JANE’S ADDICTION”Kettle Whistle”Warner Bros.* * *This grab...

JANE’S ADDICTION

“Kettle Whistle”

Warner Bros.

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This grab bag of vintage demos, studio outtakes and live recordings is really nothing more than an ancillary byproduct of this hugely influential late-’80s/early-’90s band’s reunion tour. The two new tracks, in particular, are just warmed-over Porno for Pyros, and feature singer Perry Farrell’s annoying, quasi-mystical musings. The live material, on the other hand, is a jolting reminder of just how incendiary the group was when firing on all pistons.

If “Kettle Whistle” has anything to prove, it’s that Jane’s Addiction was a great band, and not just a supporting cast for Farrell. On the 1990 live recording of “Three Days,” guitarist Dave Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Eric Avery (who isn’t joining in the reunion) segue from a subdued dirge into an extended, hypnotic tribal war dance.

Similarly, “Ain’t No Right” and “Stop!” feature the epic blend of Zeppelinesque thrash boogie and Grand Guignol histrionics that helped ratify Jane’s reputation as one of the preeminent bands ever to come out of Los Angeles.

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