they broke up again. Well, Perry quit, because he felt that Jane’s was losing it’s integrity. And to add to Perry's problems, not long afterwards, his Lollapalooza festival was cancelled due to a lack of interest (despite a killer lineup). Meanwhile Navarro, Perkins, and Chaney have recruited a new singer and formed a new band called “The Panic Channel”, who should have an album out sometime next year.
Albums/Highlights
Self Titled (live):
I Would for You
My Time
Rock & Roll (Velvet Underground cover)
Trip Away
Nothing’s Shocking:
Ocean Size
Ted, Just Admit It
Summertime Rolls
Mountain Song
Jane Says
Ritual De Lo Habitual:
Three Days
Stop!
Ain’t No Right
Been Caught Stealing
Then She Did…
Classic Girl
Kettle Whistle:
Three Days (live)
Jane Says (live)
Kettle Whistle
Strays:
True Nature
Strays
Everybody’s Friend
Match the Sun