Jane’s Addiction was, in many ways, the perfect band for their time. A precursor to 90s grunge and a stirring combo of arty-punk and LA glam, they had the heavy riffs and the eyeliner to match. Unfortunately the 2011 Jane’s Addiction isn’t as powerful as their younger selves. The band suddenly stops and devotes the rest of the record, The Great Escape Artist, to more slippery spacey tunes. A decision that could be seen as wise since they aren’t the same rocking people they once were, but is also a tedious listen.

The album becomes a yawn for much of the middle. The studio textures work here and there, but never for a sustained song. Jane’s early work often balanced the professional major label vibe with the reckless abandon of musicians enthused by their volume and potency.

Singer Perry Farrell’s epic yodel sounds remarkably unchanged since the band’s beginnings, but the melodies he’s singing are often completely boring, like the worst of the worst, “Irresistible Force (Met the Immovable Object)“. This song is an overblown production so hammy it could be a closing credits piece to a Jerry Bruckheimer film. “Twisted Tales” sounds like the cliched work of a corporate rock band and that is heartbreaking because Jane’s somehow got past the cliches on their early albums.

The band made a work of proficient textures here, but the sound of musicians getting their work done without any danger or excitement failed to add any real positives to their legend.

The Great Escape Artist struggles to make sense of a legendary past by trying to move forward. It’s not the utter failure some expected from Jane’s Addiction, but it’s not devoid of mistakes either.

Final Words: Jane says, “let’s get spacey”.