(15-TRACK �BEST OF�/ 1997)
Keeping up grand appearances alongside the rocking power and glory that Rage Against The Machine once exhibited (Aii!, before Zack faithfully departed), American four-piece Jane�s Addiction were once massive business, and legend has it from those there that they were one of the most thrilling live acts on Planet Rock. This 15-track �collection� collates 6 live tracks, demos, out-takes and 4 �new� tracks. The newie LP-opener in the innocently-curious, coming-of-age inquisitiveness of �Kettle Whistle� (�What makes a poor baby older than a rich one? Why do we need to belong to someone else?�) oozes gorgeous Smashing Pumpkins-cultured intimacy, an intimacy that�s not so liltingly heard again till the exquisite �Jane Says� � �cause Simon didn�t. Wielding that towering guitar sound like RATM, Perry Farrell�s sensitive vocals are best-suited when restlessly ripping over barer, acoustic tracks - the trippily narcotics-infused �Slow Divers� (�You know the plants on the rocks are crazy�!) a perfect example, complimenting Up The Beach�s slower & cooler toned-down vibrancy, contrasting monumentally against one of their earliest works in �Mountain Song,� an awesomely powerful demo from their early days in 1986� remember: those days when rock was commercially orientated in poodle-haired, hedonistically immature rockers� favour. Motley Crue�s tongue-in-cheekiness couldn�t have been more disposable against Jane�s Addiction: a stronghold that compellingly fleshes out �My Cat�s Name Is Maceo� with a hustling carnival vibe. Highlight �Jane Says� (�Have you seen my wig around? I feel naked without it� Jane says �I�ve never been in love� - she only knows if someone wants her�) wallops a steel band effect over Dave Navarro�s acoustic guitar, appetite-whetting before �Slow Divers� pits acoustic guitar against Perry�s over-bowling, Buckley-esque vox and Stephen Perkins� Eastern-inflamed drumbeat. Hypocritically introducing Been Caught Stealing�s studio out-take, mainman Perry �asks the audience� (?) if they get kicks from stealing mates� girlfriends, droning that if that�s what turns them on, they�ve seriously got no honour in their lives, and that that � obviously � is not Jane�s fault� BUT he can�t talk when there�s nothing to be read between the lines with �Stealing,� openly admitting he and his girl are proud-to-be shoplifters. The low-key acoustic rendition of their indiscriminate �City� (�Wrote my name on the wall� Being famous�) reprises Kettle Whistle�s intimacy in a more rickety manner, with hand-claps, a shaky Country feel and mellow chorus standing-up for their well-versed fight in favour of dynamics. Henry Rollins penned the unanimously-praising liner notes, and to quote him� Jane�s was �One of the truly great bands � about as good as live music gets.� Even if they�re prone to be lyrically lazy. www.janesaddiction.com (STEVE RUDD. 19/4/01)