Strays is the third studio album by American alternative rock band Jane's Addiction, released July 22, 2003 on Capitol Records. To date, this is the only studio album released by a re-united Jane's Addiction and is the only album to feature bassist Chris Chaney. Drummer Stephen Perkins states that the band had already completed two reunion tours playing old material, and that they were ready for "a new challenge."[1] According to front-man Perry Farrell, the band "went into the studio thinking fast, hard, modern, and to the point."[1]
Upon its first week of release, the album sold 110,500 copies in America and is currently certified Gold.[2] In the UK, the album is certified Silver, having sold over 60,000 copies.[3]
The single, "Just Because", was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2004, while "Superhero" is used during the opening credits of the HBO series Entourage.
[edit] Background and Recording
According to drummer Stephen Perkins "it all started around March or April 2002 with Bob Ezrin producing a Porno for Pyros track for the movie Dark Blue, an incredible song called "Streets of Fire" which was just epic. That segued into the Strays project."[4]
The band entered Henson Recording Studio in 2002, with producers Bob Ezrin and Brian Virtue. Speaking of Ezrin, Farrell noted that: "he raise[d] the bar for all of us. It's like training for the Olympics - something you are aspiring towards in creating art. You're trying to make the most beautiful music, you try to break new ground creating sound that no one's ever heard before. When working with Bob; doing that becomes a very real possibility."
Bassist, Martyn LeNoble, was fired half-way through the recording. LeNoble states that he:
recorded pretty much the whole Strays record. And Perry erased it. He suddenly fired me on the spot in Japan when we still had a whole flight back to the US. That's the last time I talked to him. Perry and Bob (Ezrin) replaced all my bass parts on Strays. Perry was saying everything I played sounded like shit, but then they had the new guy pretty much play exactly my parts, maybe a couple of little changes, so I guess they couldn't have been that shitty.[4]
LeNoble was replaced by Chris Chaney, whom Dave Navarro described as "perhaps the most intense musician I've ever worked with."[1] Regarding his arrival in the band, Chaney noted that:
Dave and Stephen have been playing together since they were 13 years old, they have quite a synergy or chemistry and for me as a bass player to be able to come into that is really remarkable, it gives me a great opportunity to shine. I did a record with Tommy Lee and we needed a drummer to go tour with and what better drummer than Stephen Perkins. I was only able to do it for about 6 weeks because I was playing with Alanis Morissette and I had to go back to that, but in that short time, Stephen and I had a great relationship and last August he called me and asked me to do some shows.[5]
[edit] Reception
The album received generally positive reviews, with a Metacritic score of 75, based on 19 reviews.[6] Playlouder noted that "their glee and enthusiasm can be heard coursing through every bar."[6], while NME claimed that Strays was "one of the best rock albums of 2003."[7] and Alternative Press stated that the album was "better than anyone could have predicted."[6]
While still giving the album a positive review, Stylus Magazine notes that the album is "good in its own right, but perhaps you're better off listening to it in isolation from the rest of their canon."[6] and Pitchfork Media claims that "Strays lacks what made the band great in the first place: believable songs and lyrics."[8]
The album remains controversial amongst Jane's Addiction's fanbase for its departure from their earlier sound, and the album's songs have been ignored from setlists since the return of the band's original bassist Eric Avery.
In 2009, Navarro stated: I really liked [Strays]. I had a great time working with Bob Ezrin, who produced it. That’s what makes doing stuff like this really amazing for me.[9]
[edit] Track listing
- Songs by Farrell/Navarro/Perkins/Ezrin/Chaney unless otherwise noted.
- "True Nature" – 3:49 (Perry Farrell/Dave Navarro/Stephen Perkins/Bob Ezrin/Martyn LeNoble)
- "Strays" – 4:32 (Farrell/Navarro/Perkins/Ezrin/Aaron Embry/David J)
- "Just Because" – 3:51
- "Price I Pay" – 5:27
- "The Riches" – 5:44 (Farrell/Navarro/Perkins/Ezrin/Embry/LeNoble)
- "Superhero" – 3:58 (Farrell/Navarro/Perkins/Ezrin/Embry)
- "Wrong Girl" – 4:32
- "Everybody's Friend" – 3:18 (Farrell/Navarro/Perkins/Ezrin)
- "Suffer Some" – 4:14 (Farrell/Navarro/Perkins/LeNoble/Ezrin)
- "Hypersonic" – 3:32 (Farrell/Navarro/Perkins/Ezrin/LeNoble)
- "To Match the Sun" – 5:25 (Farrell/Navarro/Perkins/Ezrin/LeNoble)
[edit] Singles released
[edit] Personnel
- Perry Farrell – vocals, programming
- Dave Navarro – guitars, piano
- Chris Chaney – bass
- Stephen Perkins – drums, percussion
- Bob Ezrin – producer, mixing, additional keyboards, percussion, orchestral arrangements
- Brian Virtue – producer, engineer, mixing, programming
- James Murray – additional engineering
- Alex Gibson – additional engineering
- Brian Humphrey – assistant engineer
- Alex Uychocde – assistant engineer
- Aaron Embry – keyboards, kalimba
- Zack Ray – keyboards
- Joe Bishara – programming
- Scott Page – saxophones
- John Shanks – mandolin
- Mike Finnegan – organ
- Brenden Hawkins – additional programming
- James Murray – additional programming
- Kim Hill – backing vocals
- Dionna Brooks-Jackson – backing vocals
- Leanna Sterios – orchestral arrangements
- Brian Gardner – mastering
[edit] Charting Positions
| Year | Chart | Position |
| 2003 | Billboard Top 200 | 4 |
| 2003 | Top Internet Albums | 4 |
| 2003 | Top Canadian Albums | 4 |
[edit] Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
| 2003 | "Just Because" | Billboard Hot 100 | 72 |
| 2003 | "Just Because" | Modern Rock Tracks | 1 |
| 2003 | "Just Because" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 4 |
| 2003 | "True Nature" | Modern Rock Tracks | 30 |
| 2003 | "True Nature" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 35 |
[edit] Selected quotes
- Perry Farrell: Working with Bob Ezrin on Strays meant a lot because I knew that Dave loved Pink Floyd's The Wall, which Ezrin produced. Dave learned The Wall (as a kid). He can play the whole album note for note. I knew he'd instantly have a lot of respect for him.
- Bob Ezrin: My job on Strays was to bring a sort of commonality to the process and make everyone think it was a group effort again and not just a bunch of solo projects trying to be strung together.
- Martyn LeNoble: Bob Ezrin didn't really understand Jane's Addiction musically. I remember arguing with him, "Like man, have you listened to Ritual?" He goes, "Frankly, I can't get through it. I think it sounds horrible. I'm going to make this a real rock band instead of an art rock band." Well, he succeeded. He took all the magic out of it. He made a rock record. The most magical moments on the Jane's Addiction records are the quiet little adventures to the left, and, of course Eric's magic bass. Eric Avery is the man.
[edit] In pop culture
- The song "Suffer Some" was used on the soundtrack for the video game Tony Hawk's Underground.
- The song "Hypersonic" was used on the soundtrack for the video game SSX3.
- The song "Superhero" is used as the main theme of the HBO series Entourage.
- The song "True Nature" was used on the soundtrack for the video game MLB 2005.
[edit] References
[edit] Bibliography
- Whores: An Oral Biography of Perry Farrell and Jane's Addiction, Brendan Mullen, Da Capo Press (March 13, 2006), ISBN 0306814781
[edit] External links
