Ritual de lo Habitual
artwork of Perry Farrell engaging in a threesome with two women.
Standard cover to the album
Studio album by
Jane's Addiction
ReleasedAugust 21, 1990
Recorded1989–1990
StudioTrack Record (North Hollywood)
Genre
Length51:30
LabelWarner Bros.
Producer
Jane's Addiction chronology
Nothing's Shocking
(1988)		 Ritual de lo Habitual
(1990)		 Strays
(2003)
Singles from Ritual de lo habitual
  1. "Stop!"
    Released: August 2, 1990
  2. "Three Days"
    Released: August 2, 1990
  3. "Been Caught Stealing"
    Released: November 15, 1990
  4. "Classic Girl"
    Released: July 17, 1991
Alternative cover
the band name, album title, and text of the first amendment to the US constitution on a white background.
"Clean" cover

Ritual de lo Habitual (Spanish for "Ritual of the Habitual") is the second studio album[6] by American rock band Jane's Addiction, released on August 21, 1990, by Warner Bros. Records. Co-produced by Dave Jerden, it was the band's final studio album before their initial break-up in 1991. Singles from Ritual de lo Habitual include "Been Caught Stealing" and "Stop!". Ritual de lo Habitual is certified 2× Platinum in the U.S.

In 1990, one month after its release, the album had sold 500,000 units.[7]

Music

The album is divided into halves. Tracks 1 through 5 are hard rock songs unrelated to each other.

Tracks 6 through 9 are in memoriam of singer Perry Farrell's deceased girlfriend Xiola Blue, who died of a heroin overdose in 1987 at the age of 19. "Three Days" and "Then She Did" bear a progressive rock influence, while "Of Course" carries a klezmer influence, with a prominent violin throughout. Eric Avery refused to play bass on "Of Course" out of resentment from being told what to play on other songs. Recording engineer and guitar tech Ronnie S. Champagne, who would later confess that Farrell had a tendency to dictate the other members' parts during the recording of this album, ended up playing bass on the song instead. For his part, Avery would later admit regret at not playing on the track.[8]

"Then She Did" also chronicles Farrell's mother's suicide when he was four years old.[9] "It's probably one of the reasons we were brought together…" remarked guitarist Dave Navarro, whose mother was murdered when he was a teenager. "I have memories of us being onstage together and, before we played 'Then She Did', Perry would grab me and say, 'Let's do this for our moms.' I still get chills when I think about it." "When you have something like that happen…" noted Farrell, "the better thing to do is to try to make some flowers grow out of it."[10]

"Ain't No Right" begins with Farrell singing excerpts from "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll" by Ian Dury and the Blockheads against a dub reggae backdrop of a drum machine and synthesized bass, which he eventually slurs into a profanity-laced rant. The intro ends and "Ain't No Right" begins.

Packaging

Two versions of the disc packaging were created: one album featured cover artwork by singer Perry Farrell, related to the song "Three Days" and including male and female nudity; the other cover has been called the "clean cover", and features only black text on a white background, listing the band name, album name, and the text of the First Amendment (the "freedom of speech" amendment, erroneously referred to as "Article 1", which in reality establishes the legislative branch of government) of the U.S. Constitution. The back cover of the "clean cover" also contains the text:

Hitler's syphilis-ridden dreams almost came true. How could it happen? By taking control of the media. An entire country was led by a lunatic… We must protect our First Amendment, before sick dreams become law. Nobody made fun of Hitler??!

The "clean cover" was created so the CD could be distributed in stores which refused to stock items with represented nudity.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
Chicago Tribune[12]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[13]
Los Angeles Times[14]
NME9/10[15]
The Philadelphia Inquirer[16]
Q[17]
Rolling Stone[18]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[19]
Select5/5[20]

Ritual de lo Habitual was acclaimed by music critics, similar to the band's previous album. "The gigantic swerve and swagger of 'Stop', the Chili Pepperish taunts of 'Ain't No Right', 'Of Course''s raga rocking and, above all, the epic 'Three Days', where guitarist David Navarro gets to pile the layers shoulder high, prove to be the stuff of true compulsion," wrote Peter Kane in Q. "Enigmatic, audacious and unpredictable to the last."[17]

"It all makes you realise how few bands actually bother to try and be any good, to play stuff that's inspirational," enthused Andrew Perry in a retrospective review for Select.[20] The same magazine later listed Ritual as the fifth best album of the '90s: "Nevermind would never have been possible without it. And, along the way, they ushered in the Led Zep revival."[21]

The album was voted the 24th best of 1990 in The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop, an annual poll of American critics nationwide. Robert Christgau, the poll's supervisor, remained unimpressed by the album, dismissing it as "junk syncretism (kitchen-sink eclecticism? styleless mish-mash?)".[22]

Other musicians have spoken highly of the album. "I can spot traces of other people on this album, us included," remarked hard rock vocalist Alice Cooper in 1994, "but that's all they are: traces. They were a really original band. This is their peak album, where they really went out on a limb. Sometimes I get so caught up in these songs, I can actually feel the band pushing themselves to their limits. Sometimes I can't believe how strong it is. I wonder if this will have the same effect on some kid as Chuck Berry had on me ..."[23]

