FEATURE:
Vinyl Corner
Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking
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THE title of Jane’s Addiction’s debut…
seems a bit ironic! On 23rd August, 1988, they released Nothing’s Shocking, and it definitely took people by surprise! This was the very early days of Grunge, and Hip-Hop was in a golden period. Although there were bands fairly similar to Jane’s Addiction, I don’t think any matched their songwriting brilliance and Perry Farrell’s (their lead) ability. I just about remember the huge single, Jane Says, and Nothing’s Shocking was well received by critics, even if it did not chart that well in 1988. I think, in subsequent years, the album has grown in stature and is seen as a classic. I think a brilliant album is as much about the producer as it is the artist and the songs. Warner Bros. offered Jane’s Addiction the chance to work with which producer they liked and, having selected Dave Jerden (who they knew as an engineer for David Byrne and Brian Eno’s My Life in the Bush of Ghosts), they had this great producer. Jerden went through a tape of the band’s tracks and he selected nine to work up for the album. Right from the off, there was this split in the band that almost threatened to derail them. Farrell wanted a half of the band’s publishing royalties as lyricist; he also wanted a quarter of the remaining for writing the music and, whilst he was the guiding force regarding the songs, the band were rightfully horrified!
Warner Bros. called a meeting to keep the band together and, amazingly, Farrell received the cut he requested – though there was lingering tension that, to be fair, didn’t need to be there. I think Farrell would reverse his decision if he went back, but aside from this issue, the music is amazing. One does not need to be a fan or expert regarding the Rock sounds of the late-1980s to appreciate Nothing’s Shocking. The album is so accessible and instant, yet one cannot easily compare Jane’s Addiction with anyone else. The tracks are uniformly wonderful, and I think Nothing’s Shocking is one of the finest debuts of the 1980s. In their review, this is what AllMusic had to say:
“Although Jane's Addiction's 1987 self-titled debut was an intriguing release (few alternative bands at the time had the courage to mix modern rock, prog rock, and heavy metal together), it paled in comparison to their now classic major-label release one year later, Nothing's Shocking. Produced by Dave Jerden and Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell, the album was more focused and packed more of a sonic wallop than its predecessor; the fiery performances often create an amazing sense that it could all fall apart at any second, creating a fantastic musical tension. Such tracks as "Up the Beach," "Ocean Size," and one of alt-rock's greatest anthems, "Mountain Song," contain the spaciousness created by the band's two biggest influences, Led Zeppelin and the Cure.
Elsewhere, “Ted, Just Admit It...” (about serial killer Ted Bundy) and the haunting yet gorgeous “Summertime Rolls” stretched to epic proportions, making great use of changing moods and dynamics (something most alt-rock bands of the time were oblivious to). An incredibly consistent and challenging album, other highlights included the rockers “Had a Dad” and “Pigs in Zen,” the horn-driven “Idiots Rule,” the jazz instrumental “Thank You Boys,” and the up-tempo “Standing in the Shower...Thinking.” Like most great bands, it was not a single member whose contribution was greater: Perry Farrell’s unique voice and lyrics, Dave Navarro’s guitar riffs and wailing leads, Eric Avery’s sturdy basslines, and one of rock’s greatest and most powerful drummers, Stephen Perkins. Nothing’s Shocking is a must-have for lovers of cutting-edge, influential, and timeless hard rock”.
I would urge people to buy Nothing’s Shocking on vinyl, as it is a great record and one everyone can enjoy and fall for. I will close things soon but, before then, I want to source from an article Louder Sound published in 2014:
“Nothing’s Shocking was the most powerful rock’n’roll record since Guns N’ Roses’ Appetite For Destruction a year earlier. But what Jane’s Addiction had was a whole different trip to GN’R. There was an art-rock sensibility at the core of Nothing’s Shocking, a taste for weirdness and exotica. Their palette extended from Led Zeppelin-inspired riffing to the post-punk of Joy Division, The Cure and PiL, from goth rock to funk, dub reggae and swinging jazz.
At this time there were numerous bands exploring new forms of rock music – Pixies, Butthole Surfers, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ministry, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Faith No More and the bands in the nascent Seattle scene. But with Nothing’s Shocking, Jane’s Addiction would emerge as the standard-bearers in the rise of alternative rock.
As Perry Farrell said that day in 1988: “We started from the street and worked our way up. So, you get that attitude. And when it boils down to it, we don’t really care what people think. I’m doing what I like to do.” And he was ready for fame. “In the rock’n’roll field,” he said, “I pretty much have it made, because the more arrogant a person is in rock’n’roll, the more hyped they are.”
What they created on Nothing’s Shocking was rock music of startling originality and eclecticism. “I never wanted to write a song like somebody else’s song,” Farrell says. “I wanted to add something – like, let’s add salt to the caramel. You’re a scientist. You know that when you put different ingredients together, they’re combustible. So you combine rock and reggae and electronics – those are the three main ingredients I worked with on Nothing’s Shocking.”
At its core, this was a rock’n’roll record. There were echoes of Zeppelin in Mountain Song and Pigs In Zen, while Jane Says was a simple acoustic track with a 60s folk-rock feel. The reggae influence in Ted, Just Admit It… came from dub masters such as King Tubby and Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry. “Dub reggae,” Farrell says, “is beautiful, spiritual.” There was a hazy, psychedelic beauty to Summertime Rolls; a funk propulsion to Standing In The Shower… Thinking. And what Farrell said in 1988 – that his hero, unlikely as it seemed, was Frank Sinatra – was borne out in Thank You Boys, a tongue-in-cheek homage to the golden age of swing”.
Jane’s Addiction recorded their fourth studio album, The Great Escape Artist, in 2011, and I wonder whether they will continue on. There have been line-up switches through the years – as you’d imagine! -, but I don’t think this has damaged their consistency and, at the heart, we have Perry Farrell. He is, to me, one of the most original leads in Rock history. Make sure you spend some time investigating Nothing’s Shocking, as it is…
A debut masterpiece.