Jane's Addiction (album)

Updated on Sep 21, 2024

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Released May 15, 1987 Label Triple X		Length 39:08
Recorded 1987 at The Edge Studio in Los Angeles, CaliforniaJanuary 26, 1987 at The Roxy Theatre in Hollywood, California Genre Alternative metal, alternative rock Producer Mark Linett and Jane's Addiction

Jane's Addiction is the eponymous live album by Jane's Addiction, released on May, 15 1987. Its basic tracks were recorded live at the Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles on January 26, 1987, with additional overdubs and corrections recorded at The Edge Studio in Los Angeles. An audience applause dub from a Los Lobos concert was overlayed onto the final mix.

Music

The basic tracks for the album were recorded live over a single night in Los Angeles with additional recording and overdubs done later, in studio. Many of the songs from the album would later be re-recorded for other releases. Of the band-written songs on the album, only four ("Trip Away," "1%," "I Would For You," and "My Time") have not been re-recorded and re-released, although an alternate studio demo cut of "I Would For You" was released on the 1991 compilation album Live and Rare. This version was recorded in 1986, however, and predates the Jane's Addiction album.

"Jane Says" and "Pigs in Zen" were later studio recorded and released on Nothing's Shocking, the band's major label debut. "Whores" and "Chip Away" were re-recorded in 2009 by a reunited Jane's Addiction for release on the NINJA EP, a collaboration with Nine Inch Nails to help promote the joint NINJA tour.

The album included two cover songs: "Rock & Roll" by The Velvet Underground, and "Sympathy for the Devil" by The Rolling Stones, although the latter was titled "Sympathy" on the album.

At least one other song, "Slow Divers," was recorded for the album but left off for unknown reasons. "Slow Divers" would eventually be released ten years later on the band's 1997 out-take/alternate cut/live & new track compilation album Kettle Whistle.

There were no singles released from Jane's Addiction.

Reception

"Here is proof that Jane's Addiction surpassed puberty before they came of age," wrote Nick Griffiths in a review of a CD reissue for Select. "Jane's Addiction is sex, obsession, tortured-soul food – a rape of the senses. It's no Immaculate Conception, but it's immaculate."

Packaging

Jane's Addiction is notable for having quite a large number of packaging variations in existence. There are at least four distinct variations of the CD artwork, and seven variations of the vinyl.

The variations all deal with actual disc color and art; the album cover and liner notes remain consistent across all variations in most cases. The very first CD pressing of the album, which is just a standard silver disc with track names and other info in black typeface, contains a typo in the track list on the disc itself; "Pigs in Zen" is listed as "Pigs in Ten." This typo was corrected on all subsequent pressings.

Later versions of the CD album include a blue colored disc with rounded, stylized text for the track list as well as a version that has the actual cover artwork silkscreened on the disc itself.