One can't help but wonder what the other members of both Jane's Addiction and Porno for Pyros think of their erstwhile lead vocalist repackaging their hits into a collection bearing only his name. In that respect, the whol... more »e thing is a bit curious, but once you get past the presentation and into the music, it really becomes irrelevant. Particularly since the 16-song collection kicks off with two new tunes--the electronica-meets-rock jam of the title track and Farrell's drum & bass workout of the Led Zeppelin chestnut "Whole Lotta Love"--that clearly show it is indeed Farrell's genius that drove both his previous bands. The rest of the material, rather than just being a straight hits compilation, features some rarities and remixes ("Been Caught Stealing," Lou Reed's "Satellite of Love") alongside FM staples such as "Jane Says," "Stop," and "Pets." Rev is a complete musical package that freely ranges from dance music to hard rock to funk to psychedelia, all bearing the unmistakable stamp of Farrell's soaring, pixielike voice. --Adem Tepedelen« less
One can't help but wonder what the other members of both Jane's Addiction and Porno for Pyros think of their erstwhile lead vocalist repackaging their hits into a collection bearing only his name. In that respect, the whole thing is a bit curious, but once you get past the presentation and into the music, it really becomes irrelevant. Particularly since the 16-song collection kicks off with two new tunes--the electronica-meets-rock jam of the title track and Farrell's drum & bass workout of the Led Zeppelin chestnut "Whole Lotta Love"--that clearly show it is indeed Farrell's genius that drove both his previous bands. The rest of the material, rather than just being a straight hits compilation, features some rarities and remixes ("Been Caught Stealing," Lou Reed's "Satellite of Love") alongside FM staples such as "Jane Says," "Stop," and "Pets." Rev is a complete musical package that freely ranges from dance music to hard rock to funk to psychedelia, all bearing the unmistakable stamp of Farrell's soaring, pixielike voice. --Adem Tepedelen
"Wow, I'm shocked at all of the negative feelings about this album. Mostly because this album is exactly what it appears to be -- a "greatest hits" album. People who purchased this album thinking it was an album of new material apparently didn't even bother to look over the track listing first. So suddenly it's Perry's fault? Come on... Just because it doesn't meet some fans high expectations doesn't mean the music isn't good.Here is what REV offers. Newcomers will get a nice overview of Perry's work with his two seminal bands, the great Jane's Addiction and the underrated Porno For Pyros. Longtime fans SHOULDN'T be too upset with the old material (You liked it ONCE, didn't you?), plus you get two new songs (the title track, featuring Tom Morello from Rage Against The Machine and John Frusciante from the Chili Peppers, and a neatly bizarre cover of Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love"), a different mix of "Been Caught Stealing" (that you may or may not have), and their contributions to a Grateful Dead tribute album ("Ripple"), and the soundtracks to THE CABLE GUY and PRIVATE PARTS ("Satellite of Love" and "Hard Charger," respectively). All in all, a pretty nice, compact collection.I myself put off buying this album for a long, long time, knowing full well it was simply greatest hits collection. Finally, my brother was nice enough to get it for me for Christmas and I'm not disappointed with it whatsoever. Buy it. Be happy. And we'll see you down the road, Perry..."
Basically a 'greatest hits' compilation
michael | san francisco area | 12/09/1999
(4 out of 5 stars)
"If you are a Janes/Pyros fan you'll know all of the tracks except for the first two. They're both 'interesting' tunes ( a drum & bass version of Led Zep's Whole Lotta Love) but maybe for diehard fan types only. Supposedly Perry had to release this album for contractual purposes as he is switching record labels. Tentative plans for releasing a CD of all new material spring 2000.Bottom line with Rev- I give it 4 stars because it contains great music from two great bands. But it's a CD to get mainly if you're not fimiliar with Janes/Pyros and want to capture there overall sound."
Haven't I heard this before?
michael | 11/10/1999
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Although Rev and Whole Lotta Love are interesting gems, I was a little disappointed when I played this and realised that this is more of a "Best of Janes/Pornos". The first two tracks are the only previously unreleased material. The last few tunes were previously available only on soundtracks or compilations, and are nice additions since most folks probably don't have "Cable Guy" soundtrack, etc. Even though I knew that this release was just a contractual obligation by Perry before he moves on, and even though anything that Perry does is wonderful and genius . . . I just didn't realize that I'd be getting the exact same tracks as they appear on Nothing's Shocking, Ritual de lo Habitual, Porno for Pyros, and Good God's Urge."
The Best of both worlds?
H3@+h | VT | 05/27/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Once I got over the realization this wasn't new material, I thought....cool. I mean, at the time this came out, who knew he would still release "Song yet to be sung", get back together with Jane's Addiction, and re-launch Lollapalooza? I should have known. As odd as it seemed to put the best of his two bands on one disc, it's actually not, considering that they are fairly similar. What's stranger is that there isn't just a "Best of Jane's Addiction". Of course, maybe that's what "Kettle Whistle" was supposed to be. Anyway, regardless of what it's not, it is roughly the best of Jane's Addiction, Porno for Pyro's, and a few extra's. And when you get "Stop", "Pets", and "Ripple" on the same cd, can't complain too much about that."
An Awesome Collection
Rachel F. Balin | North Hollywood, California United States | 12/17/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Being a Jane's Addiction and Perry Farrell fan for a long time, I finally decided to check this one out. I don't know why it took me so long to do so. It is an absolutely great album. It includes a wide selection of Jane's, Porno and Perry songs.
Even a couple of new ones I hadn't heard. I don't think there is one song on here that isn't good.
Highly recommend it!!!"