Perry Farrell tells Billy Corgan why Jane’s Addiction opted for a live debut album
Smashing Pumpkins singer Billy Corgan has said he was surprised to hear that Jane’s Addiction chose to release a live album as their debut over a studio endeavour. He had thought it more likely a symptom of pressure from their label at the time.
Corgan met up with his Jane’s Addiction counterpart Perry Farrell for a chat on Live Nation’s 1:1 video interview series when Farrell revealed why his band actually forced the decision to present 1987’s Jane’s Addiction as a live recording prior to their deal with Warner Records.
The eponymous debut record’s basic tracks were recorded live at the Roxy Theatre in LA in January 1987, with a handful of overdubs and corrections recorded later at The Edge Studio.
The conversation began with Corgan remembering the first time he heard Janes Addiction at a friend’s house in Chicago in the late 1980s. He recalled feeling “an instant connection” to the LA band and their raw sound.
Corgan, a huge fan of Jane’s Addiction, remembered Smashing Pumpkins’ early set opening for them in 1988, around the time of Nothing’s Shocking. “I think I saw you live even before I heard the record,” Corgan said, adding that it’s a “cool” experience few fans can enjoy.
“That’s why the first record I wanted people to ever hear from us was a live record,” Farrell answered, revealing that he told Warner that his band would sign with the label on the condition that their debut was a live album.
“I didn’t know that,” retorted Corgan. “I always thought – you know, typical musician brain – I thought you guys did it because it was a sort of quicker and easier way to make a record. You know, I didn’t know that you’d asked for that.”
Farrell explained that with a live album, the band could present themselves in their most “raw” and “poorest” state. They wanted fans to “hear us and know of us in our most honest, innocent”.
“You know, when I say ‘poorest’,” Farrell continued, “I say it in the most beautiful sense. We didn’t have anything. We didn’t have anything to lose at the same time, and I wanted to capture that before anybody could ruin that.”
Elsewhere, Jane’s Addiction recently had to cancel five tour dates on their arena tour with the Smashing Pumpkins, citing an injury sustained by Farrell.
Watch the full interview below.
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