The Great Escape Artist

The Great Escape Artist is the fourth studio album by American alternative rock band Jane's Addiction, released October 18, 2011 on Capitol Records. The album was the band's first since its 2003 release Strays and features TV on the Radio's multi-instrumentalist Dave Sitek contributing bass guitar alongside Chris Chaney. The album's release was preceded by singles "End to the Lies," released as a free download on April 7, 2011, and "Irresistible Force (Met the Immovable Object)," released August 3, 2011. Regarding the album's title, vocalist Perry Farrell said "I love being able to escape my past, even though my past was great. I just love the future even more." Describing the album's overall aesthetic, Farrell noted: "it's a strange mixture of that post-punk goth darkness that Jane's had, with what's going on today with groups like Muse and Radiohead. As much as I want to appease fans and make old Jane's fans love me, I just can't help myself from moving forward." Following the album's completion, producer Rich Costey stated, "This was a real Jane's Addiction record." Background and recording Jane's Addiction began writing The Great Escape Artist shortly after founding bassist Eric Avery's departure in 2010, with vocalist Perry Farrell stating, "Eric did not want to record. So we took him out of the equation. We couldn't live with not recording." Commenting on the relationship between the remaining three members of the band, Dave Navarro, Stephen Perkins and himself, Farrell stated: "Dave and Steve and I are like brothers. I've got children, and my kid smacked my other kid in the head this morning, but at the same time they hate being separated. On a plane one will say, 'I want to sit with my brother.' That's how I feel about Dave and Steve. I hope they'd tell you the same thing." In January 2010, Velvet Revolver and Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan joined the band for nine months, assisting in the writing process and performing live with the band. Describing his arrival, McKagan stated: "I went to dinner with Perry. He talked about how he was kind of bummed out. I guess, because Jane's had started the writing process for the record, and then they went through whatever they went through with Eric. He kind of lamented that, and at the end of dinner, he asked if I had any songs or anything like that. Basically, he was asking me for my help.