The Great Escape Artist

一個出色的樂團總是不斷地突破規範，然而一個傳奇的樂團卻寫下自己的規範，「珍的耽溺合唱團Jane`s Addiction」就是這樣的一個傳奇。Jane`s Addiction是由Perry Farrell（主唱）、Dave Navarro（吉他手）、Eric Avery（貝斯手）、Stephen Perkins（鼓手）四人於1985年在加州洛城所組成。這組曾榮登VH1「史上百大硬式搖滾歌手」、名列Rolling Stone雜誌搖滾名人殿堂的樂團，自出道以來便以Punk-Funk / Funk-Metal / Art-Rock / Prog-Rock…等另類搖滾樂風，成為搖滾樂界最具代表性的另類天團之一。其中主唱Perry Farrell高聳的奇特嗓音、蘊含著詭譎的悲傷，加上吉他手Dave Navarro具有超凡節奏性的操控技巧，搭配上樂團悅耳的節奏和富於靈性的旋律，讓Jane`s Addiction在搖滾樂界有著不可動搖的地位。樂團在1988年發行了首張專輯《Nothing`s Shocking》之後，於美國地區創下白金紀錄的銷售，可說是該年度最重要的搖滾專輯之一，1990年發行驚世駭俗的第二張專輯《Ritual De Lo Habitual》，更締造出多首另類搖滾經典歌曲。然而隨著樂團的走紅，樂團團員卻面臨著藥物濫用、意見不合…等問題，終在1991暫時解散。期間Perry Farrell，這位Lollapalooza音樂節的推廣創辦人，另組樂團Porno for Pyros並發行個人專輯。直到2003年，Jane`s Addiction再次重組，獻上驚豔回歸大碟《Strays》。

睽違八年、Jane`s Addiction帶來第四張全新原創專輯《The Great Escape Artist》，找來傳奇製作人Rich Costey（Mew、Muse、Franz Ferdinand、Interpol、Glasvegas）傾力打造，更找來TV on the Radio的靈魂人物Dave Sitek（TV on the Radio、Yeah Yeah Yeahs、the Foals）擔任創意軍師。樂團靈魂人物Perry Farrell表示：「新專輯不但保有樂團既有的闇黑歌德搖滾樂風，也有來自他們對於Radiohead及Muse等樂團的靈感啟發。」首支先行單曲〈Irresistible Force〉是首星際之間的情愛故事，創作的發想來自於熱門情境喜劇影集【宇宙大爆炸The Big Bang】，主唱Perry Farrell與吉他手Dave Navarro的互飆戲碼，宣告Jane`s Addiction的完美回歸；畫面清晰駭人魂魄，〈Twisted Tales〉翻開一本塵封已久的暗黑寓言；層次鮮明的〈I`ll Hit You Back〉是用音符堆疊成的拳頭，迎頭痛擊你的交感神經；〈Splash A Little Water On It〉穿越光影與夢境之間，用六分鐘的時間交出一首十分特別的抒情單曲；心碎詩篇〈Broken People〉的傷口久久無法癒合，以最簡單的配器娓娓道來。

Jane’s Addiction never enjoyed quite the same success on this side of the pond as some of the other rockers who climbed out the LA scene of the mid-to-late-Eighties, but at their best, they had enough swagger and wit to give their sock-rocking contemporaries a run for their money.

Like the Chilis, they certainly had the chops, but while Anthony Kiedis has spent the past twenty years behaving like a bug-eyed gym bunny with personal space issues, Perry Farrell always managed to make it look effortless. Snake-hipped, stick thin and with more than a hint of the Bowies about him, he’s a great American frontman, without even having to try. It’s a pity, then, that much of ‘The Great Escape Artist’ - the band’s first outing since 2003’s ‘Strays’ - is very hard work indeed.

Farrell comes across like a man in the midst of an identity crisis, flitting between juvenile boasts and wrong-headed takes on domestic bliss in the space of a song on the ponderous ‘Splash A Little Water On It’. It’s probably telling that the only time he really sounds at home is when he’s looking back on a time before fame (“I laid my bed out / On my back seat” on ‘Twisted Tales’). But that’s only half the problem. ‘The Great Escape Artist’ is one-paced, bloodless, and frequently blighted by Dave Navarro’s ersatz Edge-isms. It’s only on closing stomper ‘Words Right Out Of My Mouth’ that they finally cut loose, but it’s too little, too late.
如果你喜欢Jane's Addiction的专辑《The Great Escape Artist》里的歌曲可以把下面的歌曲连接发给你的朋友:
1.Underground - Jane's Addiction
http://www.5nd.com/ting/518603.html
2.End to the Lies - Jane's Addiction
http://www.5nd.com/ting/518604.html
3.Curiosity Kills - Jane's Addiction
http://www.5nd.com/ting/518605.html
4.Irresistible Force - Jane's Addiction
http://www.5nd.com/ting/518606.html
5.I'll Hit You Back - Jane's Addiction
http://www.5nd.com/ting/518607.html
6.Twisted Tales - Jane's Addiction
http://www.5nd.com/ting/518608.html
7.Ultimate Reason - Jane's Addiction
http://www.5nd.com/ting/518609.html
8.Splash A Little Water On It - Jane's Addiction
http://www.5nd.com/ting/518610.html
9.Broken People - Jane's Addiction
http://www.5nd.com/ting/518611.html
10.Words Right Out of My Mouth - Jane's Addiction
http://www.5nd.com/ting/518612.html