Review Round Up

[cursed male]

Sunday Express Review: Jane's Addiction - The Great Escape Artist
16 October 2011

OVER 25 years after forming, Jane’s Addiction sound more hungry, angry and bold than bands half their age, their blistering, seedy, off-kilter alternative rock freshly invigorated on their fourth album.
Given their shared funk/rock roots, luring TV On The Radio magician Dave Sitek on board was a stroke of genius.

Although they also share a tendency to noodle which is indulged more and more over the course of the album, when they rock out, resistance is futile.

http://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/ ... rtist-EMI-

[cursed male]

The Guardian Review: Jane's Addiction - The Great Escape Artist
16 October 2011

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.

3 / 5

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/oc ... ape-review

[cursed male]

The Financial Times Review: Jane's Addiction - The Great Escape Artist
15 October 2011

A solid comeback for the veteran alt-rock group

Do Jane’s Addiction have a Dorian Gray-style portrait stashed away in some LA mansion getting ever more decrepit while the veteran alt-rock debauchees remain miraculously young? Well, no: not on the evidence of The Great Escape Artist, their first album in eight years.

Frontman Perry Farrell gamely yelps about the bohemian lifestyle of drugs, sex and mysticism that made them LA’s freaky flipside to Mötley Crüe in the 1980s while guitarist sidekick Dave Navarro provides crunching riffs and dizzy psychedelic effects. It makes for a solid comeback, with a certain nostalgic charm, but plodders such as “Twisted Tales” point to a band grown bulkier and less nimble with age.

3 / 5

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/90432ede-f475 ... ab49a.html

[leviticus]

to be honest, I'm a little confused by the critical reception of TGEA in relation to that of Strays. Strays was met with generally good reviews.

[Jasper]

to be honest, I'm a little confused by the critical reception of TGEA in relation to that of Strays. Strays was met with generally good reviews.

Well, for one thing I think Strays sounds better at first than it does later on. It also provides the listener with a big jolt of energy. When it was new I'd sometimes put it one before work when I hadn't gotten enough sleep and/or was hungover. It's a loud, high-energy album. I think that may have influenced initial reviews.

TGEA is more moody and atmospheric. It seems to be more about taking the time to listen to all of the little details.

[S&M]

I keep finding little bits that keep bringing me back to it...really looking forward to getting the CD...Even with my poor old ear'z I really hate mp4 or mp3 formats...clouds it all up for me...suck'z the uummmmpppp for it...punch me beat me treat me like a bitch...make my tummy tickle...I <3 dynamics...whisper to a scream....guess I'll find out soon...a lil booze alwayz helps too

[Kajicat]

to be honest, I'm a little confused by the critical reception of TGEA in relation to that of Strays. Strays was met with generally good reviews.

Well, for one thing I think Strays sounds better at first than it does later on. It also provides the listener with a big jolt of energy. When it was new I'd sometimes put it one before work when I hadn't gotten enough sleep and/or was hungover. It's a loud, high-energy album. I think that may have influenced initial reviews.

TGEA is more moody and atmospheric. It seems to be more about taking the time to listen to all of the little details.

Maybe that's the problem - reviewers are listening to the album once, then basing their review only off that initial listen. Seems like most of the reviews have been negative so far. A perfect score is definitely the outlier, with most reviews being 2/5's, 3/5's, and 6/10's. Strays got a lot of 7/10's so apparently critics aren't liking this album as much.

[Warped]

to be honest, I'm a little confused by the critical reception of TGEA in relation to that of Strays. Strays was met with generally good reviews.

Well, for one thing I think Strays sounds better at first than it does later on. It also provides the listener with a big jolt of energy. When it was new I'd sometimes put it one before work when I hadn't gotten enough sleep and/or was hungover. It's a loud, high-energy album. I think that may have influenced initial reviews.

TGEA is more moody and atmospheric. It seems to be more about taking the time to listen to all of the little details.

Agreed.

Regarding reviews...i remember how OHM was trashed by almost all reviewers. One of my fave albums of all time so i could care less about that. How this is for the band...don't know. I am only glad that in most of those reviews Dave does get the respect he earned for his work on this album.

[Easton]

http://www.musicomh.com/albums/janes-ad ... 2_1011.htm

Stability is a word missing from the Jane’s Addiction dictionary. In the eight years that have passed since their last studio album Strays, the group have broken up and reformed, put out a greatest hits album, a rarities collection and had something of a revolving door policy for the bass player’s position, with no less than four filling the post in the past couple of years.

