Strays [Bonus DVD]

1	True Nature
2	Strays
3	Just Because
4	The Price I Pay
5	The Riches
6	SuperHero
7	Wrong Girl
8	Everybody's Friend
9	Suffer Some
10	Hypersonic
11	To Match the Sun

Barnes & Noble

While it's been more than a decade since Perry Farrell last used the Jane's Addiction moniker for a studio foray, he clearly hasn't lost sight of what made that band such an archetype for countless freak-flag flyers in its heyday. Even more important, Strays indicates that Farrell and company aren't particularly interested in merely going through the motions in order to create something on the order of a Nothing's Still Shocking. Yes, the singer is prone to improbable vocal gymnastics, and guitarist Dave Navarro is as likely as ever to unspool riffs that act more like hydraulic drills than muscle cars -- as on the dizzying opener, "True Nature" -- but Strays isn't an exercise in nostalgia. For one thing, Farrell is less intent on flaunting his decadent streak -- the undulating "The Riches" is downright sunny, borderline Summer of Love, in its praise of life's simpler, more honest pleasures. Yeah, there are outbursts of venom, such as "Wrong Girl," which uses a badass rhythm to emphasize the tale of a badass gal, but even there, the band's mood isn't unrelievedly black. Just as importantly, drummer Stephen Perkins and newly recruited bassist Chris Chaney lock together with the same loopy urgency that Perkins and Eric Avery managed in Jane's original incarnation -- especially on the frothing "Hypersonic." As cuddly as it is mangy, Strays shows Jane's Addiction to be well within reach of having nine lives. David Sprague

All Music Guide

The last time that Jane's Addiction headlined Lollapalooza behind a high-profile album was, of course, 1991. Much changed in 12 years, though, and the declining fortunes of Perry Farrell's breakthrough festival during the summer of 2003 were matched by a return from three-fourths of the original Jane's Addiction lineup on its third full album, Strays. Farrell, guitarist Dave Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins, and bassist Eric Avery (who declined his reunion invitation) had been a vision of '80s musical heaven since their studio debut, 1988's Nothing's Shocking. Farrell's art-school intelligence and originality made the band interesting, while Navarro's and Perkins' background in heavy metal (they're both significantly younger than Farrell) gave the band punch, adding the melodicism of power pop and the constant riffing of thrash. Strays is undeniably a Jane's Addiction record, and a powerful one at that. Farrell's regal, echo-laden vocals are intact (and out in front like never before), as are Navarro's ragged, lyrical guitar solos. This set of majestic jams is influenced by Farrell's second Porno for Pyros LP, Good God's Urge, a mystical mishmash of musical feelings and textures. The allure of Jane's Addiction is undiminished by Strays; this is still a band creating music unlike any other group on earth. John Bush

Rolling Stone

After years of reunion gigs and tours, Jane's Addiction have finally come up with music that can stand alongside their previous albums. Jon Pareles

Entertainment Weekly

An ambitious, exuberant effort.... [Navarro and Farrell's] compelling chemistry transforms Strays into the stuff of which comeback dreams are made. (B+) Marc Weingarten

NME

'Strays' is one of the best rock albums of 2003. (8) Simon Lewis