Perry Farrell Returns as He Sings About Martians & the Hood

In the year 1991, the hair-metal scene along with corporate schlock pop of the 80s and early 90s were starting to decline as the underground music scene of the 1980s was finally breaking through. One of the bands responsible for Alternative Rock’s rise in the early 90s were the L.A. based quartet, Jane’s Addiction. By 1991, Jane’s Addiction were on the verge of a breakthrough into the mainstream as their third album “Ritual De Lo Habitual” went gold and reached the top 20 album charts. Unfortunately, egos and drug abuse have caused turmoil for the band and by early 1991, the influential alt-rock band decided to call it quits. As a farewell to their fans, Jane’s Addiction leader Perry Farrell created a huge rock festival tour consisting of cutting edge acts from the underground music scene as Jane’s Addiction serves as headliners for their farewell tour.

The first annual Lollapalooza tour premiered in the summer of 1991 with punk rockers Henry Rollins and the Butthole Surfers; funk-metal band Living Colour; goth-rock icons Siouxsie & The Banshees; rapper Ice-T with his new band Body Count; and industrial rock upstarts Nine Inch Nails. The tour was a huge success at it helped open the gap for Alternative Rock as the bands from that first Lollapalooza were exposed to the mainstream. For Jane’s Addiction however, the turmoil between band members grew big and by the final show of the tour, Jane’s Addiction called it quits for good.

After Jane’s Addiction demise in late ’91, Perry Farrell cleaned himself up and decided to form a new band that would help Farrell explore new musical styles. Farrell brought in his former Jane’s Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins to the fold along with a couple of L.A. based musicians, guitarist Peter Di Stefano and bassist Martyn Le Noble. In the summer of 1992 as Farrell organized the second Lollapalooza festival with headliners the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Pearl Jam, Farrell premiered his new band Porno For Pyros on early dates of the tour as there was a buzz surrounding Farrell’s new band. During that summer, Porno For Pyros went to the studio to record their self-titled debut that was released in early 1993.

Although the music of Porno For Pyros had more psychedelic and funk elements into their music than Farrell’s previous band Jane’s Addiction, it’s easy to compare the two bands since both bands contain fast-wailing metal guitar riffs, sturdy bass hooks, Stephen Perkins’ wall-to-wall drumming, and Perry Farrell’s high-pitched vocals. Although both bands have similarities with one another, there are some differences between Jane’s Addiction and Porno For Pyros. Jane’s Addiction had a unique and somewhat indescribable sound that blended elements of the metal bombast of Led Zeppelin along with melodic flavors of the Cure who were the two biggest influences in Jane’s Addiction especially Led Zeppelin who many critics often compared to during their short period. Porno For Pyros has a more pop side than Jane’s Addiction but that doesn’t mean the music is overtly pop, there’s still some wild psychedelic-rock elements along with some funk elements that wasn’t heard since Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro wasn’t into funk (even though he would later play with funk-metal icons the Red Hot Chili Peppers from 1993-1998). Even though Porno For Pyros’ self-titled debut is one of the best recordings Perry Farrell has made, it isn’t strong enough to make anyone forget the music Farrell made with Jane’s Addiction.

The first song off of the band’s debut album is the song “Sadness” is a mid-tempo rocker that opens up with Peter Di Stefano’s metal textured guitars and Martyn LeNoble’s melodic bass hooks along with Stephen Perkins’ exotic and exquisite drumming as Farrell sings his cosmic lyrics of “I got the devil in me/It’s just a cloud/It’s a sadness/It’s just a cloud/Then I find compassion/And I find/These thoughts I have they seem to pass me by like a cloud” that shows Farrell still can bring his mysticism into his new band. The next song is titled oddly enough, “Porno For Pyros” that features dream-like guitar textures from Peter Di Stefano along with funky bass hooks from Martyn LeNoble as Farrell sings his chaotic lyrics that opened with lines that contained references to the 1992 L.A. riots of “Came home last night/There was fire and smoke on the TV/Cops and the army/People running out in the street looting/I took off my clothes/And came four times/Could not leave myself along” that leads to its powerful chorus of “It was porno for pyros/Porno for pyros, porno for pyros” that features a harmonica solo in the middle as Farrell continues to singing lyrics of the L.A. riots while ending the song the with a frenetic harmonica solo with a breaking piano track.

