Customer Reviews

Porno for Pyros [Vinyl]

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I am going to compare P4P's first album to Jane's Addiction as little as possible because as others have said, it deserves to be listened to as an entity in itself.
This CD has a very dark mood and catchy tunes all the way through. One person mentioned that it is a good CD to go to sleep to. I can agree with that because I have gone to sleep with it playing many times. The music has a way of relaxing me and putting me into a state of mind that is unique to this particular album. The mood is completely different from any of the other CDs by Jane's Addiction or Porno for Pyros. That is one thing that is great about Perry's bands: constantly changing musical sounds and feelings...
Many of the lyrics on P4P's self titled debut are not so good. For that reason, I give P4P 4 stars instead of 5. Fortunately, the CD can be enjoyed without paying attention to the lyrics. For me, it is all about the feeling. What I like about this CD is that the mood is consistent all the way through. Though consistent, it is most definitely not monotonous. Admittedly, the first couple times I listened, I thought the songs were dull. They blended together a bit too much. After listening to it a few more times, however, it grew on me. Sure, I have my favorites (as will everyone) but my point is that it's just one of those CDs that is easy to listen to all the way through. So choose a time when you won't be interrupted, press play, sit back, and feeeeel it!

This band/record is so nice it's almost ridiculous to compare it to Jane's Addiction and just ignorant to slam it for not being/ sounding like JA. Jane's Addiction is one great thing-this is another. Totally different atmosphere and sound. The members(Vocalist/Percussion)from JA sound better than ever with added dynamics/nuances but it's Dave Navarro's "replacement"(ha-ha)Peter DiStefano that turns in one of the most jaw dropping guitar performances put to record. Very psychodelic with tons of feeling. I wouldn't call PFP's songwriting on this album more mellow or laid back than JA like others do(don't forget all the JA softies). It's def slower on the whole but no less intense...just in a murkier more hypnotic way. The more I hear this record the more I remember the massive quality.

Even after all these years, it's still hard not to compare this debut to "Jane's Addiction". I mean, half the band is the same, and the music is alike in many ways. It's like comparing "Smashing Pumpkins" to "Zwan". "Porno For Pyros" might not be as mindblowing, but they're still a great, creative, rockin' group. I still play this often. It includes the hit "Pets", plus "Cursed Male", "Cursed Female", and "Black Girlfriend". "Orgasm" is a nice closer too. It's hard to say if this is better than their other album "God's Good Urge", but it's at least as good. There's also the album "Rev", which is the best of "Jane's Addiction" AND "Porno For Pyros" if you want that.

For me, it's the memories that make this album worth listening to. I remember when 'Pets' was in the Buzz Bin on MTV,and when the video appeared during the 'Washing The Dog' episode. That was summer of 93 I do believe, back when the world was so much simpler, before I even had my driver's license....ahh, the memories. And it's cool catchy offbeat weird Perry Farrell greatness too, so pick it up.

Sonically- On this record the group was dynamic in a way that even Jane's Addiction never was. As far as expression, in terms of loud vs. quiet and heavy vs.light, most of Porno's contemporaries were relying on the played out clean tone to distorted tone, e.g. the verse/chorus thing that Radiohead does in Creep, a technique one can trace back to Metallica's Fade to Black, and done to death on the Foo Fighters second album.

Porno expresses emotion in the music in a totally unique way. The guitar player barely uses distortion; he employs the wah wah peddle to explore and push the limits of heavy and soft within the confines of his amp tone. There's no cut and paste wall of sound Dave Navarro thing going on here. Just a few rythim and lead tracks- meat and bones. Plenty of minors, ninths and sevenths The Bass is phenomenal, heavy finger style along with popping and slapping that is harmonic- not that trebley Hartke/Korn sound that is so prevalent today. Then you have Stephen Perkins' dynamic work on the drums, the kit proper as well as various other units of percussion, and then you have Perry's voice. The production and mixing is flawless.

Lyrically-

For a dude so in touch with his feminine side Perry Farrel has a stifling grasp of the youngish white male's psyche. You've got the misanthropic rage of Packin' 25. A young man's look at the (Alanis Morissette) irony of age and money in Cursed Male. The evolved (or emalsculated- take your pick) man's view of pretty young women in Cursed Female. Nihilism meets Pyromania in the band's self-titled track--or is it their theme song? And then my personal fav- Orgasm, which inserts the listener into the driver's seat about to give a girl her first orgasm-- she's ready buddy, she knows you're the one; are you up to the challenge?

This is a really swell record. I bought it when it came out and have listened to it on and off ever since. Unfortunately, in my humble opinion, the group wasn't able to recapture the brilliance of its first studio outing; the second record is largely an uneven affair with a different lineup; for my money its more of a Perry solo record.

Clocking in at around 45 minutes, Porno's 1st is just about perfect.

By any standards, this would be an extremely average rock record, and the biggest problem it faced upon release was having to serve as the 'follow-up' to Jane's Addiction's swan song album, "Ritual De Lo Habitual" (an album by which many others will forever be measured).

This is unfair to the band; they weren't supposed to be the 'new' JA, but it's understandable why people were so disappointed. Perry and co. created this massive beast, ended it (only to tarnish their rep by 'reuniting' only 7 years later for a cash-grab) suitably, and had to cope with trying to top what was a classic Rock 'n' Roll album. Would it be possible?

For JA, probably not. But the Porno's debut album is the wistful bits of JA without the energy or rush that the band afforded you. You take Perry's voice away from musicians who can walk with him along the edge (most of Jane's were still struggling with heroin addiction until the last tour), and so too does the magic fade away.

At best, this album will remind you of what could have been, but it doesn't deserved to be trashed, and it definitely doesn't deserve any deification, either.

This is my favorite album by the great Perry Farrell. This is the last album that Perry still had his edge, he was still young and pissed off. On this album Steven Perkins drums stand out much more than in Jane's Addiction and it's a tribal sound. A very unique style and its not for everyone, but I love it. I bought this album the day it came out and still listen to it all the time. I give it 5 stars as it has stood the test of time.

If it had been anyone other than Perry Farrell, I would probably have chucked this away after the first track. I mean, "Sadness, it's a cloud"? Jesus, what is that? But I persevered ... and persevered ... and gradually the gems started to shine through: Porno For Pyros, Pets, Packin' .25, Cursed Female/Male, Orgasm, and the standouts Meija and Black Girlfriend. It's not a brilliant album by any stretch, but it's no drink coaster either. And when it worked it proved that maybe there was life after Jane's after all.

Farrel is a real talented guy, he proved it with JA and now with PFP, this is a great debut, they did great songs like Meija, pfp and of course Pets!!!
The cover is so funny and for me it's a classic from the alternative music.
The second album has its moments but this is a keeper.

Jane's Addiction was a powerful machine whose passing I lament as much as the next guy. If you can get past their demise and view Porno as a completely different band, this album has a lot to offer. The song selections are diverse, quirky, and well-played. Great lyrics. I particularly like the foreboding "Blood Rag" which features spiraling guitars that really convey the feeling of butterflys-in-your-stomach desperation and fear. All the tracks are really good although I don't particularly like "Sadness." "Cursed Male," "Packin' .25," "Black Girlfriend" and "Orgasm" are all stand-outs.