flash-hammer's Full Review: Ritual de lo Habitual by Jane's Addiction
Despite the fact it is the album that really made a name for Jane’s Addiction in the early 1990s, Ritual de lo Habitual was actually the album I went into least prepared with regards to the group’s 3 studio records. Everyone I knew loved Nothing's Shocking, which included the iconic Mountain Song and the fantastic calypso drum-employing Jane Says, and the group’s most recent record, Strays was naturally a big talking point, but I didn’t even know anyone who had heardRitual de lo Habitual in any form, so I went into it blind.
At the time of this record’s release, which was 1990, the world was still dealing with the original Jane’s Addiction, led by flamboyant singer Perry Farrell and comprising of guitarist Dave Navarro, bassist Eric Avery and drummer Stephen Perkins, the group became an alt-rock phenomena in the late 1980s and early 1990s with their lovely punk/metal hybrid guitars, fantastic basslines and Farrell’s unmistakable vocals comprising the backbone of their act, the group were also not afraid to experiment with slower and more experimental sounds, which earned them a loyal following.
The first thing to note about Ritual de lo Habitual is the track-listing wise, at 9 songs, it’s a fairly short record. However, when you take into account that there are 3 songs that breach the 7 minute barrier, it would be wrong to say that it’s a short record in terms of running time.
Indeed, upon reading into the record, the last one to feature the original line-up, I did some reading and discovered that one of these tracks, Three Days, is regarded as one of the band’s finest tracks, and upon listening, I tend to agree. At 10:48, it’s about one of the longest rock songs I’ve ever heard, and while it undergoes 3 changes in sound, from the brooding, bassy beginnings to a more upbeat buildup before coming to it’s climax as a more menacing piece, unlike many songs that change style, it manages to maintain a feeling of consistency that makes it so much more brilliant.
As for the other two epic-length numbers, they actually come in the immediate aftermath of 3 days, and while they have their strengths and merits…I don’t feel either Then She Did… nor Of Course, a Middle Eastern-twanged number, quite match up to the classic that is Three Days.
But while Ritual de lo Habitual may have become known for it’s sprawling epics, the album also contains it’s share of ‘standard’ Jane’s Addiction rockers. Granted, as anyone whose ever listened to the band will tell you, there is very little ‘standard’ about them. From Farrell’s high-pitched, almost delirious at times vocals, Navarro’s wailing Heavy Metal-via-70s punk riffs, Avery’s pounding basslines and the steady beat held by Perkins, Jane’s Addiction had no weakness with regards to their members, and each member contributed in equal importance to each song.
Songs like album opener Stop!, No One‘s Leaving and the fan-favourite ode to shoplifting Been Caught Stealing are the bread and butter of a Jane’s Addiction sandwich, the fast paced, electric rock numbers where Farrell’s vocals seem to be duelling with Navarro’s guitar for attention. It’s hard to dislike songs like these, especially when the band performs them with such power, and Farrell’s charisma with the microphone, and it’s not really hard to see why this was the route they took for this record’s belated follow up, Strays. I guess Ain’t No Right, a song which the band gives a nod to Ian Dury in the intro of, also fits into this category, but the remaining songs, Perry’s somewhat stretched and hollow feeling ballad to his girlfriend Classic Girl and the meandering shot at the media in Obvious don’t really do much for me.
While I tried to make a point of it in the beginning, ultimately the record’s failing lies in it’s track listing, or to be more specific, the brevity of it. While the length of the album isn’t questionable, I do think that at times, the band are still guilty of stretching songs out too long(although ironically, the longest of them all is one of the few occasions where I feel the bloated length is justified), and you don’t really feel like you are getting as long an album as you are.
Still, any fans of Jane’s Addiction, or early 1990s/late 1980s alternative rock will find much to cherish in Ritual de lo Habitual, I think it sounds a whole lot slicker than Nothing's Shocking, and Farrell has improved as a vocalist, he no longer verges into painful screeching, as well as packing in a good few rockers in the vein of Mountain Song, which I know is a big selling point to a lot of listeners.
So while Ritual de lo Habitual may be an album short on tracks, it’s not one short on appeal. It may not be perfect, but it’s mix of heady and, at times, self-indulgent 7 minute epics and 4 minute blitzkrieg rockers makes for an entertaining album, and even if the band were never lyrically magnificent, Dave Navarro’s ridiculously good solos often evoke more emotion for a song than most words could anyway.
This would, of course, be Jane’s last album before drug and personality issues forced them to split shortly afterwards. During this time, Navarro probably made the biggest name for himself, as a sometime member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Carmen Elektra’s husband and a sometime guest musician, before the group reformed, minus Avery, in the late 90s, where they remained as somewhat of a unit until falling out again in 2005.
Track Listing
1. Stop!
2. No One's Leaving
3. Ain't No Right
4. Obvious
5. Been Caught Stealing
6. Three Days
7. Then She Did...
8. Of Course
9. Classic Girl
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