Jane's Addiction Nothing's Shocking CD

Jane's Addiction: Perry Farrell (vocals); David Navarro (acoustic & electric guitars); Eric A. (acoustic guitar, bass); Stephen Perkins (drums, percussion).
Additional personnel: Angelo Moore, Flea, Christopher Dowd (horns).
Engineers: Dave Jerden, Ronnie S. Champagne, Andy Harper.
Recorded at Eldorado Studios in Los Angeles, California.
Although Jane's Addiction's 1987 self-titled debut was an intriguing release (few alternative bands at the time had the courage to mix modern rock, prog rock, and heavy metal together), it paled in comparison to their now classic major-label release one year later, Nothing's Shocking. Produced by Dave Jerden and Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell, the album was more focused and packed more of a sonic wallop than its predecessor; the fiery performances often create an amazing sense that it could all fall apart at any second, creating a fantastic musical tension. Such tracks as "Up the Beach," "Ocean Size," and one of alt-rock's greatest anthems, "Mountain Song," contain the spaciousness created by the band's two biggest influences, Led Zeppelin and the Cure. Elsewhere, "Ted, Just Admit It..." (about serial killer Ted Bundy) and the haunting yet gorgeous "Summertime Rolls" stretched to epic proportions, making great use of changing moods and dynamics (something most alt-rock bands of the time were oblivious to). An incredibly consistent and challenging album, other highlights included the rockers "Had a Dad" and "Pigs in Zen," the horn-driven "Idiots Rule," the jazz instrumental "Thank You Boys," and the up-tempo "Standing in the Shower...Thinking." Like most great bands, it was not a single member whose contribution was greater: Perry Farrell's unique voice and lyrics, Dave Navarro's guitar riffs and wailing leads, Eric Avery's sturdy basslines, and one of rock's greatest and most powerful drummers, Stephen Perkins. Nothing's Shocking is a must-have for lovers of cutting-edge, influential, and timeless hard rock. ~ Greg Prato
Jane's Addiction may not have been a strict metal band, but their music was certainly full of traits inherent to metal substances: hard, gleaming, powerful. On NOTHING'S SHOCKING, which captured the much too short-lived quartet at its very peak, they were a blazing metallic supernova--grooving up a streak across the sky one moment, setting off heavy rhythmic discharges the next. Feeding off radically diverse musical elements--from art and classic rock, to hard-core punk and funk--Jane's Addiction was the last great precursor to the alternative revolution of 1991-92. Simultaneously, they were the sole inheritors of Led Zeppelin's mantra to make a different kind of sprawling heavy rock, and that they did in spades.
Thematically, NOTHING'S SHOCKING set out to prove that no subject was beyond the gleam in lyricist/vocalist Perry Farrell's (pronounced "peripheral") eye. Serial killer Ted Bundy ("Ted, Just Admit It"), punk ideology as Eastern philosophy ("Pigs In Zen"), mystic romances ("Summertime Rolls") and high-falutin', early-morning thoughts ("Standing In The Shower...Thinking") were all dissected through a psychologically-stimulating viewpoint, with a stream-of-consciousness delivery. Farrell's tales also served the band as a guide to attack the canvas, and the musicians burned heroically behind him, providing the songs with an expansive set of musical colors. Guitarist Dave Navarro continuously exploded on the drop of a dime, while bassist Eric Avery and drummer Stephen Perkins proved to be among the most formidable rhythm sections in all of rock.
Above all, NOTHING'S SHOCKING helped revive the idea that heavy rock need not be formulaic, or lack any semblance of meaningful content. Rather than focus on the old-hat aspects of the rock rebellion myth (sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll), Jane's Addiction looked in the hard-to-find places for their muse, demonstrating that metal rebels didn't have to be idiots.Rolling Stone - 4 Stars - Excellent