One of my university housemates had Ritual De Lo Habitual which, when I listened to it, thought was “okay”, with a couple of memorable tracks, but it didn’t otherwise float my boat. Either this album is the better one, or I’m a different person (both could be true), because I liked this one a lot more than I remember liking Ritual.
The development of the “alt-rock” sound is clear here, with a return to that indefinable “California” sound which we haven’t had since the times when Dave Crosby was dominating this list. Jane’s Addiction are hard rock, but distinctly different to the hair metal and the thrash that we’ve had a lot of lately, and wouldn’t sound out of place as the soundtrack to a skateboarding video.
Comparisons to other bands are inevitable. The mix of funky bassline, grungy guitars, and Perry Farrell’s compressed and raspy vocals all bring to mind the musical style of Red Hot Chilli Peppers who, when I looked it up, preceded Jane’s Addiction even though they haven’t made an appearance on this list yet. They also hearken back to Led Zeppelin, not least the times when the music comes to a stop (sometimes with Eric Avery’s bass or Stephen Perkins’ drums providing a continuity, sometimes everyone stops) before bursting back in with a scorching guitar solo from Dave Navarro who seems to have taken inspiration from Page, Hendrix, and Van Halen. Ocean Size is a particularly good example of this.
They’re not afraid to mix up the tempos and styles either, so unlike other contemporary rock albums the tracks don’t all sound too similar (I really liked Def Leppard’s Hysteria, for example, but when I went back to pick out specific tracks it’s evident how most of the tracks have the same kind of intro). Standing In The Shower...Thinking for example is a slower number with a bit of fuzzy phasor guitar which combined with Avery’s funky bassline all feels quite Nineties. Summertime Rolls is a gorgeous spacey number that’s a little like a track from XTC’s Skylarking album made using rock sounds. And maybe it’s that summery feel – tracks with names like Up The Beach and Mountain Song that impart that ineffable Californian feel.
There’s a trend in the late Eighties/early Nineties as well to throw in a short left-field track, in this case the minute-long jazz number that is Thank You Boys – a little bit of levity and fun. I believe Ritual De Lo Habitual is also on this list, so I’ll be interested to revisit that album, because I really liked this one.
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