REVIEW: Jane's Addiction, Kettle Whistle (Warner)
- Sean Eric McGill
"We've taken things as far as they can go."
These are the words spoken by Perry Farrell in 1991 concerning the breakup of Jane's Addiction, the seminal alternative rock band that helped define a genre. Now, more than six years later, we have Kettle Whistle , the new album from Jane's Addiction. So, maybe things hadn't gone as far as they could have...or maybe they have.
With Flea replacing original bassist Eric Avery, the lineup remains the same. And, on the four new tracks, the sound certainly remains the same. While Porno for Pyros did retain some of the original elements of the Jane's Addiction sound, they certainly had their own style. And with Dave Navarro teaming with Flea in the Red Hot Chili Peppers, there seemed little chance for any new music coming from Jane's Addiction.
But, if you get technical, Kettle Whistle isn't really a new album from Jane's Addiction. Between bootlegs and singles, all but four of the songs available have been available before. Technicalities aside, Kettle Whistle is a new Jane's Addiction album in that while a good bit of the music has been available in the past, it does mark the first time you can get it all in one widely-available package.
Of the newer batch of songs, "Kettle Whistle" is clearly the best. In one song, all the things that I personally always loved about Jane's Addiction is perfectly captured: the soaring vocals of Farrell, the driving rhythm section, and Navarro's guitar work. And while the majority of the older tracks are live versions, the live version of "Whores" (from the debut album) captures the energy of a Jane's Addiction live performance better than any of the others.
With a one-song performance on Saturday Night Live under their belt and a mostly sold-out tour underway, it seems like Jane's Addiction is back. And even if it is for just this short while, I'm going to enjoy them while they're around. They changed everything we thought we knew about alternative rock a decade ago, and at a time when the genre they helped create has become increasingly stagnant, perhaps they can do the same again.