Eric Avery’s return to the fold for the first time since the nineties should have been the final piece in the puzzle to reunite the classic Jane’s lineup, but it proved to be short lived, as was former Gun N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan’s shift. If you thought that was high profile, enter TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek, who contributed bass (and no doubt some knob twiddling) to this album but will not tour, which has earned a recall for Chris Cheney, who appeared on Strays.

Confused? The album is a similar conundrum.

The riff-driven Underground is an underwhelming opener with Perry Farrell wailing his way through the song. End To The Lies leans more to the classic Jane’s sound, its minimal dub intro sparking to life under Dave Navarro’s solos and Farrell adopting a gutter punk approach as he spits out his vocals.

As curator of Lollapalooza, Farrell has been on record stating that he used the exposure to other bands and sounds to rethink the creative process for the album’s sound and direction, which trickles out with mixed results. Curiosity Kills certainly sparkles as one of the better-produced songs, bass and percussion driving it as it morphs into a hazy psychedelic number and shows Jane’s at their best.

The midpoint peters with two bland stabs at epic rock with I’ll Hit You Back and Ultimate Reason. Sandwiched between them however is one of the album’s standout songs, Twisted Tales. Farrell is at his most sincere: “I have no mother, I felt no trust, no family structures.”

Splash A Little Water On It swills sequenced drum loops, acoustic guitars and classic solos from Navarro as the album takes a deeper, more psychedelic turn. Broken People picks up on that trail and turns out to be the album’s best moment, echoing the classic Three Days with its rainy guitars, pulsing bass line and Farrell in full flamboyant swoon.

Words Right Out Of My Mouth as a closer proves to be something of a curveball, beginning with a sample of Farrell talking to a doctor about the loss of his voice before launching into the heaviest song on the album, a thrashy punk rock stomper that shifts tempo into an epic breakdown before cranking back to full throttle.

The Great Escape Artist is the least cohesive of all Jane’s Addiction's albums. You sense a tussle between the band's desire to push their sound forward while remaining true to it. Whilst there are moments when they do strike the right balance, too often the album meanders into nondescript epic rock territory and lacks the creative punch of their earlier works. It’s by no means a disaster, with some of their best songs sitting in this collection, but even with repeated listens there’s no ridding the sour taste of feeling shortchanged.

2/5

[cursed male]

Stereoboard.com Review: Jane's Addiction - The Great Escape Artist
17 October 2011

People often credit Nirvana for bringing alternative guitar music into the mainstream. Earlier this year Tom Morello, he of Rage Against the Machine, caused a minor stir in the music press when he proclaimed that Jane’s Addiction were actually the band that led to alt-rock breaking out of the underground. In many ways, no matter what you may think of the band, Morello was right. Whilst the Californians never reached worldwide superstar status like Nirvana did with 'Nevermind', their albums 'Nothing’s Shocking' and 'Ritual de lo Habitual' were both hugely influential and the latter did bring the band into the mainstream consciousness a year or so before 'Smells like Teen Spirit' did the same for Kurt and co. Maybe, in a funny sort of way, it is the fact that Jane’s Addiction are still around today that has dented the amount of credit that they have received. They have, of course, been missing for most of the twenty-one years between 'Ritual de lo Habitual' and this, the long awaited 'The Great Escape Artist'. 2003’s brief comeback was marked by the disappointing 'Strays'. Thankfully there is no disappointment this time round.

'The Great Escape Artist' sees a new Jane’s Addiction, but one that have made themselves as contemporary as they possibly could. With diversions into electronic music melding beautifully with chiming alt-rock riffs, and the odd brilliant Dave Navarro solo, this is an album that is both a delightful listen and an intriguing artistic statement.

With a sub-forty minute running time this is never in danger of overstaying its welcome either. The songs are catchy as well as interesting, with Perry Farrell’s knack for writing catchy chorus lyrics in good form on the likes of 'End to the Lies' and 'Curiosity Kills'.

Help from TV on the Radio man Dave Sitek on bass during the album recording sessions appears to have had an impact. There is certainly a fair dollop of that band’s delightful experimental rock apparent on this record, although Jane’s Addiction are defiantly still their own beast at the same time.

