12 October 2011
In June, long after it was believed Jane's Addiction's new album "The Great Escape Artist" (Capitol) was done, producer Rich Costey still had the band's equipment set up and ready at a studio in Burbank, Calif.—as if the members might still drop by to tinker. When a visitor asked to hear one of the new tunes, Mr. Costey replied: "I can play you something now that tomorrow could be completely different."
What's considered alternative-rock music has changed in the eight years since Jane's Addiction last released an album of new material. Hot categories have shifted, barriers have fallen, and the electronic dance music once seen as a sideline for Jane's lead singer Perry Farrell is now a major force. An alt-rock band that remains static might do so to appease fans—see the Red Hot Chili Peppers' recent album, "I'm With You." With "The Great Escape Artist," Jane's sought to blend its traditional power sound with where it thinks alt-rock can go. To do so, it brought in TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek to shape soundscapes, play bass, and help with arrangements and "general weirdness," as Mr. Costey put it.
Thus, "The Great Escape Artist," which comes out next week, presents an up-to-date Jane's Addiction. The band tempers its swagger, and at points Mr. Farrell's voice recedes behind a wash of synths and sustained guitars. The deep, textured tracks rarely fail to engage. There's an appealing, cohesive sound to the disc.
Dave Navarro issues several searing guitar solos, but some of his best work is in his flat-picking, giving the sound its high, glittery tones. In the opening track, "Underground," he excels with terse fills long before he solos at the song's fade. As always, Stephen Perkins proves to be one of rock's great drummers, and his interplay with Mr. Navarro, his high-school marching-band buddy, is one of the disc's savory treats. Provided by Mr. Sitek and old standby Chris Chaney, the bass is merely serviceable; it's long been a Jane's shortcoming that it can't find someone to fill the bottom who is as inventive as Messrs. Navarro and Perkins. (Ex-Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan was in Jane's for a while, but on "The Great Escape Artist" his contribution is limited to co-writing three tracks.) Mr. Farrell shines, singing most often at the center of his range, rather than the shaky upper end.
Mr. Costey said the band members jammed for hours before shaping songs. "At times, it sounded like Jane's. At other times, it sounded like nothing I'd heard before from them. There's tons of sections without chordal movement." Recognizing that the new sound may pose a challenge for longtime Jane's listerners, Mr. Costey said: "The album is quite varied—fans may not like it."
At Lollapalooza in Chicago, the affable Mr. Farrell agreed that Jane's was seeking a new direction. "We started in '84. We did a great job," he said. But, he continued, it was time to put away the old formula. "It's difficult to give up that notion. Of all the guys in the group, I had no problem giving up my style."
Mr. Farrell said his role as Lollapalooza's curator puts him in close contact with the changing music scene. "I listen every year to the latest and greatest bands on the planet. That helped me to want to follow the sound."
Mr. Perkins described the group's new approach as "layered, not blunt." (In some cases, "less blunt" would have been more accurate.) The sessions for "The Great Escape Artist," he added, stalled when Mr. McKagan came on board. "It was really interesting to write songs with him, but it was hard to break ground. As a whole, it didn't feel like a leap forward. Sitek opened my eyes to new music and new textures."
When Jane's played a prerelease concert at New York's Terminal 5 in late July, the core quartet, with Mr. Chaney on bass, didn't use prerecorded music to fill the midrange and replicate the new album's sound. Instead, the band ripped into it with Mr. Perkins keeping things moving and Mr. Navarro muscling up to discharge blizzards of notes. Mr. Farrell wailed as he careened about the stage. The album's first single, "Irresistible Force," exploded the set into overdrive.
Mr. Farrell said the group was enjoying its new direction. "It's easy for us to sound like Jane's. But now we don't want you to recognize where you are. You're in the dark. Then you open a door."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 56224.html
We all did and that's why it's reasonable for us to be talking about it. If you're not all that excited it shouldn't be that big of a deal to just listen to the fucking thing without having the precious, magical black circle spinning. If something's good, it's good. If it's bad, it's bad. The medium isn't going to change jack shit. Someone said the FLAC leaked anyways. No matter what, this album's not going to be NS or RDLH for you, I can guarantee you that, so drop any fancy fantasies you may be harboring. It does handily beat Strays for the vast majority of us, as the poll has shown, and obviously it shits all over SP. So just enjoy or dislike it for what it is.
