AM I BEING TOO CYNICAL ABOUT THE NEW JANE’S ADDICTION ALBUM ART?

The first thing I thought of when I saw the cover of Jane’s Addiction’s new album, The Great Escape Artist, was the cover of Jane’s Addiction’s old album, Ritual de lo Habitual. Of course, there are some very obvious differences between the two; in fact, all they really have in common is that they’re both still photographs of sculptures. (The Ritual art is by vocalist Perry Farrell; I’m not sure if he’s also responsible for the Escape art or not.)

But the mere fact that the band went back to that well twenty-odd years later strikes me as being fishy, kinda like when Metallica suddenly reverted to their old logo on the cover of Death Magnetic after fifteen years of not using it for the Load or St. Anger releases (to say nothing of various compilations and live recordings, VHS and DVD releases, and merchandise). It seems like a ploy to invoke nostalgia in fans and reassure them that, “Hey, we know we fucked up, but look! We’re back to being the band you knew and loved!”

Check out both album covers below, and then tell me if I’m being too cynical or not in the comments section. The Great Escape Artist comes out October 18 on Capitol.

The Great Escape Artist:

Ritual de lo Habitual:

-AR