In the mid-1980s in Los Angeles, the music scene was a hotbed of different musical styles that was all over the city. One section, there was the L.A. glam-metal movement that consisted of bands like Quiet Riot, Motley Crue, and Poison. In the other end of the metal spectrum, there was the thrash scene led by Megadeth. Then there's an underground scene that came out of the punk world as it featured an array of diverse bands like the Bangles, Fishbone, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Another band from that underground scene was Psi Com that led by a unique vocalist named Perry Bernstein who would change his surname to Farrell. The band was falling apart around the time Farrell met a bass player named Eric Avery. The two shared their love for bands like the Velvet Underground and Joy Division as Psi Com disbanded as they formed a new band with a few musicians.

It was later that Avery brought in drummer Stephen Perkins who brought in a guitarist named Dave Navarro. The four individuals would come together as Jane's Addiction where they became a huge club sensation in the L.A. underground. The band would eventually become one of the most influential rock bands of the alternative music scene from the late 80s to the early 90s. Yet before they became an influential force in music, they were just an underground band that caught the attention of several labels. Before they would sign with Warner Brothers, the band had already recorded a live debut album for the independent label Triple X records.

The band's self-titled live debut album is produced and performed by the band with eight original songs and two covers. Recorded at the Roxy Theater in 1987 with some studio overdubs, the album shows the band at their most raw, uncompromising, and energetic. Filled with an array of songs that shows the band's versatility from hard rock, punk, Goth, art-rock, and acoustic tracks along with Perry Farrell's strange, dirty, and eccentric lyrics. At the same time, it shows a band whose sound is truly undefinable that remains baffling to this day. The result is an amazing, sprawling, and diverse debut record from Jane's Addiction.

The albums opens with the hard-rocking Trip Away led by Stephen Perkins' barreling, rumbling drums with its array of tom-tom, bass, and snare fills. With Dave Navarro's swanky, driving guitars and Eric Avery's melodic, loopy bass lines along with Perry Farrell's high-pitch, screeching vocals. The song is a rock song of a different kind with its unconventional, upbeat rhythms and driving guitars and bass along with Farrell's unique, dark lyrics. With a smooth break filled with slow drum rhythms, Avery's sturdy bass lines, and Navarro's enchanting, arpeggio guitars, Farrell and Avery sings eerie lyrics as it returns to its frenetic rock presentation led by Navarro's wailing guitar solo. Wh*res begins with Avery's melodic, swirling bass lines as it becomes this hard, upper, mid-tempo song with crashing drums that are powerful from Perkins' delivery and Navarro's metal-drenched guitar playing. Yet, it's Farrell's screeching vocal deliveries and imagery-laden lyrics of the L.A. streets that provides the song's sense of angst along with Navarro's wailing, shimmering guitar playing.

Next is an early version of Pigs In Zen that starts out swimmingly with Farrell's swooning vocals, Navarro's melodic arpeggios, and Avery's sturdy bass lines until Avery provides a slow pluck for Perkins' upbeat drum performance filled with unconventional snare fills. Then the song becomes this head-thumping rocker with driving guitars and bass lines that's a dash of metal mixed in with funk. With Farrell's screeching vocals and lyrics filled with angst and anger as he includes a rant near its coda where he states "I just wanna f*ck" as it also features Navarro's metal-wailing guitar solo in parts of the song. 1% is a another upbeat song with Perkins' unconventional beats and rhythms with cowbells and other percussive instruments as Navarro plays a fuzzy, metal-drenched guitar with Avery's melodic, thumping bass. Farrell's angry vocals about governments and gangs provide its unique tone. Even as the song goes into full-mode rock with Avery's thumping, swirling bass line, Perkins' hard-hitting drums, and Navarro's wailing guitar solo as it would return to its original rhythm.

The ballad I Would For You is led by Eric Avery's sturdy, melodic-laden bass line as it accompanies Perry Farrell's somber, high-pitch vocals filled with melancholic lyrics about love. With Dave Navarro playing a swooning keyboard in the background, it's Farrell's vocals and Avery's bass that are the song's highlights. The album's second half begins with an acoustic suite of sorts starting with My Time. A mid-tempo song with Farrell playing a harmonica solo with Navarro and Avery accompanying on acoustic guitars with Perkins' smooth, mid-tempo drums. With Farrell's crooning, high-pitch vocals leading the way with imagery-laden lyrics about Los Angeles, it's a wonderful, intimate acoustic song. Next is an early version of Jane Says with its island-like melodies, swooning acoustic riffs, and Perkins playing a smooth bongo performance. The song is about a lonely woman trying to kick drugs as it's one of the band's defining moments with Farrell's raspy, screeching vocals leading the way.

