[.ca] Janes Addiction

From Amazon.com:
It may have taken until 1991 for punk to break as a commercial form, but the genre was hardly new. In that story, even Jane's Addiction were latecomers to the revolution. But it was the frenzied trailblazing rock of this quirky Los Angeles quartet that made the later successes of Nirvana, etc. somehow inevitable. In this recording of a hometown club gig, Jane's offer raw versions of songs that would appear in a more refined form on their debut album, along with a dubious cover of "Sympathy for the Devil." Hear a noticeably younger and shriller Perry Farrell while guitarist Dave Navarro plays out his Jimmy Page dreams across a punk canvas the rest of the world would soon discover. --Steve Appleford

Shockingly good.:
Their other albums might have gotten more attention, but this debut from "Jane's Addiction" is just as good as the next two. In some ways it's better. The big difference is that this is live, and has a much more raw feel, and captures their sound before they got more popular. A much younger "Perry Farrell" adds alot to the music with his unique voice, and "Dave Navarro" plays guitar better than he possibly does today. Plus some absolute classic songs are on here, like "Trip Away", "Whores", "I Would For You", "My Time", and of course "Jane Says". There's also great covers of the "Stones" and "Velvet Underground". Anyone new to this should be greatly impressed, and any major fan will find this as essential as any other album.

Own this Album:
For a live album, this disc is incredibly crisp & audible. You can hear the energy of the band and can't help but jam out. The tracks are a lot of fun... I particulary like the cover of the Rolling Stones' SYMPATHY. Not to mention, TRIP AWAY is a great rolling tribal beat that is easy to get lost in... awesome!

Holy ...!:
We're all pushed out of the womb several times in life. The first when we enter this world (thanks mom!) The second push comes as a teenager you become aware of a world so vast, and so beyond your imagination that for a moment you are suspended in incomprehensible confusion and rage and devotion and ideas and it didn't matter if you were a maladjusted teen jerk-off or a hardcore punk, but a dreadded guy in a dress and big yellow micky mouse gloves is kissing his lead guitarist as sound and light and drop dead class A freak babes and an overwhelming sense of revolution bombs your brain and you realize that everything had suddenly changed forever. For hundreds of thousands of kids around the world in the late 80's, Janes was right there pushing and pulling us out of our wombs into new lives. And ... those mickey mouse gloves were freaky. Some people were drawn to the genere-crashing sound. Tribal. Metal. Dub. Freaked out f'ed up echo wah solo madness. I was drawn to the poet warrior side of this band. "Chip Away" gets a little maligned in these reviews and it was by far the masterpiece on this record that pushed me out into this world for he second time. It was the crushing power of the drums (played on a mic'd up ice chest live) and the lyrics. God help us those lyrics. CHIP AWAY I chip away Cause I'm not ok So I I chip away Poked a hole right into myself And inside I found someone Who said I was O.K. Still I don't feel easy On this tree Among the blossoms Caustically I am the thorn Close my eyes to take up spare time I wish I just Could be where the crowd goes With the crowd They must be going somewhere Up from the catacombs I ran into the angel again He took the high road And I took the low road We both were dirty faces We both were dirty faces I don't I don't I don't Don't feel easy I don't I don't I don't Don't feel easy Mad poet warriors. No one, now or then, wrote lyrics like that. Now the album sounds like a document of an era. Like a Son House album, an old Dylan record, or the Wailers at their prime. So much has passed since it's introduction that it now seems revolutionary for different reasons than it did at the time, but it's a revolution none the less. Props to mom for the first birth and Perry for the second. I've got to remember to send him a mother's day card.

Ear-blowing:
Jane's Addiction is the only band I know who released a live debut album. Any other band would run too great a risk doing that. Not Jane's. They already had an incredible live reputation by 1987. Particularly the first 5 songs on this live CD prove how good Jane's Addiction already were back then. The interplay of Perry's echoed vocals and Dave's juicy, voluminous guitar playing cause an eargasm, no more no less. Compared to the band's 1988 studio debut "Nothing's Shocking", however, this is just an embryo. Later, as we know, it would grow into a voluptuous, beautiful girl. Not every song works as well as the opener "Trip away" or the conscious, street-smart "Whores" and "1%". The covers of "Sympathy for the devil" by Rolling Stones and "Rock'n'roll" by Lou Reed don't leave any impression- these songs were only played for this record and didn't belong to the band's repertoire. This album features 2 early versions of Jane's Addiction classics "Jane says" and "Pigs in zen", the best song ever written about pigs with a spoken part not featured on "Nothing's Shocking": "The pig is led to the slaughter/This he says is the price some pay for a simple life". Perry's lyrics- deep and insightful as on any Jane's Addiction album. 4 recommending stars for this ear-blowing live disc

Bringing back the medicine train...:
Probably the most incisive thing ever said about Jane's was a comment my brother made, just after we got out of one of their early gigs. Something along the lines of (my paraphrasing): "You know, people make such a big deal about the hype, and the "new Led Zeppelin" thing that they forget the band just seems like four guys that want to play music." Here's the proof. A no-frills, underproduced live album made up of some early "Nothing's Shocking" material, a few covers ("Sympathy For The Devil"; average--Lou Reed's "Rock & Roll"; quite good), and some all-around great pop tunes ("My Time", "I Would For You"). I'm not going to say I was there since the beginning; like most of us, I began with "Ritual..." and made my way back. And in this case, the search is worth the time spent on it. Disregard, however, the "Live 1986" album which is poorly recorded.

• Trip Away \oLive\c
• Whores \oLive\c
• Pigs in Zen \oLive\c
• 1% \oLive\c
• I Would for You \oLive\c
• My Time \oLive\c
• Jane Says \oLive\c
• Rock & Roll \oLive\c
• Sympathy \oLive\c
• Chip Away \oLive\c