Jane’s
Addiction’s second album Nothing's Shocking may have been released in
1988, but it didn’t come to my attention until sometime in 1990. The flamboyance of singer Perry Ferrell and
of the guitar playing of Dave Navarro was perfect for the times. I played the
record frequently for several years, each of the songs encouraging the
brashness required to rebel against conformity, an enticement to live life
outside the standards.
Of course, anything this
good is somewhat diminished when everyone seems to like it. But it doesn’t stop
songs like “Mountain Song” from being phenomenal. Like most good alt-rock, the bass plays a
central role, the guitar rolls and slides over the top, and the vocals sound
like a full-throated provocation. And we can’t ignore the ever-present “Jane
Says”. An acoustic stand-alone, the song sounded like something different, like
life in another town, where people are more laid-back, and there’s no such
thing as convention.
Jane’s followed this up with Ritual de lo Habitual, another great album with perfect singles and even better epics, like the masterpiece “Three Days.” For me, Nothing's Shocking lasts; it was the one that carried me through three or more residences and in and out and back into the same relationship in the early 1990’s. A great album today, it will still take me back to those days when the weather’s hot and I want to have a few choice words with the rest of society.
No comments:
Post a Comment