othersider's Full Review: Ritual De Lo Habitual by Jane's Addiction
I discovered recently Rolling Stone's review of this album, way back in 1990. It was not only bad, it was simply unfair. In hindsight, though, I think the problem was mostly that they sounded so different from everyone else at the time, the reviewer (who was hopefully sacked shortly thereafter) couldn't see that this album is not only a work of art, but a masterpiece. They obviously realized their great error, because they recently included it on their list of 500 greatest albums ever, though not nearly high enough.
This album is everything a hard rock album strives to be. From the moment the guitar comes in on "Stop!", this album takes the listener on a roller coaster ride, going up and down at all the right moments. While the shorter, immediate songs ("Stop!", "No One's Leaving", "Ain't No Right", "Been Caught Stealing") are fantastic and compelling (Both "Stop!" and "Been Caught Stealing" were #1 hits way back in 1990), the real beauty of this album shines through on the longer songs - "Then She Did" and especially "Three Days". The latter is a grand, building epic masterpiece that tops ten minutes, and is easily one of the greatest hard rock songs ever made. Finally, the album closes with "Classic Girl", a softer number that ends the adventure perfectly. If there is indeed an heir to the great Led Zeppelin in the post-classic rock era, it is Jane's Addiction, and this album reaffirms that unmistakably.
Many people who heard and appreciated Nothing's Shocking might have said there was no way they could ever top that album. They couldn't have been disappointed with Ritual de lo Habitual. And if they never came anywhere close to making a record this good again....well, not many people could, either.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.