Porno for Pyros (album)

Porno for Pyros is the debut studio album by the American alternative rock band Porno for Pyros, released on April 27, 1993, by Warner Bros. Records. Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro and bassist Eric Avery, battling substance abuse issues, had left the band in 1991 in an attempt to stay clean, though the other half of the band wished to continue creating music. The remaining members of Jane's Addiction, Perry Farrell and Stephen Perkins, were joined by guitarist Peter DiStefano and future Jane's Addiction bassist Martyn LeNoble, and continued under the new band name Porno for Pyros. The band (and album) name is a reference to the 1992 Los Angeles riots, which are mentioned throughout the songs on the album as a recurring theme.

The album was certified Gold in the US by the RIAA and contained the No. 1 Modern rock single "Pets".

Music

Before the album's release, the musical direction and focus of the band and album were said to be "laid-back", "ethnic-influenced" and "edgy and experimental". Critics often compared the sound of Porno for Pyros to that of Jane's Addiction upon its release, noting many parallels in song structure and overall sound. Many of the songs on the album were written in Jane’s Addiction.

Such comparisons may be unavoidable; three of Porno for Pyros' founding four members (Farrell, Perkins and LeNoble) have either been past or are current members of Jane's Addiction. In addition, a number of songs on Porno for Pyros, namely "Blood Rag" and "Bad Shit", were written during the pre-1992 Jane's Addiction period, although they would remain unfinished and unrecorded until the Porno for Pyros album.

The songs "Cursed Female" and "Cursed Male" were released as the album's first single. The songs appear on the album as two separate tracks. In addition to the two respective album versions, the single also included the two songs together in medley form as a single track. This medley was also released on the album's second (and highest charting) single, "Pets".

Another non-album B-side, "A Little Sadness", was released as a track on Porno for Pyros' fourth and final single, "Sadness". Recorded during the album sessions but left off in favor of its namesake, the song was a complete reworking and rerecording of "Sadness". "A Little Sadness" featured primarily acoustic guitars, subdued vocals, bongos and saxophone, a sharp contrast to its electric progenitor. In an unusual move, a video was created for the B-side rather than the album track.

"Porno for Pyros", "Packin' .25" and "Black Girlfriend" all referenced or were inspired by the 1992 Los Angeles riots.

Critical reception

Newsday noted that "the playing is a little more minimalist than Jane's Addiction, with Perkins's percussion often spare and subtle (though prominent in the mix), while DiStefano's guitar is decidedly more earthbound than that of Jane's often adventurous David Navarro." Trouser Press opined that "the relentless stupidity of Farrell's wishfully scandalous dilettantism ... adds to the misery, but that’s nothing new for him." The New York Times wrote that "songs jump from drifting ballad to wah-wah funk to blaring power chords, from bluesy rock to Perkins's hard-rock version of Latin rhythms... The volatile, turbulent music scrabbles at emotions that rock rarely touches."

Track listing

Personnel

Porno for Pyros

• Perry Farrell – vocals
• Peter DiStefano – guitars
• Martyn LeNoble – bass
• Stephen Perkins – drums, percussion

Additional personnel

• Skatemaster Tate – sound additives
• Matt Hyde – sound additives

Technical

• Matt Hyde – production, recording engineer, mixing
• Perry Farrell – production
• Rob Seifert – recording engineer
• Damien Wagner – assistant recording engineer
• Chris Bellman – mastering

Artwork

• Tom Recchion – art direction, design
• Bill Hofstadter – artwork, photography
• Perry Farrell – artwork
• Barrie Goshko – lettering
• Cecil Juanarena – computer imaging

Charts

Certifications

References

1. Porno for Pyros
2. Good God's Urge
3. Pets (song)
4. Tonight (West Side Story song)
5. Perry Farrell
6. Peter DiStefano
7. Stephen Perkins
8. Hard Charger
9. Woodstock 94 (album)
10. Etty Lau Farrell
11. Rev (Perry Farrell album)
12. Strays (Jane's Addiction album)
13. Thomas Johnson (music producer)
14. Jane's Addiction
15. Matt Hyde
16. Your Old Droog
17. Tibetan Freedom Concert (album)
18. Frankie and the Witch Fingers
19. Class of '99
20. Banyan (band)