As the release date for Jane’s Addiction’s long awaited album, ‘The Great Escape Artist’ draws near, guitarist Dave Navarro has sat down with Guitar World to discuss how he has evolved as a guitarist in the eight years since the bands last release, ‘Strays.’
The iconic guitarist says that he has reached his limit, as far as technical ability goes, “Well, as a rock-and-roll, soloing guitar player I’ve pretty much maximized what I can do. I’m not the type of player to sit home and practice scales and work on runs. I love that stuff, but I know myself, and I just won’t do it.”
Navarro would rather devote his guitar-playing time to composing the music, which has helped him become one of the more recognized musicians on the planet. “At this point, if I’m spending time with a guitar, I’d rather write something than work on technique. It’s arguably a downfall for me, but on the flipside it allows me to work on music. I wish I was a shredder that could play everything, but I don’t have the patience. So I guess this time I was more concerned with space, layering and creating beds and atmospheres than soloing techniques.”
Of course, Navarro is more than capable of pulling off a solo here and there. A song from the new album, titled ‘Underground,’ is proof of that. However, the decision to use the ‘Underground’ solo on the album wasn’t Navarro’s. “The truth is that I was really resistant to putting any solos on this record. But [producer] Rich Costey and Perry were both pushing me. So, the solo that ended up on ‘Underground’ was longer than I originally wanted. Basically, there’s two times around where I wanted it to end, but they forced me to continue into that fast riffing. I guess I felt the initial melody sounded more like something from The Spiders from Mars [David Bowie’s backing band from the early Seventies], especially with the doubled-guitar, Randy Rhoads–style lines. It’s a little dissonant, and it works.”
Navarro’s does concede that his love for soloing increases ten-fold when his feet hit the stage, and that the latest solo will make an extended appearance in future Jane’s Addiction set lists. “…when we play it live, I’ll probably extend that solo even more. I love to solo live, because we’re having a blast onstage, and it’s all about the moment.”
‘The Great Escape Artist’ will be available from October 18.
You can read the full Dave Navarro interview in the December issue of Guitar World.
‘The Great Escape Artist’ track listing:
1. “Underground”
2. “End to the Lies”
3. “Curiosity Kills”
4. “Irresistible Force”
5. “I’ll Hit You Back”
6. “Twisted Tales”
7. “Ultimate Reason”
8. “Splash a Little Water on It”
9. “Broken People”
10. “Words Right Out of My Mouth”