Next is the bumping “Meija” that features butt-bumping rhythm from Stephen Perkins’ colossal percussions and LeNoble’s funky bass hooks with horn bleeps and harmonica tracks as Farrell sings the song about a girl from the Latino community of East L.A. that features fast-wailing guitar solos from Di Stefano that just oozes sexuality. The next song is the single for “Cursed Female” that opens up with a harmonica solo from Farrell that is then followed by a slow but menacing rhythm from Perkins and LeNoble as Di Stefano brings in wailing guitars into the track as Farrell sings, “Cursed to be born/Beautiful, poor and female/There’s none that suffers more”. Farrell continues with his gender-filled lyrics as he sings, “She’s the queen of the bees/That buzz in the bars/Fresh as a strawberry/And she always loved dancing”. The next song is another gender-filled track titled “Cursed Male” which is a more up-tempo track than its predecessor but starts off slow with a nice melodic bass groove until it becomes a crashing rock track with Di Stefano’s psychedelic guitar textures and Stephen Perkins’ wall-to-wall percussion tracks as Farrell sings, “All the guys/That really have the money/Are too old/To have a good time with it/Too old to turn the women on/Tool old to have a car and drive it” that shows Farrell’s weird sense of humor.

Next is the classic “Pets” that opens up with LeNoble’s funky bass hooks that leads to Di Stefano’s dream-pop guitar textures and Perkins slow but exotic drum rhythms as Farrell sings his cosmic lyrics of “Children are innocent/A teenager’s f*cked up in the head/Adults are even more f*cked up/And elderlies are like children”. As Farrell continues to sing, he brings in more mystical lyrics about aliens with “Will there be another race/To come along and take over for us? Maybe Martians could do/Better than we’ve done/We’ll make great pets” that leads to repeated line of “We’ll make great pets” that is followed by wailing solo from Peter Di Stefano as Farrell continues to sing his mystical lyrics. The next song is the bumping and powerful “Bad Sh*t” where Farrell opens up saying “Got some bad sh*t” that is followed by Perkins’ crashing drums and Di Stefano’s psychedelic-metal driven guitars that accompanies Farrell’s weird and mystical lyrics. “Packin’ .25” is a slow and funky track that features funky bass and guitar hooks from LeNoble and Di Stefano respectively along mesmerizing percussions from Perkins and Farrell’s ominous vocals as he sings about the surroundings of the L.A. riots while packing a gun to protect himself.

The ballad “Black Girlfriend” that features chiming guitar tracks and a slow melodic groove as Farrell sings, “Ever since the riots/All I really wanted was a black girlfriend/They didn’t play around/They’ve had enough to keep any man in line/Thinking of my pale white skin/Thinking of her dark and smooth/She against me/My black girlfriend”. During the ballad, a funky, psychedelic jam comes in as Perkins brings in his gymnastic drum style against LeNoble’s funky bass hooks and Di Stefano’s psychedelic guitar hooks as the song returns to slow, ballad style. “Blood Rag” is frenetic and powerful track that features ominous bass hooks from LeNoble along with Perkins’ crashing drums and Di Stefano’s wild metal-blazing guitar riffs. Farrell also brings in ominous vocals with lyrical themes of violence that again referenced the L.A. riots. The album’s closer “Orgasm” is a slow but mesmerizing track that opens with a slow, melodic groove from LeNoble’s bass and Perkins’ percussions as Farrell sings about a girl who never had an orgasm in his life that features a soft but mesmerizing guitars from Di Stefano as Farrell sings his sexual-filled lyrics that show that Farrell is still a powerful and mystical lyricist.

Although Porno For Pyros’ debut release was an interesting release and was one of the better alternative rock albums of the 1990s, some fans of Perry Farrell were disappointed by the lack of power Porno For Pyros had in comparison to Jane’s Addiction. The band’s debut album went gold and got good reviews but it wasn’t good enough to satisfy the hardcore Jane’s Addiction fans and critics. In 1996, Porno For Pyros released another album that received better reviews but disappointing sales as Farrell disbanded the project in 1997 as he worked on a solo career and a couple of reunions with Jane’s Addiction. In the end, Porno For Pyros’ debut album is a fine album from Farrell and company despite being short at less than forty minutes and the fact that the sound is often compared the music Farrell made with Jane’s Addiction. For Jane’s fans that like exotic and diverse music should pick this up and Farrell’s 2001 solo release “Song Yet To Be Sung”.