In 2003, the album was ranked number 453 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[24] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[25]

In 2019, a book about the album, El Ritual de Jane's Addiction, was released by Argentinian journalist Fabrizio Pedrotti. It tells the story with collaborations from the band, producers and other artists from that era. Farrell and Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy wrote the foreword for it.[7]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Perry Farrell, Dave Navarro, Eric Avery and Stephen Perkins

No.TitleLength
1."Stop!"4:14
2."No One's Leaving"3:01
3."Ain't No Right"3:34
4."Obvious"5:55
5."Been Caught Stealing"3:34
6."Three Days"10:48
7."Then She Did ..."8:18
8."Of Course"7:02
9."Classic Girl"5:07

Personnel

Jane's Addiction

Additional musicians

Other personnel

  • Herman Agopyan – photography assistant
  • Victor Bracke – photography
  • Kim Champagne – advisor, art hostess
  • Ronnie S. Champagne – engineering, guitar technician
  • Chris Edwards – photography assistant
  • Perry Farrell – artwork, production
  • Ross Garfield – drum technician
  • Liza Gerberding – advisor, word hostess
  • Dave Jerden – production
  • Bob Lacivita – engineering
  • Casey Niccoli – cover artwork
  • Tom Recchion – advisor, art host
  • Eddy Schreyer – mastering

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[31] Gold 35,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[32] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[33] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[34] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ Hill, Stephen (August 23, 2022). "Jane's Addiction's Ritual de lo Habitual: the messy, chaotic birth of the most important album in alt. rock history". Louder. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  2. ↑ Patel, Sachin (August 24, 2015). "Jane's Addiction Break Down 'Ritual de lo Habitual' Track by Track". Rolling Stone Australia. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  3. ↑ McPadden, Mike (August 18, 2015). "Ritual de lo Habitual by Jane's Addiction: 25 Album Facts". VH1. Archived from the original on December 17, 2022. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
  4. ↑ Gerard, Chris (April 4, 2014). "50 Best Alternative Albums of the '90s". Metro Weekly. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Jane's Addiction - Ritual de lo Habitual". Spin. 6 (9). December 1990. ISSN 0886-3032.
  6. ↑ Epstein, Dane. "Jane's Addiction Break Down 'Ritual de lo Habitual' Track by Track". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Adelanto de "El ritual de Jane's Addiction", de Fabrizio Pedrotti". Periodismo.com. March 7, 2019.
  8. ↑ Harris, Chris (August 21, 2020). "30 Years of 'Ritual de lo Habitual': Looking Back at Jane's Addiction's Swan Song LP". Billboard. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  9. ↑ Halbert, James (August 2001). "Nasty habits". Classic Rock. No. 30. p. 59.
  10. ↑ Halbert, James (August 2001). "Nasty habits". Classic Rock. No. 30. p. 58.
  11. ↑ Prato, Greg. "Ritual de lo Habitual – Jane's Addiction". AllMusic. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
  12. ↑ Kot, Greg (September 13, 1990). "Jane's Addiction: Ritual De Lo Habitual (Warner)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  13. ↑ Sandow, Greg (September 7, 1990). "Ritual De Lo Habitual". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  14. ↑ Gold, Jonathan (September 2, 1990). "Jane's Addiction 'Ritual de lo Habitual' Warner Bros". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  15. ↑ Hobbs, Mary Anne (September 1, 1990). "The Works". NME. p. 31.
  16. ↑ Moon, Tom (September 23, 1990). "Jane's Addiction: Ritual de lo Habitual (Warner Bros.)". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  17. 1 2 Kane, Peter (October 1990). "Jane's Addiction: Ritual de lo Habitual". Q. No. 49.
  18. ↑ Davis, Erik (October 18, 1990). "Ritual De Lo Habitual". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on July 25, 2022. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  19. ↑ Hochman, Steve (2004). "Jane's Addiction". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 421–422. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  20. 1 2 Perry, Andrew (April 1995). "Jane's Addiction: Ritual de lo Habitual". Select. No. 58. p. 104.
  21. ↑ Select, February 1996
  22. ↑ Christgau, Robert (March 5, 1991). "Hard News in a Soft Year". The Village Voice. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
  23. ↑ Melody Maker, June 18, 1994
  24. ↑ "453) Ritual de lo Habitual". Rolling Stone. November 1, 2003. Archived from the original on April 27, 2007. Retrieved May 10, 2009.
  25. ↑ Dimery, Robert; Lydon, Michael (February 7, 2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 0-7893-1371-5.
  26. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Jane's Addiction – Ritual de lo Habitual". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  27. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 1347". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  28. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  29. ↑ "Jane's Addiction Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  30. ↑ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1991". Billboard. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  31. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1996 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  32. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Jane's Addiction – Ritual de lo Habitual". Music Canada.
  33. ↑ "British album certifications – Jane's Addiction – Ritual de lo Habitual". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Ritual de lo Habitual in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  34. ↑ "American album certifications – Jane's Addiction – Ritual de lo Habitual". Recording Industry Association of America.
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