Jane’s Addiction released 'Nothing’s Shocking' in 1988, twenty-three years ago. Something is shocking about this record…just how contemporary and brilliant it is. This is a band that are well and truly back, after an absence far too long. 'The Great Escape Artist' can therefore be said to be one of the year’s major success stories…to the delight of alt-rock aficionados everywhere.

http://www.stereoboard.com/content/view/168318/9

[Leto]

Pitchfork gave the album a score of 5. The review brings up a lot of points stated here already.



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.

As slickly produced as Nothing's Shocking and Ritual de lo Habitual were, you always got the sense that Jane's Addiction were a band of four interconnected personalities contributing distinct, individual parts to the majestic whole. But even compared to the nu-metalloid sheen of Strays, The Great Escape Artist's intricate, heavily lacquered production-- courtesy of Muse-man Rich Costey-- has the effect of making Jane's Addiction sound like an anonymous assemblage of oversaturated recording tracks. More so than Avery's commanding presence, what's really missing here is Jane's Addiction's sense of playfulness, absurdity, and rhythmic verve. Beyond hard-charging closer "Words Right Out of My Mouth", powerhouse drummer Perkins is given scant opportunity to flex his percussive muscle and is instead relegated to playing the mild-mannered time-keeper on melodramatic turns like "Twisted Tales" and "Splash a Little Water on It", while Sitek's bass contributions are barely perceptible underneath the glossy sheen. And for a frontman who's always been happy to flaunt his own ridiculousness, Farrell is surprisingly humorless here, the quirky character studies and brash swagger of old replaced by straight-faced pleading and vague second-person admonishments. Sure, the line, "You were the foreskin/ I was the real head," reads as hilarious but, coming from a Jew, probably isn't meant as a term of endearment.

There is, however, one song here-- "Broken People"-- that cuts through The Great Escape Artist's sleek surface and provides a glimpse of the charismatic, affective band that Jane's once were and still could be. (Surprisingly, it's one of McKagan's three co-writes.) And, as per the standard set by "I Would For You", "Jane Says", and "Then She Did...", "Broken People" is a melancholic reverie dedicated to a tragic female protagonist, though instead calling upon his usual cast of junkies and eccentrics, Farrell updates the archetype to paint a sympathetic portrait of a sex-vid-shilling celebutante. Despite the sensationalistic subject matter, Jane's treat it with an understated elegance, thanks to Navarro's beautifully restrained guitar line, a sensitive but not mawkish vocal from Farrell, and-- rare for this album-- a concise, unfussy arrangement; even the amped-up, fist-pump treatment applied to the third verse can't sully the song's graceful sway. In a world where truly nothing is shocking, Jane's Addiction have understandably lost the will and desire to be as outrageous and confrontational as they once were. But as "Broken People" attests, the most effective way for a big business to surprise you is through a simple, humble act of charity.

[Jasper]

As tepid of a reception as Bitchfork gave TGEA, they really took of the gloves with the new RHCP and gave it a 4.0.

[leviticus]

It seems that most of the major publications are expressing their feelings of the album's mediocrity, whereas the smaller independent sites, blogs and whatnot are much more happy with the album. Not sure what that implies, just an observation after having looked through dozens of reviews.

[bman]

Stereoboard.com Review: Jane's Addiction - The Great Escape Artist
17 October 2011

People often credit Nirvana for bringing alternative guitar music into the mainstream. Earlier this year Tom Morello, he of Rage Against the Machine, caused a minor stir in the music press when he proclaimed that Jane’s Addiction were actually the band that led to alt-rock breaking out of the underground. In many ways, no matter what you may think of the band, Morello was right. Whilst the Californians never reached worldwide superstar status like Nirvana did with 'Nevermind', their albums 'Nothing’s Shocking' and 'Ritual de lo Habitual' were both hugely influential and the latter did bring the band into the mainstream consciousness a year or so before 'Smells like Teen Spirit' did the same for Kurt and co. Maybe, in a funny sort of way, it is the fact that Jane’s Addiction are still around today that has dented the amount of credit that they have received. They have, of course, been missing for most of the twenty-one years between 'Ritual de lo Habitual' and this, the long awaited 'The Great Escape Artist'. 2003’s brief comeback was marked by the disappointing 'Strays'. Thankfully there is no disappointment this time round.

