Regardless of his alt-rock pedigree, this humble scribe has never thought much of former Jane’s Addiction/Porno For Pyros frontman Perry Ferrell. He possesses a powerful and expressive voice and, aided and abetted by guitarist Dave Navarro, managed to create a unique sound with Jane’s Addiction that would influence a generation of bands. In an attempt to always be the smartest kid in class, Ferrell managed to people his songs with the worst sort of pretentious lyrical garbage that his unfettered id could put on paper. Song Yet To Be Sung is no different, really, Ferrell merely providing his new age English lit lyrics with a different underlying soundscape. It is this music that makes Song Yet To Be Sung work as an album, however, Ferrell’s delusions of poetic grandeur notwithstanding.
Blending alt-rock riffs with Worldbeat rhythms and a heavy dose of technologically-assisted electronica, Ferrell has created a lush musical structure on which to layer endless guitars, drums, and keyboards. Ferrell’s voice is simply mesmerizing on songs like “Happy Birthday Jubilee” or “Say Something,” soaring through the mix while musical contributors like Dave Navarro, Ray McVeigh, Krish Sharma, and Brendan Hawkins lay down a rhythmic, trance-like groove. Sort of like an advertising jingle that gets stuck in your mind, Song Yet To Be Sung is contagious, a guilty pleasure that you have to give in to. Although Perry Ferrell is still up to his old tricks while he continues to search for the perfect beat, Song Yet To Be Sung is a welcome musical oasis along his journey. (Virgin Records, released July 16th, 2001)
Review originally published by Alt.Culture.Guide™ zine
As guitarist for two of the seminal alt-rock bands to break out of the crowded eighties music scene in Los Angeles, Dave Navarro’s reputation precedes him. Along with Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell, Navarro helped to shape and define the look and sound of Lollapalooza-styled alternative rock. His blistering six-string style and exotic flourishes earned Navarro a following of his own as well as status as a guitar hero for the new millennia.
What Navarro’s legion of fans may not be prepared for is the guitarist’s solo debut, Trust No One, which sounds little like his efforts with those two well-known bands. Sure, you’ll find a soupcon of Jane in songs like “Sunny Day” or the stunningly muscular “Everything.” For the most part, however, Navarro blazes his own trail with Trust No One. “Not For Nothing” is a rampaging beast with a scalding recurring riff that teeters on the edge of madness while “Venus In Furs” draws a veil of sound around Navarro’s ethereal vocals.
The album-closing “Slow Motion Sickness” is an epic composition with looping guitars and a haunting ambience. The lyrics on Trust No One range from introspective to the surreal and Navarro’s vocals are surprisingly supple and effective. It’s the artist’s astonishing six-string work that listeners should tune in for, though, Navarro following lightning-fast riffs with delicate acoustic melodies, mixing standard hard rock style with disparate influences drawn from the blues, acoustic folk, and Middle Eastern raga.
Fans of Navarro’s earlier work owe it to themselves to check out his solo vision. Trust No One is a guitar lover’s dream come true, a solid solo effort from one of rock’s finest six-string wizards. (Capitol Records, released 2001) Review originally published by Alt.Culture.Guide™ zine
Wow! July offered a slew of new album releases but the month of August just backs the truck up to your garage and dumps a ton of great new albums for our listening experience. For one, there are a number of very cool vinyl reissues, including LPs by New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands Samson (featuring pre-Iron Maiden Bruce Dickinson) and Jaguar as well as some of Brian Eno's best work, appearing on high-resolution 45rpm vinyl for the first time since the 1970s. Throw in more great Nick Lowe albums as part of Yep Roc's restoration of the pub-rock legend's back catalog, a previously-unreleased album by power-pop kings the Raspberries, and new music by the likes of Kenny Wayne Shepherd, the Hard Working Americans, George Thorogood, Will Hoge, and others and August is a month destined to bankrupt our music budgets!
AUGUST 4
Accept - The Rise of Chaos BUY!
Coldplay - Kaleidoscope EP BUY!
Def Leppard - Hysteria [deluxe 5 CD/2 DVD reissue] BUY!
