What better way to welcome founding member Eric Avery back into the
Jane’s Addiction fold than by putting out a box set of recorded
trinkets? Never mind that this Jane’s lineup was responsible for only
two full-length studio albums or that the hodgepodge of recordings that
is 1997’s Kettle Whistle adds a hint of redundancy to
Cabinet. With two of the CDs from this package consisting of
demos and rarities from 1986-91 and the third disc being a 1990
live-show recording, it comes off like a more fleshed-out rarities
collection. That said, this retrospective allows for a deeper
appreciation for the solidly rendered subversity Perry Farrell and
company were foisting on the masses. While Farrell’s feral screech and
Dave Navarro’s heavily melodic riffing made the band immediately
identifiable, it was the Avery/Stephen Perkins rhythm section that lent
a tribal mysticism to songs like the ethereal “Mountain Song” and
swaggering “Ocean Size.”
All this and more are included in demo form along with the
aforementioned live set from the Hollywood Palladium. The band’s odd
mish-mash of covers that include Dylan, Bauhaus, the Doors, and the
Grateful Dead makes for a quirky tour of the band’s inspiration. But
it’s the fourth disc, a DVD containing the 1989 home video Soul
Kiss and its blend of blurred sexuality, gonzo interviews, and odd
scenes with a pet chicken and eel that captures Jane’s Addiction’s core
eccentricities on a set that’s tailor-made for completists only.
(Warner Brothers/Rhino)