Next are two acoustic-electric covers of famed rock songs with the first being the Velvet Underground's Rock N' Roll. With its smooth, upbeat tempo and rhythms along with Eric Avery's acoustic guitar accompaniment and Navarro's noodle-like guitar riffs. Farrell sings Lou Reed's lyrics about the phenomenon of rock n' roll as it's a great cover of a VU classic as it features an extended acoustic coda that segues to its next track. Sympathy For The Devil by the Rolling Stones is given an acoustic make over of sorts with vibrant bongos by Stephen Perkins, Avery's swift acoustic accompaniment, and Farrell's high-pitch, wailing vocals to Mick Jagger's haunting lyrics. The song is acoustic for its first half until Navarro plays a frenetic, wailing guitar solo along with Perkins' bass-pounding drums in the coda.

The album closer is Chip Away is a powerful, charging song with hollow, pummeling drums with Navarro's noisy, feedback guitars in the background to Farrell's wailing vocals. Filled with lyrics about California and its background, it's easily one of the band's great moments that includes a quiet break where Farrell and Avery sing until it returns to its pummeling presentation with Navarro's screeching guitar as it closes the song.

While the record isn't perfect due to some studio overdubs which are heard prominently in songs like I Would For You and Chip Away along with audience tracks which are from another concert. Yet, it's an album that reveals the potential Jane's Addiction would bring to their studio albums. At the same time, it reveals a unique sound to the band that is unlike anything else in rock. In Stephen Perkins, there's a drummer who doesn't play traditional fills devoting more to polyrhythms and percussions to give a vibrant yet unconventional feel to the rhythm. Eric Avery is a unique bass player who plays with a pick as he goes for simplicity and melody as if he's playing a lead instrument where he drives the song instead of focusing on proving backbone to the rhythm section. Dave Navarro is unique for his hybrid style of playing that ranges from Goth, metal, hard rock, post-punk, and punk who will play a traditional solo but with a ferocity and style that is amazing to hear.

In many ways, it's what gives Jane's Addiction its unique sound as you get can a drummer like Stewart Copeland from the Police or Mickey Hart from the Grateful Dead on drums with someone like Peter Hook of Joy Division/New Order to play bass. On guitar, there could be someone like a Jimi Hendrix or Bauhaus' Daniel Ash playing. With those three elements in Perkins, Avery, and Navarro on the three corners of a square, you have Perry Farrell on the vocals. Farrell definitely is a vocalist of his own kind who is a storyteller and commentator but with a voice that is loud at times and also somber. To call Jane's Addiction a hard rock band is misleading because there's more to them than just a rock band. The acoustic songs and ballads show something different about them which is why music experts have a hard time categorizing them into one genre of music.

When this record was released, it was an underground hit as it helped the band get a deal with Warner Brothers. Since its release in 1987 along with the band's success in the late 80s and early 90s, it was a success that helped provide the band acclaim they received in their hey-day and afterwards.

Jane's Addiction self-titled live debut album is an excellent album from the band as it features future classics along with live staples they would play in the years to come. Though the record is hard to find nowadays due to the fact that it was released on Triple X records in retail, it is still available on the Internet. Fans of the band will no doubt see this record as essential though doesn't stand up to the brilliance of studio releases like Nothing's Shocking and Ritual de lo Habitual. Audiences new to the band will find this as a worthy introduction though Nothing's Shocking is the best place to start. In the end, Jane's Addiction's debut album is truly a mesmerizing, chaotic, and powerful album from the influential alternative rock band.

Jane's Addiction Reviews: Nothing's Shocking - Ritual de lo Habitual - Kettle Whistle - Strays - NINJA 2009 Tour Sampler - A Cabinet of Curiosities - NIN/Jane's Addiction/Street Sweeper Social Club-5/10/09, Atlanta, GA-Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheater

Recommended: Yes

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