Brian Eno - Another Green World [vinyl reissue] BUY!
Brian Eno - Before and After Science [vinyl reissue] BUY!
Brian Eno - Here Come the Warm Jets [vinyl reissue] BUY!
Brian Eno - Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) [vinyl reissue] BUY!
Hard Working Americans - We're All In This Together BUY!
Jaguar - Power Games [vinyl reissue] BUY! Jane's Addiction - Ritual de lo Habitual Live at 25BUY!
Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band - Lay It On Down BUY!
Samson - Shock Tactics [vinyl reissue] BUY!
Kim Simmonds - Jazzin' On the Blues BUY!
Thor - Beyond the Pain Barrier BUY!
George Thorogood - Party of One BUY!
The Winery Dogs - Dog Years: Live In Santiago & Beyond 2013-2016 BUY!
AUGUST 11
Rick Estrin & the Nightcats - Groovin' In Greaseland BUY!
Peter Himmelman - There Is No Calamity BUY!
Will Hoge - Anchors BUY!
Paul Kelly - Life Is Fine BUY!
Dwight Yoakum - Live From Austin, TX BUY!
AUGUST 18
Grizzly Bear - Painted Ruins BUY!
Ray Wylie Hubbard - Tell The Devil I'm Getting There As Fast As I Can BUY! The Raspberries - Pop Art LiveBUY!
Steven Wilson - To the Bone BUY!
Album of the Month: The Raspberries Pop Art Live is a two-disc set that documents that near-legendary House of Blues concert performance from 2004 by the reunited Cleveland power-pop legends. Pop Art Live features live versions of songs from all four of the
band’s classic studio albums, including favorite hits like “Go All The
Way,” “I Wanna Be With You,” “Let’s Pretend,” and “Overnight Sensation
(Hit Record)” as well as their unique performances of timeless songs by
rock music legends like the Beatles and the Who. In addition to this month's CD
release, plans are to release Pop Art Live as a three-album vinyl set later this year.
Dave Navarro and Perry Farrell of Jane's Addiction
Rock legends Jane’s Addiction released its groundbreaking, earth-shaking sophomore album Ritual de lo Habitual back in the early alt-rock daze of 1990 (damn, has it really been that long ago?). The album continues to pick up new fans better than a quarter-century after its release, so it’s only fitting that the band should revisit the trailblazing recording in a live setting.
On August 4th, 2017 Rock Fuel Media, in association with Sonic Films, Cleopatra Records, and MVD Entertainment Group, will release Ritual de lo Habitual Alive at 25 on DVD and Blu-ray disc as well as on CD and vinyl LP. Directed by Mark Ritchie and produced by Barry Summers of Rock Fuel Media, Jane’s Addiction - Ritual de lo Habitual Alive at 25 documents a September 2016 concert filmed at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, the last stop on the band’s 20-city “Sterling Spoon Anniversary Tour.” The concert was filmed with 20 cameras spread across the venue and mixed in 5.1 Surround Sound.
Featuring classic Jane’s Addiction line-up of frontman Perry Farrell, guitarist Dave Navarro, bassist Chris Chaney, and drummer Stephen Perkins, the band performed a 90-minute show which included their entire Ritual de lo Habitual album along with hits from across the band’s 30-year career. In a press release for the video and album Farrell says “25 years – what a beautiful milestone for both Ritual de lo Habitual and Lollapalooza. As both were great achievements in our lives that also helped change the course of music history, we really sought to come up with a special show for this tour so that the fans could celebrate it with us.”
Producer Barry Summers of Rock Fuel Media adds, “The band’s great visual and very edgy performances always kick ass on stage. Ritual de lo Habitual is such an iconic album that changed the landscape of alternative rock that we wanted to capture the 25 year anniversary in stunning 4k. It’s quite mind-blowing and we think fans will enjoy this package for years to come.” Rock Fuel Media is an award-winning, full-service film and television production company specializing in multimedia content distribution. The company has worked with a diverse range of artists, including Guns N’ Roses, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Elvis Costello, Melissa Etheridge, the Beach Boys, Bonnie Raitt, and many others.
