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Released: August 23, 1988


Rating: 4.250 (average of 8 ratings)


Genre: alternative rock


Quotable: “If Led Zeppelin and the Doors had a child…on Ritalin” (Blender).


Album Tracks:

  1. Up the Beach
  2. Ocean Size
  3. Had a Dad
  4. Ted, Just Admit It…
  5. Standing in the Shower…Thinking
  6. Summertime Rolls
  7. Mountain Song
  8. Idiots Rule
  9. Jane Says
  10. Thank You Boys
  11. Pigs in Zen


Sales:

sales in U.S. only 1 million
sales in U.K. only - estimated --
sales in all of Europe as determined by IFPI – click here to go to their site. --
sales worldwide - estimated 1 million


Peak:

peak on U.S. Billboard album chart 103
peak on U.K. album chart --


Singles/Hit Songs:

  • Jane Says (10/8/88) #37 AR, #6 MR


Notes: --


Awards:

Rated one of the top 1000 albums of all time by Dave’s Music Database. Click to learn more. One of Blender’s 100 Greatest American Albums


Nothing’s Shocking
Jane’s Addiction
Review:
“Alt-rock goes deep – and heavy” (Blender). “Few alternative bands at the time had the courage to mix modern rock, prog rock, and heavy metal together” (Prato). “If Led Zeppelin and the Doors had a child – then divorced, leaving the tyke a latchkey kid on Ritalin – their spawn would have been Jane’s Addiction. Jane’s were a genre unto themselves” (Blender).

“Although Jane’s Addiction's 1987 self-titled debut was an intriguing release…, it paled in comparison to their now classic major-label release one year later, Nothing’s Shocking. Produced by Dave Jerden and Jane’s Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell, the album was more focused and packed more of a sonic wallop than its predecessor; the fiery performances often create an amazing sense that it could all fall apart at any second, creating a fantastic musical tension” (Prato).

“Such tracks as Up the Beach, Ocean Size, and one of alt-rock’s greatest anthems, Mountain Song, contain the spaciousness created by the band’s two biggest influences, Led Zeppelin and the Cure. Elsewhere, Ted, Just Admit It... (about serial killer Ted Bundy) and the haunting yet gorgeous Summertime Rolls stretched to epic proportions, making great use of changing moods and dynamics (something most alt-rock bands of the time were oblivious to)” (Prato).

“An incredibly consistent and challenging album, other highlights included the rockers Had a Dad and Pigs in Zen, the horn-driven Idiots Rule, the jazz instrumental Thank You Boys, and the up-tempo Standing in the Shower...Thinking. Like most great bands, it was not a single member whose contribution was greater: Perry Farrell’s unique voice and lyrics, Dave Navarro’s guitar riffs and wailing leads, Eric Avery’s sturdy basslines, and one of rock’s greatest and most powerful drummers, Stephen Perkins. Nothing’s Shocking is a must-have for lovers of cutting-edge, influential, and timeless hard rock” (Prato).


Review Source(s):


Last updated November 8, 2008.