'The Great Escape Artist' sees a new Jane’s Addiction, but one that have made themselves as contemporary as they possibly could. With diversions into electronic music melding beautifully with chiming alt-rock riffs, and the odd brilliant Dave Navarro solo, this is an album that is both a delightful listen and an intriguing artistic statement.

With a sub-forty minute running time this is never in danger of overstaying its welcome either. The songs are catchy as well as interesting, with Perry Farrell’s knack for writing catchy chorus lyrics in good form on the likes of 'End to the Lies' and 'Curiosity Kills'.

Help from TV on the Radio man Dave Sitek on bass during the album recording sessions appears to have had an impact. There is certainly a fair dollop of that band’s delightful experimental rock apparent on this record, although Jane’s Addiction are defiantly still their own beast at the same time.

Jane’s Addiction released 'Nothing’s Shocking' in 1988, twenty-three years ago. Something is shocking about this record…just how contemporary and brilliant it is. This is a band that are well and truly back, after an absence far too long. 'The Great Escape Artist' can therefore be said to be one of the year’s major success stories…to the delight of alt-rock aficionados everywhere.

http://www.stereoboard.com/content/view/168318/9

I agree...This new Album is great. The difference is that in 88/89 Janes toured on Nothings Shocking to promote that CD. As impressive as TGEA may be, Jane's is not a band that cares. They are hoping that people by it, but they are still doing the same old sets. They should play 5 tracks from the new CD every night.

[cursed male]

USA Today Review: Jane's Addiction - The Great Escape Artist
18 October 2011

Jane's Addiction's 'Escape' is great

The alt-rock pioneers are back in fine form with their first new album in eight years.

"I'll never give up the underground," Perry Farrell sings on the opening track of The Great Escape Artist, his band's first album in eight years. Jane's Addiction continues to create music with the audacity and intensity of cyber-geek garage rockers.

Never adequately credited for its trailblazing role in alternative rock's rise, Jane's released its landmark Nothing's Shocking (1988) and Ritual Habitual (1990) before Nirvana's celebrated and newly reissued Nevermind (1991).

This fourth album finds core members Farrell, guitarist Dave Navarro and drummer Stephen Perkins conjuring the feral drive and mystical haze of those early works with a fresh kick to the band's electro-rock meld. The trio is augmented by bassist Chris Chaney, TV On The Radio's Dave Sitek (bass, production, arrangements) and producer Rich Costey.

Bombastic, arty, sensual and richly textured, the 10 tracks test the boundaries of dance-rock while steering clear of indulgent extremes.

Navarro's guitar work is full, fanciful and deft, not showy. Perkins drums with precision and sting. And Farrell, once a keening specter, sticks to his solid vocal middle range. The bottom line: The Great Escape Artist is great artistic escapism.

Download: Words Right Out of My Mouth, Underground, Twisted Tales

3 / 4

http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/revi ... 50807058/1

[Japhy]

Decent review at Ultimate Classic Rock. Sorry, posting links and stuff is well beyond my limited tech skills... go get it cursed male!!!

Anyway, the reviewer classes Broken People as "genius"... i wouldn't go that far but it's still my fave track by a long way. Reviewer also mentions that he thinks the album is very reminiscent of Perry's solo album - got to say that i pretty much agree although that album had a fair share of flat moments and i definitely think that there are much less of those on TGEA.

[leviticus]

AV Club gave it an F. http://www.avclub.com/articles/janes-ad ... ist,63452/

[leviticus]

BlogCritics gave it a great review http://blogcritics.org/music/article/mu ... -great/?r=

All Music Guide gives it 3.5 out of 5 http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-great ... t-r2250598

Another good review http://streetdate.radio.com/2011/10/17/ ... pe-artist/

[cursed male]

Los Angeles Times Review: Jane's Addiction - The Great Escape Artist
18 October 2011

“You know, we’ve become a big business,” Perry Farrell notes in his distinctive caterwaul on “Irresistible Force (Met the Immovable Object),” a song on the fourth full-length release from Jane’s Addiction. It’s a remarkable moment of candor: Jane’s Addiction commenced in the late ’80s as one of alternative rock’s most maverick progenitors, fomenting the American festival movement in founding Lollapalooza and inspiring legions with heavy yet genre-confounding grooves. However, as Jane’s coalesced into a mainstream headliner, the band’s recorded legacy grew so spotty and sporadic it made R.E.M.’s seem like a model of consistency by comparison.

