Go back in time: KW

[Larry B.]

Today I've been working and listening to every JA album, in chronological order...

And I was wondering what you, old-time fans thought when Kettle Whistle came out. Did any of you think "omg what a shitty artwork"? Perhaps "fml a song about a cat, what have this world come to?" Maybe "well, here's that shitty jane says again..." or something like that?

I like Kettle Whistle. It was actually the 1st JA album I listened to and the first one I bought, in 1999. And even after having listened to their "original" albums, I still like it. The Mountain Song demo is incredible, and that version of Jane Says is lovable.

Basically, I'd like to know if members of the JA community might be considered just a bunch of assholes who don't like anything post-1991 or if there are real chances of loving something JA creates, if it fulfills some type of music craving.

[leviticus]

I remember being pretty disappointed, with the exception of "Slow Divers". The artwork was flat, the new tunes were a patchwork of disjointed sounds. I still don't really care for KW or SoWhat... Though the chorus in SoWhat is a killer!

[bman]

I don't consider KW an album. They recorded 2 songs songs for that album. So What and KW. Good songs. But that's not a JA Album. We already had pretty much everything on it.

[lollapaloser]

I liked it for what it was, Maceo kinda bugged me and still does, thats just a dumb song. I'd had enough Jane Says by then too, why didnt they throw it on Ritual and Strays too? The few new versions of songs on KW were cool though, and I enjoyed it. I really like So What, and the weird version of the title track.

[CaseyContrarian]

Always loved Maceo. It's a legit side of Jane's, and, as a cat guy, I can relate. "I think he thinks that I'm his dad... because we saved him from the pound."

I was also psyched to have an official CD recording of a pretty good live "Three Days" take that could go with the cassette recordings that I taped myself at the three 1.0 shows I was lucky to see.

Not a fan of the song Kettle Whistle — it seems like an improvisation that they kept trying to turn into something interesting and never quite nailed. So What is good just for the live sample at the beginning. It may have pointed to a legit Jane's sound, had they managed to stay focused enough to record more.

So, minor disappointments, but nothing more so than the lack of Eric. I skipped Relapse and never saw JA again until NINJA.

[Jasper]

We'd had pretty much all of this for years. I'd had Maceo for years, two versions of Slow Divers, demos, live tracks, etc. It was somewhat interesting to hear the overdubs. Made it a little more interesting. I would have liked some of the cleaned-up sound quality without the overdubs. It was good to have some demos and stuff in better quality.

"So What!" was good, not great, but it's aged really well and I like it a lot now. The chorus is spectacular. The title track was a huge letdown. Not because of the style, but because of the arrangement. KW has long been one of my favorite JA songs, and they ruined it. Nevertheless, it doesn't sound bad, so it's one of those interesting failures. I bet I would have liked it a lot more if I'd never heard the superior Jane's 1.0 versions. The live acoustic one is still my favorite.

I think Jane Says was included because it's one of their two biggest hits, but also because a version with the live intro they came up with had never been officially released. So that's kind of forgivable.

I think the artwork is good. It's not mind-blowing, but it's a JA 1.0 poster, totally in the JA tradition, with that DIY punk style that's very evocative of the those times.

In conclusion, the real excitement was the Relapse tour. This collection was just a bauble. I never listened to it much. I probably only listened straight through once or twice. Usually it's something I'd go to just to hear one or two specific tracks.

[Kajicat]

Like Larry, KW was the 1st JA release I ever bought. My older brother had NS and Ritual since back in the day, so I knew of the band and would hear him listening to those albums, and knew they were pretty kick-ass.

It wasn't until Porno for Pyros came out that I really started seriously looking into getting into Jane's. "Hard Charger" was all over MTV and the radio, and then Relapse tour just sealed it for me...so when KW came out I got it immediately. And loved it immediately.

