Send "Jane's Addiction " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Pitchfork |
 The year 1991 was a significant one in Jane's Addiction lore, marking both the launch of the L.A. art-rockers' Lollapalooza travelling-circus experiment and the announcement of the band's dissolution. Now, on the 20th anniversary of those events, both brands are still making headlines, despite enduring extended periods of inactivity, aborted restarts, and organizational restructuring. And it's perhaps no coincidence that both Jane's Addiction and Lollapalooza have evolved in exactly the same way: What were once unpredictable, chaotic forces have inevitably mutated into well-oiled, monolithic entities bearing little of the charm and character of their original incarnations. This circumstance is not lost on frontman/Lolla visionary Perry Farrell who, on Jane's Addiction's new album, proudly declares, "We've become a big business/ A galaxy merger!"Even if that line is intended to be a metaphor for a blossoming romantic relationship, the fact that Farrell's singing of love in the language of commerce effectively sums up the proficient but perfunctory nature of The Great Escape Artist, Jane's Addiction's fifth official album, their second comeback record (following 2003's Strays), and the first release since the short-lived reintroduction of founding bassist Eric Avery into the fold for a 2009 tour. No doubt, their various attempts to keep Jane's alive over the past decade have taught Farrell, guitarist Dave Navarro, and drummer Stephen Perkins that replacing Avery requires more than just finding a talented bass player. In many respects, Avery defined the band's sonic identity and mystique; think of any Jane's classic, and often the first thing that pops into your head is one of those ominous, propulsive basslines. So while the middling Strays tried to plug session vet Chris Chaney into the dynamic, for The Great Escape Artist, the band makes a more concerted effort at revitalization, recruiting everyone from TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek to Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan to Morocco's Master Musicians of Joujouka-- a trifecta of collaborators who respectively play to Jane's Addiction's affinities for heady atmosphere, raunchy hard rock, and tribal-percussion jams. At the outset, The Great Escape Artist lives up to that on-paper potential: Farrell's freak-scene re-indoctrination "Underground" and Avery-directed invective "End to the Lies" (featuring the Joujouka crew) open the album with a pair of promisingly authoritative metallic grinds that sound like they were grafted from the slow-motion mid-section of Ritual de lo Habitual's "Stop", but with Sitek's chrome-plated textures adding a post-apocalyptic ambience that greatly complements Navarro's eerie six-string squeals. But there's a palpable dip in intensity from there on in, as The Great Escape Artist gets mired in the not-quite-rock/not-quite-ballad purgatory that defines so much post-grunge alt-radio....full text |
| Guardian |
| Despite the involvement of TV on the Radio's studio wiz Dave Sitek, this first album in eight years is still recognisably Jane's Addiction: a bombastic take on art-rock underpinned by Dave Navarro's virtuoso guitar work. There's nothing here to match the wildly brilliant ambition of their late-80s/early-90s peak, but "Underground" packs a hefty punch, while frenetic closer "Words Right Out of My Mouth" sounds like an ornithophobic Stooges. They come unstuck on the workmanlike "Ultimate Reason", and lyrics about " smoking till four, five or six in the morning" suggest 52-year-old frontman Perry Farrell is reluctant to grow old gracefully, but those are minor grumbles....full text |
| Punkmusic |
| A longtime favorite of mine, Jane's Addiction is back with a new release. Their latest, The Great Escape Artist, features a lineup of three original members (Perry Farrell, Dave Navarro and Stephen Perkins), minus original bassist Eric Avery, and will be out on October 18, 2011. How does The Great Escape Artist compare with time less classics like Nothing's Shocking and Ritual De Lo Habitual? Read our full review to find out!...full text |
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