Jane's Addiction, the four piece alt rock band hailing from California, may have only released a handful of albums in their prime but are still credited as being a very important and influential rock band. After gaining notice in the mid 80's in Los Angeles, they were sighed to Triple X labels just to release their live debut self titled record in 1987. Following 1987, they were signed to Warner Brother's record labels where they would release their first studio album,
Nothing's Shocking. While the album was well received and got them a fan following, it did not get them mass recognition. That's when this album comes in. In 1990, Jane's Addiction recorded this record,
Ritual Do Lo Habitual and gained success and popularity outside of California. Led by front man Perry Farrell on vocals, with Dave Navarro on guitar, Eric Avery on bass and Stephen Perkins on drums, Jane's Addition's
Ritual De Lo Habitual is a great record and quite possibly the bands best.
For containing only nine tracks, Ritual De Lo Habitual is fairly long coming in at a little over 50 minutes, mainly due to the two epic tracks,
Three Days, and
Then She Did..., with both combined equaling almost twenty minutes. Perry Farrell has a very different sounding voice than most singers; kind of sounding high pitched at times and then can be very calm and mellow other times. It may take a bit of getting used to, but after a while it seems fine. Dave Navarro is an excellent guitarist and he does a great job on this album. Perkins and Avery also give solid performances on the record.
Ritual De Lo Habitual expands many different musical genres including funk rock, hard rock, punk rock, alternative, and even Middle Eastern style demonstrated on
Of Coarse. The album is basically split up into two sides; the first being rock; and the second being more progressive/softer rock. And just for some background information, this album has went gold since its release and Perry Farrell designed the cover of the album. Now let's get on to the album review.
The album opens up with one of JA's most well known songs.
Stop begins with what seems like a girl introducing the band in Spanish until a clean guitar riff starts which leads into an explosive, energetic song. The track features fast drums, guitar and some excellent vocals. Overall, a great way to start off the album.
No One's Leaving follows the opener. Right from the opening funky bass line, you can tell this is gonna be another catchy, energetic rock track. This song features and a great guitar solo and like the previous song, hard hitting drums and guitar. It all adds up to a fun and fast rock song. Track three is
Ain't No Right. After some slow drumming and Perry talking in the background, the bass comes in soon followed by everything else. You would think by listening to the first three tracks that this would be a hard rock record all the way through, because 'Ain't' No Right' is another hard hitting rock song like the previous two, and a very good one at that. The bass remains noticeable throughout the whole song. This next song is a slight step down in terms of heaviness compared to the previous three, but still a rock song.
Obvious also features some piano fused together with a traditional Jane's Addicition sound. The song is fairly long at six minutes but remains solid through the whole song. Alright, we now get to the big single off the album and a definite highlight too.
Been Caught Stealing' is a fun, poppy song with some funny lyrics referring to the title. The song has a very upbeat feel and very catchy beat and fits nicely in the middle of the record. It is easy to see why it was the most successful of the album as it can appeal to a wide audience.
The second half of the album is where the very timely songs are and where the song writing is more personal and dark.
Three Days begins the darker side of the album. This song is epic clocking in at almost eleven minutes. It starts with Perry talking and at times overlaps what he is saying and then the bass line begins building up. Farrell's voice gets faster as the song moves on, and the instruments start to pick up the pace as well. Throughout most of middle of the song, it is instrumental and eventually the guitars die down until they are quiet, and just the drums remain along with a heavy riff with Perry yelling over it. The instruments are at their best here with guitar solos and coming in and out. Right after Three Days' ends, the second of two long song picks up.
Then She Did... (Originally titled Then She Died) is over eight minutes long but unlike Three Days; this song remains somewhat calmer and doesn't get too heavy. The instruments again are all well done. The song is also well done, but out of the two, I prefer 'Three Days'. Track number eight is
Of Course and a very odd sounding one. It has a Middle Eastern feel to it. Perry's vocals suit the song very well. This song is interesting to hear at first, but after I while it kind of drags on a bit. The ninth and final song on
Ritual de lo Habitual is
Classic Girl. The song has some similar sounding guitar to 'Then She Did' and keeps the same slow paced guitar throughout the song. The song is basically the guitar with Perry's vocals over it until the drums enter in and out at times. The song is not one of the best on the album, but still good and a fitting way to end a great album.
Overall, this is an excellent record and in my opinion should have it if you are a fan of alternative rock. Shortly after the record was released, Jane's Addiction supported it with Perry's Lollapalooza Tour. But after the tour, Jane's Addiction broke up and Perry and Stephen went on to form the band 'Porno for Pyros' while Dave joined the Red Hot Chili Peppers. After Porno for Pyros split in the late nineties, Jane's Addiction did reunion tours, but didn't release a new album until 2003 with their album
Strays.
Standout Tracks
Stop
No One's Leaving
Ain't No Right
Been Caught Stealing
Three Days
This Message Edited On 03.13.06
