Chris DeLine

The last thing that the world needs right now is another Jane’s Addiction album. On the strength of “Just Because” alone, fans were given hope that Jane’s Addiction could return to some sort of prominence. While it was a commercial success (achieving Platinum status State-side) 2003’s Strays was essentially a dud… leaving us fans to consider why we had thought the impossible to be possible.

With the impending Nine Inch Nails/Jane’s tour in the works, the re-reunited band took to the studio to get in the spirit of things and re-recorded a few tracks with the aid of Trent Reznor. And once again, on the strength of just a small taste, we’re left to consider the plausibility of a remotely good release from the band in the future. This time, however, the taste comes in the form of a Reznor-mixed version of a song that’s been around for decades; “Whores,” having appeared on both the band’s 1987 self titled debut release and 1997’s live/rarities album Kettle Whistle.

“Whores” essentially opens with the bass line from the crushing “Mountain Song,” but with Reznor manning the dials, the new version has a heavy kick to it that wasn’t previously audible on the earlier releases. It’s not enough to leave me considering whether or not the band has it in them to record another great album… but maybe in place of the band’s forthcoming box set they should just work with Reznor (since he’s going to have some free time on his hands, and all) to re-record a bunch of songs from back when they still had a shred of credibility. Either way, at least the last memory of the band’s recorded work won’t be “True Nature.”

[This post was first published by Culture Bully.]