The Great Escape Artist

Jane's Addiction were at the headwaters of alternative rock

In the middle eighties of the previous century the new musical direction was being formed. It absorbed the energy and elements of various directions, from punk and postpunk to literally anything that was interesting for this or that band. Thus, the new music proved to be extremely diverse and it let the musicians express themselves without any possible limits. Jane’s Addiction were among the pioneers of that young style, and the band managed to find its place in the sun pretty fast. The musicians played as an opening act for the British group Love and Rockets, and that performance helped them to get listeners’ support: music lovers truly enjoyed the energy and drive of the band. Soon the promising rockers were noticed by the representatives of sound recording companies. Thereby Jane’s Addiction signed the contract with Warner Bros. Records and released their debut studio attempt titled Nothing's Shocking in 1988. By the way, that work was placed into the famous Rolling Stone’s list of “500 Greatest Albums of All-Time” to three hundred and ninth place. Several times Jane’s Addiction stopped their creative activity, and partially this is the reason why their discography does not have a great many of albums. Especially if we pay attention to the fact that the band’s very first studio work was released more than twenty years ago. To the huge joy of music lovers, the rockers prepared and issued their brand new album The Great Escape Artist in 2011.

The Great Escape Artist – on the edge of the old and the new

It seems that this time the musicians form Jane’s Addiction managed to combine even more styles in one album, than they have ever done. Also they did not ignore various contemporary effects, which somehow fitted the concept of the record just perfectly. The long play’s first track, Underground, presents very thick and solid guitar sound and traditionally easy recognizable voice of the frontman Perry Farrell. The following composition End To The Lies starts in quite a calm way, however at the end of the song listeners will get a mass of sound – this is a kind of contrast and differentials that the rockers mentioned long before the album’s release took place. Thereby Jane’s Addiction demonstrated very well that psychedelic rock, rock and even metal can be intertwined even within one certain song. An interesting percussion part in the very beginning of Irresistible Force (Met the Immovable Object) gradually gets more and more elements. Thus, it emphasizes not only the rememberable melody, but also the vocals. And it is quite notable that Farrell made an awesome progress in the creative aspect since Nothing's Shocking or Ritual de lo Habitual.

Eight years of waiting

It took Jane’s Addiction long eight years to get focused and prepare their new long play. However the waiting was totally worth it, because The Great Escape Artist really turned out to be an excellent record. The musicians presented only interesting and rememberable compositions with unusual and innovative techniques. Also, you cannot find an average song on the album: Twisted Tales, Splash A Little Water On It and others do not copy each other, and moreover, they do not even remind of what the rockers created several years ago. But the signature style still can be recognized, in spite of the absolutely new approach. Yes, The Great Escape Artist is not a logical continuation of Jane’s Addiction’s previous work, but it definitely became the excellent addition to the band’s discography. Alternative rock is still in the spotlight and its positions are still strong.