“The Great Escape Artist,” however, represents both a return to form and an unsullied beginning. Epic opener “Underground” sets the tone, recasting the expanse of “Mountain Song” on Jane’s classic 1988 debut, “Nothing’s Shocking,” with new angularity: imagine the term “Zeppelinesque” given a Gang of Four makeover. Stephen Hopkins’ drums prove as tribal as ever, and guitarist Dave Navarro alternates guiltily pleasurable histrionic soloing with slashing minimalism; Farrell’s howl remains recognizable as well — if transformed somewhat from its feral origins into a more knowing, dissolute croon.

Producers Rich Costey (Interpol, Muse) and TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek (who also contributes bass) emphasize Jane’s post-punk dimension, evoking Public Image Ltd., Killing Joke, Theatre of Hate and early Cult in the album’s echoey, dub-wise mix. Bands like that actually provided the sonic crucible that spawned the original Jane’s; those influences feel utterly contemporary here, adding nervous, dynamic tension to Jane’s trademark sound. Alas, while the interplay remains incendiary, the textures freshly incandescent, there isn’t much in the way of memorable choruses or hooks. Still, for a group to sound this vital after a two-decade-plus run — well, that is shocking.

2 / 4

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_b ... rtist.html

[cursed male]

Ultimate Classic Rock Review: Jane's Addiction - The Great Escape Artist
18 October 2011

Jane’s Addiction end an eight year absence from the record making game with ‘The Great Escape Artist,’ an album surprisingly light on guitars that instead finds the band dabbling in electronic-influenced alternative rock.

Resident guitar hero Dave Navarro spends much of his time playing keyboards or adding spacey and complimentary guitar lines to the proceedings, as opposed to leading the charge into battle with distorted riffs as he did throughout much of albums such as ‘Nothing’s Shocking.’

In fact, in terms of material and sonics, ‘The Great Escape Artist’ is much closer to Farrell’s trippy and downright danceable 2001 solo album ‘Song Yet to be Sung’ than it is to anything from the Jane’s catalog.

Still, the presence of Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Chris Chaney are more than enough to keep one foot planted firmly in the rock world. Their playing turns ‘Irresistible Force’ into a galaxy-exploring epic that recalls the moody, dramatic scope of much of their best past work.

Together with the heavier emphasis on keyboards, the album’s new refined (for them) approach has Jane’s Addiction sounding like a grittier, improved version of late-era U2 on ‘Curiosity Kills’ and ‘Twisted Tales.’

When Navarro does turn up in full guitar glory, like on the solo of ‘Underground’ or the middle of ‘Splash a Little Water on it,’ you feel a heightened effect as the result of his restraint on the rest of the album.

Somewhat ironically for a band that keeps on changing bassists, the instrument remains among the most vital and up-front parts of ‘The Great Escape Artist,’ as well as the connective tissue to the group’s earlier work.

A typically big, bold line is the centerpiece of album opener ‘Underground,’ and throughout the record Chaney, Navarro and TV on the Radio member (and ‘Escape’ producing contributor) Dave Sitek deliver meaty, prominent bass parts that nicely balance the album’s more experimental leanings.

The hooks on ‘The Great Escape Artist’ aren’t as immediate, or most likely, as permanently memorable as Jane Addiction’s best work, but they’re damn good, especially on the absolutely genius ‘Broken People,’ and it’s great to see the band exploring new territory while retaining their own idiosyncratic nature.

3.5 / 5

http://ultimateclassicrock.com/janes-ad ... um-review/

[Larry B.]

Stephen Hopkins’ drums prove as tribal as ever

[cursed male]

Stephen Hopkins’ drums prove as tribal as ever

How did I miss that...

[Kajicat]

AV Club gave it an F. http://www.avclub.com/articles/janes-ad ... ist,63452/

WOOOOOOW...I don't ever remember seeing a band get eaten up and chewed out like that. Even when Pithfork gives an album a good tearing into, they will sometimes still give it anywhere from a 4/10 to 6/10.

Read the comments section under that review. People are HATIN' big time! Pretty embarrassing. :cona:

[Warped]

Do you really care about that?

I like it and in the end that's all that matters for me.

[Pandemonium]

Stephen Hopkins’ drums prove as tribal as ever

I haven't read a record review in the LA Times for years now. Clearly the writers and quality have taken a gigantic slide since the days of Robert Hilburn.