The old five-point scale has been retired in favor of just rating stuff 1-10, which allows me a much more nuanced final rating. Still don't take it that seriously. Most of these come from my own collection, so the grades skew rather high. Your results may vary if you send me stuff to review.

Each album is given three Essential tracks, my personal favorites, regardless of how weird and inconsequential they are. The Quintessential pick is the one I think best represents the album as a whole, so you can try one song instead of a whole album of songs. Non-Essential picks range from merely disappointing to outright unlistenable.

Jane's Addiction

[#] Ritual de lo Habitual (1990)

Art without aim is no art at all.

Reviewed December 17, 2021

(This is an album that was previously covered on the Rediscovering! Click the link in the table to read my first impressions, or read on for how they might have changed.)

"This is their peak album, where they really went out on a limb. [...] Sometimes I can't believe how strong it is. I wonder if this will have the same effect on some kid as Chuck Berry had on me." That was Alice Cooper talking about this album. Taking the piss doesn't begin to cover it. For all of Jane's Addiction's technical proficiency, for all the klezmer stomps and fiddle jitters, Spanglish intros and grandiose lyrical ideas, I cannot shake the feeling that Ritual is like listening to four consummate professionals JO. And listen—masturbation is good for you. That doesn't mean I need to be party to it though.

This album is an awkward split between more typical (and far more enjoyable) Jane's fare with opener "Stop!" and gigantically groovy hit "Been Caught Stealing" and an awkward, ambling suite of opioid haze art rock pieces that don't really communicate anything and certainly don't amount to anything. If you can tell me what I'm supposed to get out of "Then She Did...", would you please let me know? The sounds aren't all that pretty, nor are they interesting, dynamically, Jane's operate at exactly two speeds, there are no hooks beyond the singles, and Perry Ferrell has never written a single interesting lyric in his life, even when he's touching on weighty topics like the deaths of his mother and ex-girlfriend. Folks—ambition does not make you write good music. Simple as.

Essential:	"Stop!", "Been Caught Stealing", I guess "Ain't No Right"
Quintessential:	"Classic Girl"
Non-Essential:	"Then She Did..."
Rating:
Further listening:	Ritual de lo Habitual's Rediscovering entry