#48 Jane’s Addiction – Ritual de lo Habitual & Nothing’s Shocking
Well one of the first rules that I have broken is that I chose two albums instead of just 1 for the 48th best album of Zimmy’s life, that it just seemed immaterial to mention Ritual without mentioning Nothings Shocking so this is a 2-for-1 special.
There is no doubt that Perry Farrell is an asshole but I have always felt that Jane’s Addiction was that bridge between heavy metal and grunge, the bridge between alternative and stupid. Before there were bands like Jane’s Addiction there were bands that dressed in tights and used more Aquanet than a female sophomore that grew up in the 80s. Before there was Nirvana, there was Jane’s Addiction leading the way.
Before he sold out, he was instrumental in creating the concept for Lollapalooza, a traveling freakshow concert lineup that featured some of the best stars of the modern rock era. Today it has turned into a 3 day bloated lineup in downtown Chicago that has been privy to various “Sweetheart” deals by the city.
Before that, he was the lead singer of the first band that I can think of that matched the power of Led Zeppelin. It’s not just Farrel’s stage persona nor his band as equal credit should be given to Dave Navarro (Guitar), Steven Perkins (Drums) and Eric Avery (Bass).
Where Jane’s was so unequivocally special, was in a track like ‘Three Days’, which can only be described as epic and is able to contain all the beauty and rage of a band like Jane’s Addiction displays. A song like “Three Days” should be defined as a reason why rock and roll was created in the first place, the story told by Farrell and brought to life behind Avery and Navarro. It segments three different songs into one, starting off slow and beautiful before ending in a rush.
It was often the quiet moments that would balance out the power. ‘Classic Girl’, an ode to Farrell’s girlfriend when he wrote it shows off his gentler side before it ends with a flurry. Unlike some other albums from this era that sound a bit dated, I have always felt that this and ‘Nothings Shocking’ were quite bold for what they had accomplished and that was an attempt to reinvent the idea of Zeppelin. Zeppelin was not just a hard rock band but one attuned in blues, jazz and classical music. Jane’s brought a bit of LA funkyness to their outfit.
‘Jane says, I’m done with Sergio.’ Fact is that I have never been done with Jane, which has to go down as the great females of Rock. You would think that at some point someone should call timeout to the rock bands that continually write about our fictitious heroine but no, this never happens. In this crazy world we live in there have been plenty of songs about women, sex, drugs and rock. In this case, the song is Farrell’s muse. What makes the song classic is Farrell’s ability to drive this emotional crutch that he has on her. The frustration is heard in his singing, as he completely admires her yet watches as bad decision after bad decision force her in bad directions. At some point in your life you are sitting there and wondering to yourself, why is she with him, what does she see in this piece of shit?
The flipside to ‘Jane Says’ is ‘Summertime Rolls’, the perfect love song that feels more about that perfect serene hippie landscape where there is not a care in the world. ‘Summertime Rolls’ is one of those songs that as a youth you realize there is a level of manipulation in love songs as they typically clench at your heartstrings more than they probably should, i.e. the emotion is stronger than the song, but this is one of those “love songs” that I can still appreciate.
I cannot seriously make the argument which Jane’s album was better and a flip of the coin would truly determine it. The band disbanded in ’91 and has reformed since then but has not met the same level of creative output.