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Jane's Addiction

Jane's Addiction Up From the Catacombs

Though they broke up (for the first time, anyway) in 1991, when their sound was just starting to gain mainstream attention, Jane’s Addiction were a definite influence on the scene that took hold for the years immediately following their demise. This compilation of greatest hits serves as a decent primer for a band that is well regarded as one of the original innovators of the “alternative rock” era of the early-mid 90’s.

Their funk-metal-pop has held up surprisingly well over the years. Unfortunately, since their original recorded output was so small (2 albums and an EP, almost all justly remembered as classics of their time) this package is almost rendered unnecessary. It‘s in a tough spot, because although the song selection is nearly flawless, I would still recommend their first full length Nothing's Shocking (which actually is flawless) over it. About half the songs here are from that great album, and in fact I actually found myself wishing there were more from it. Some songs don’t hold up as well, and I don’t understand the inclusion of “Three Days” from Ritual de lo Habitual. It still sounds like 10 minutes of hookless interminable wankery, it isn’t a “hit” in any way, and basically just serves to disrupt the flow of the album. However, other songs from Ritual (“Been Caught Stealing”, “Stop!” , both of which still get frequent play on modern rock radio) fare better and serve the bands legacy well.

What we have here is a bunch of good songs that make for a nice mix-tape vibe but don’t flow nearly as well as the original albums do. The advantage for long time fans such as myself is that it cherry-picks two of the better tracks (“Just Because” and “Superhero”) from the mostly-forgettable 2003 reunion album “Strays”, allowing us to have the two good songs without stooping to acknowledge the rest of it. Nothing's Shocking remains the best entry point for beginners.

Reviewed for Coffeerooms by G.Mazz - Talk about it here