I though Maceo was great...nothing about the album bugged me at all. Heck, Maceo is great to me for the simple fact that I LOVE cats. I have 3 right now! KW and So What! were totally cool to me, and the live/demo stuff was just fucking insane. It blew my mind. Ocean Size, Three Days, Mountain Song...I couldn't believe I hadn't gotten into the band earlier. I will ALWAYS like the demo versions of Ocean Size, Mountain, etc. BETTER than the studio versions. They are so much more raw, and seem to be played with way more energy. Definitely prefer them to the versions found on NS (though those are great too...I mean c'mon, NS is a perfect 10/10!). KW also contains my favorite version of Jane Says. Of course, Slow Divers is one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard.

I loved the artwork on KW, and I still do. It's just a flyer from a show, and it looks super cool. The booklet itself demolished what's found in XXX, NS, or Ritual. So many photos, a forward by Henry Rollins (I'm a big fan of his), and lyrics everywhere. Perfect.

I seriously can't find anything wrong with Kettle Whistle. Love it for what it is, and for nostalgic reasons.

[judah]

i loved it. loved KW and SW. still do. they had that dark mysterious vibe about them and was gutted they didn't record more. liked the album artwork too. however, because it wasn't a proper album i didn't compare it to ritual or shocking. i thought they still had potential to write a great record though. thought use of samples and wierd electronica in the background was really interesting. if only they'd continued to write a proper record....i think it could have been great even if not as good as ritual.

[Eric B.]

Big dissapointment. The new songs (well for me they were at the time) didn't sound like Jane's to me. So what is crap. Kettle Whistle is going nowhere. Not Jane's worthy if ya ask me. In hindsight I like Strays a lot more than this one.

[JOEinPHX]

Having not previously been a collector (i only had NS, Ritual, and the Classic Girl single), Kettle Whistle was awesome. It was nice to hear the combination of live, rare, and "unreleased" songs together with the new ones.

Of course later i found out everything had already been available, and then got to watch it all re-released 6 more times.... which further ruined it all.

But still... Slow Divers, Kettle Whistle, So What.... worth owning just for those. And the live version of 3 Days was epic. It was amazing hearing them so damn strong.

And as others said, it was made all the more exciting by news of them touring.

[Matz]

I like that album a lot. I think KW the song sounds great. Really, really love their use of samples in it, very well done, they fit perfectly. So What! is also excellent. They were all so badass back then and they should have done more, its a shame

[Pandemonium]

In conclusion, the real excitement was the Relapse tour. This collection was just a bauble. I never listened to it much. I probably only listened straight through once or twice. Usually it's something I'd go to just to hear one or two specific tracks.

I agree. I had all the rare stuff on bootlegs and that Japanese rare tracks compilation cd and really didn't care much for the "new" tracks until I saw the next tour in '01 and was blown away by the live version of KW which made me go back and revisit the song.

[Fitzy]

I must be one of the few that really, really digs the version of KW on this. Definitely a track I can get lost in with the little electronic flourishes that bubble in and out.

Otherwise, the album has its moments, with So What and Jane Says being highlights for me. City is an awesome way to close the album, fun little throwaway tune.

I'm still pretty new to the band though, sorting through a lot of the history and the minutia, but as a general odds and ends album, KW is interesting if inessential. I did appreciate hearing the direction the band could've gone if they'd fully explored the experimental, abrasive electronic elements of the title track and So What.

[embrace_the_darkness]

Kettle whistle was the first jane's album I got. I had seen the jane says relapse video on mtv and a friend burned me the album. I loved it and still do. A great introduction to Jane's.

[Bandit72]

I absolutely love KW, I think the whole 'album' gels really, really well. And it still houses my favourite ever version of Mountain Song.

[cursed male]

Loved 'Kettle Whistle' the song and still do. The last truly great recording from Perry & co.

And 'Kettle Whistle' the "album" is still to this day my favorite JA compilation.

[nausearockpig]

Loved 'Kettle Whistle' the song and still do. The last truly great recording from Perry & co.

And 'Kettle Whistle' the "album" is still to this day my favorite JA compilation.

I like it a lot. I like Live & Rare too.. That's fun..