Strays

Strays Cover

Strays

Strays is the third studio album by Jane’s Addiction, and the first new full album in twelve years and the first to not feature founding bassist Eric Avery.  This album was released on July 22, 2003 by Capitol Records.  Work on this album, which was originally titled Hypersonic, began in 2002 with Porno For Pyros founding bassist Martyn Le Noble.  After Le Noble was unceremoniously fired after the July 28, 2008 Jane’s Addiction concert at the Naeba Ski Resort in Nigata, Japan, Chris Chaney was hired to take over bass duties.  Much of Le Noble’s work on this album would be rewritten and re-recorded with Chaney.

This album was delayed numerous times.  Originally scheduled for a spring 2003 release, the release date was pushed back several times for several reasons, but one of the most commonly cited ones was the album’s artwork.  The cover finally used does not fit the description that was discussed in interviews, and is the most generic and uninspired of any Jane’s Addiction release.

The music on Strays has much more produced sound than any of the band’s previous work.  This can be directly attributed to the album’s producer Bob Ezrin.  Leaked early versions of this album have a much more rough and natural sound that Jane’s Addiction is known for, and some fans prefer the leaked recordings over the final product.

Alternate Versions:

The standard version of this album comes on an enhanced CD that includes the Just Because music video as multimedia content.  A limited edition version of this album was released with a bonus DVD that includes about 30 minutes of rehearsal and recording session material.  This DVD also includes an “Easter Egg” video of the band performing the song Strays.  To access this hidden video, select “Play Tracks” from the main DVD menu.  Then type in the number “16” on the numeric keypad of your remote control and hit enter.

The Canadian CD version of this album comes on a standard CD and lacks the Just Because music video multimedia content.  A limited edition version of the Canadian CD was also released, including the same DVD found in the US release.

Import versions of this album also lack the enhanced CD content, but include a live performance of Suffer Some recorded at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles, CA on December 31, 2002, as a bonus track.  European imports include a slightly different cover, where the Japanese version includes the same cover as found in North America, but with the standard additional spine card that curiously also states Jane’s or Not?.

In 2004, a DualDisc version of this album was released, including the standard CD quality recording on one side and a higher quality recording in DVD audio on the opposite side.  The DualDisc version is extremely rare and hard to find as it was released as part of a set of 15 DualDiscs test marketed in Seattle and Boston. Only one pressing of these DualDisks were made.

There are several promotional versions of this album from around the world, a DVD promo, and a Westwood One Radio Album Premiere, which includes in-studio performances.  Additionally, there is a promo interview disc.

Album Charting & Awards:

Strays was certified with Gold Record status by the RIAA in August of 2003, making it the fastest selling Jane’s Addiction album ever.

Track Listings:

North American Versions:

  1. True Nature
  2. Strays
  3. Just Because
  4. Price I Pay
  5. The Riches
  6. Superhero
  7. Wrong Girl
  8. Everybody’s Friend
  9. Suffer Some
  10. Hypersonic
  11. To Match The Sun

Import Versions:

  1. True Nature
  2. Strays
  3. Just Because
  4. Price I Pay
  5. The Riches
  6. Superhero
  7. Wrong Girl
  8. Everybody’s Friend
  9. Suffer Some
  10. Hypersonic
  11. To Match The Sun
  12. Suffer Some (Live)

Personnel:

This album was produced by Perry Farrell and Bob Ezrin.  Bob Ezrin has writing credits on every song as well as keyboard and percussion credit.

Release Date: 07/22/2003 (US & Canada), 08/06/2003 (Europe), 09/09/2003 (Japan)
Released By: Capitol Records
ID Number(s): 90186, 993932 (DualDisc), 7243 5 9200 0 0 (Canada), TOCP-66209 (Europe), 66209 (Japan)
Medium(s): CD, 12″ Vinyl, Cassette, DualDisc, iTunes, Amazon MP3
Time: 48:29, 79:28 (CD/DVD), 52:55 (Import), 13:44 (Interview Disc)

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