Ritual de lo Habitual (Album)
From Jane's Addiction Wiki
Ritual de lo Habitual (Album) | |
| Release Date | August 21, 1990 |
| Record Company | Warner Brothers Records |
| ID Numbers | 25993-1 (Vinyl) 25223-2 (CD) 25993-4 (Cassette) W2 26993-1 (Amendment Vinyl) W2 26223-2 (Amendment CD) W2 26993-4 (Amendment Cassette) |
| Medium(s) | CD, iTunes, Cassette, 12" Vinyl |
| Time | 51:33 |
| Artwork | Original Cover Original CD Back Amendment Cover Amendment CD Back CD Version 1 Novena Book Front & Back Novena Book Pages 1 & 2 Novena Book Pages 3 & 4 Novena Book Pages 5 & 6 Novena Book Pages 7 & 8 Novena Book Pages 9 & 10 Novena Book Pages 11 & 12 Novena Book Pages 13 & 14 180 Gram Cover 180 Gram Label Double LP Front Double LP Back Double LP Side A Double LP Side B Double LP Side C Double LP Side D Press Release Album Advertisement Picture Disc Promo Voodoo Doll Front Voodoo Doll Back Skateboard |
Ritual de lo Habitual is the second Jane's Addiction studio album, and final album with founding bassist Eric Avery. It was released on August 21, 1990. The album's Spanish title translates to English as "ritual of the habitual", or "ritual of the habit".
Contents |
Album Versions
Initial pressings of Ritual de lo Habitual include the liner notes presented in a small yellow booklet titled Novena. The cover depicted a woman, bound with chains and a cigarette in her hand. Novena is Catholic prayer ritual, making this booklet the prayer book for the album. The back of the book has a picture of Xiola Blue and the message 'For our beloved Xiola Blue. Later pressings integrated this booklet into the cover flap.
There are two versions of the actual CD printing. The first contains the large red letters "J" and "A" printed on the left and right of the disc respectively, with the band's name and album title printed in black and white at the top and bottom of the disc. Other versions omit the large red letters and simply have the band and album names printed larger.
Cover Controversy
The cover for Ritual de lo Habitual, as designed by Perry Farrell and Casey Niccoli, is a photo of a sculpture depicting the two in a loving embrace with their late friend and lover Xiola Blue, partially covered by a red satin sheet. The figures representing Perry and Xiola are nude, while Casey is bra-clad. Promotional artwork for the album caused an uproar with conservative "parents" groups like the PMRC, who lobbied to force Warner Brothers to change the cover and threatened record stores who displayed the artwork or were going to carry the album. Conservative chains also reacted negatively to the cover, threatening to not carry the album.
Warner Brothers went to the band telling them the change the cover. However, the band's contract with Warner Bros guaranteed creative artistic freedom. This clause was the main reason the band chose to sign with Warner, it also meant that Warner Brothers couldn't easily force the band to change the cover. After some negotiations, the band and Warner Bros. worked out a compromise. The original, unaltered, album cover would be released and an alternative "clean" cover would be made available as an alternative. This ensured conservative chain stores would carry the album, and those who objected to the true cover had the option of buying the alternate cover. Both versions would carry the parental advisory label. Both versions included the same liner notes, including the To the Mosquitoes essay, which discusses the difficulties of releasing the intended album cover.
The clean album cover has come to be known as the "amendment version" of the album. This version of the album cover is stark white, containing the band and album name and then article 1 of the constitution of the United States:
Article 1
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people to peacefully assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
The back cover of the amendment version contains the track listings, producer credit, and a short six line message from Perry:
Hitler's syphilis-ridden dreams almost came true.
How could it happen? By taking control of the media.
And entire country was led by a lunatic?
We must protect our First Amendment,
before sick dreams become law.
Nobody made fun of Hitler??!
The musical content on both versions is identical and uncensored. The original sculpture can be seen in Perry and Casey's movie Gift. Unfortunately, the sculpture has since been destroyed.
Despite the compromise on the album cover, the controversy did not end there. The day the album was release, owners of the Off The Record record store in Royal Oak, Michigan were arrested and charged with distributing obscene material. Posters of the album cover, which were not for sale, were confiscated, but copies of the album were not. The police were responding to a complaint, and would not permit the store owners to simply take the posters down.[1] While the local city attorney in Royal Oak said they would prosecute the record store owners, a week later the Oakland County prosecutor decided to drop the charges because "the poster doesn't meet definitions of obscene material as established by the U.S. Supreme Court." By that point, the case had already received national attention.[2] [3]
Promos
There are three promo items for this album.
- Picture Disc - There is a full length promotional picture CD for Ritual de lo Habitual. It comes with the Novena booklet.
- Voodoo Doll (front, back) - This is a black stuffed voodoo doll with the name Jane's Addiction written on the front of it. It comes in a plastic bag with a paper label Jane's Addiction Ritual de lo Habitual logo. The number created is unknown.
- Skateboard - This is a blue-gray skateboard with the Jane's Addiction Ritual de lo Habitual logo on the top of it, and the Warner Brothers Records logo near the bottom. This skateboard is very rare. The number created is unknown.
Track Listing
- Stop! (4:14)
- No One's Leaving (3:01)
- Ain't No Right (3:34)
- Obvious (5:55)
- Been Caught Stealing (3:34)
- Three Days (10:48)
- Then She Did... (8:18)
- Of Course (7:02)
- Classic Girl (5:07)
Charting, Sales & Awards
Ritual de lo Habitual peaked at number 19 on Billboard Magazine's Billboard 200. The album also was nominated for the 1991 Best Hard Rock Performance Grammy, but lost to Living Colour's album Time's Up.
Despite, and possibly partially thanks to, the controversy generated by the album cover, Ritual de lo Habitual was certified Gold, indicating sales of 500,000 copies, by the RIAA on November 11, 1990. Less than a year later, on September 24, 1991 - two days before the band's final performance, the album was certified Platinum, indicating one million copies sold. Less than ten years later, the album had sold more than two million copies and was certified double platinum on March 16, 2000. [4]
In November of 2003, Rolling Stone Magazine released a list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time' Ritual de lo Habitual is listed as 453. Jane's Addiction's previous album Nothing's Shocking charted higher at number 309. [5]
Singles
References
- ^ Fornoff, Robin. "Royal Oak Confiscates Rock Poster Over Nudes Say Artwork Of Album Is Obscene. Detroit Free Press. Auguest 20, 1990.
- ^ Fornoff, Robin. "Prosecutor Won't Pursue Poster Obscenity Charges." Detroit Free Press. Auguest 28, 1990.
- ^ Leland, John. "The Power of Immaturity." Newsday. September 30, 1990.
- ^ http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinum.php
- ^ http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5938174/the_rs_500_greatest_albums_of_all_time
