Los Angeles quartet Jane’s Addiction are one of the most influential and iconic rock bands to come from the late-’80s and early-’90s alternative boom. Hotly pursued when they first debuted in the mid-’80s, they released a pair of landmark albums — 1988’s Nothing’s Shocking and 1990’s Ritual de lo Habitual — before dissolving in 1991. Subsequent reunions yielded additional efforts (2003’s Strays and 2011’s The Great Escape Artist), and they maintained their cult status into the subsequent decades. After over a decade without newly recorded music, the classic lineup returned in 2024 with “Imminent Redemption.” Formed by flamboyant frontman Perry Farrell, formerly of the band Psi Com, Jane’s Addiction played a hybrid of rock music: metal with strains of punk, folk, and jazz. Rising from the Los Angeles underground, the quartet — whose classic lineup comprised of Farrell, bassist Eric Avery, drummer Stephen Perkins, and guitarist Dave Navarro — had already released its debut effort — a self-titled live recording from the Roxy in Hollywood — by the time they were signed to Warner Bros. following an aggressive bidding war. Their official studio debut, Nothing’s Shocking, landed in 1988 and immediately courted controversy. The band’s abrasive sound and attitude (typified by the nude sculpture on the cover, which Farrell created with his muse and partner at the time Casey Niccoli) led to some resistance, but Jane’s Addiction began to break through to an audience — the album spent 35 weeks on the charts and the band toured with Iggy Pop and the Ramones.
Despite internal band struggles and ongoing tensions, they recorded their next album in 1989. Again featuring provocative cover art by Niccoli, the sophomore set Ritual de lo Habitual arrived in 1990 and was the band’s commercial breakthrough, reaching the Top 20 in the U.S. Boosted by the singles “Stop!” and “Been Caught Stealing,” which were also hits on MTV, the LP was eventually certified multi-platinum. Soon after, Farrell inaugurated the traveling rock festival Lollapalooza as a farewell tour for Jane’s Addiction, alongside acts such as Siouxsie and the Banshees, Nine Inch Nails, Butthole Surfers, Living Colour, Rollins Band, Violent Femmes, and Body Count. After the tour was completed at the end of the summer of 1991, the group split. Farrell would continue to be involved with the organization of the annual Lollapalooza festival for the next several years; he also formed Porno for Pyros with Perkins in 1992, releasing their debut record the following year. After a couple of quiet years — which included forming Deconstruction, a band that didn’t release any records until 1994, with Avery — Navarro joined Red Hot Chili Peppers at the end of 1993.
By 1997, Perkins and Farrell had dissolved Porno for Pyros, while Navarro was about to resign from Red Hot Chili Peppers. After Navarro began playing with his two former bandmates again during Porno for Pyros’ final tour, a Jane’s Addiction reunion tour was announced for fall of the same year. The only catch was that Chili Peppers bassist Flea replaced Avery (Avery refused to participate, as he concentrated on his new band, Polar Bear). To coincide with the short tour, the newly reunited Jane’s Addiction issued the album Kettle Whistle, which compiled classic live performances and demos alongside a few newly recorded tracks. The album didn’t fare well on the charts, but the reunion tour was a rousing success. It didn’t lead to a permanent re-formation, however, as members went their separate ways once more after its completion. A planned film documentary of the reunion tour failed to materialize, and Rev, a best-of compilation that chronicled Farrell’s work (with Jane’s, Porno, and a few new solo tracks) was issued in 1999. His first solo full-length, Song Yet to Be Sung, saw the light of day in 2001. Navarro’s debut solo effort, Trust No One, was issued a month earlier than Farrell’s, as another Jane’s Addiction reunion was announced the same year. Avery again refused to participate, with his spot being filled by former Porno for Pyros bassist Martyn Lenoble.