The story of one vinyl - I.
Jane´s Addiction - Ritual De Lo Habitual (1990)
On August 21, 1990, the album was released and a day later Michigan record store owner Rick Berry was arrested and jailed for distributing obscene material. The cover of the record actually shows male and female genitalia, which apparently offended some members of the public, who filed a complaint about a poster in the store window advertising the then-new release.
The cover artwork is by Perry Farrell and is directly related to the song Three Days, which was also released as a single. The imagery is laced with symbolism relating to a weekend spent in 1987 by band frontman Perry Farrell and his girlfriend Casey Niccolli with 19-year-old Xiola Blue. It's a story of sex, heroin and the subsequent tragedy when Xiola dies of an overdose in June of that year. The Islamic world and Hebrew culture are other areas Farrell is very close to. They appear on the cover in many symbols, such as the Hamsa, confirming Farrell's Jewish origins and illuminating his theory of the definition of Judaism: iconoclasm, monotheism, and belief in justice and human rights. A piece of paper containing the word POSITIVE, which is on the right side of the cover just above the black hen (Gallina Negra), has also caused much conjecture. For a long time, this led many people to believe that Perry was HIV positive, until it was finally revealed to be a pregnancy test from Farrell's mother when she was pregnant and expecting the birth of her very own son, Perry.
Rick Berry's indictment was subsequently dropped, and publisher Warners was forced to release the record with the modified cover artwork the band had insisted on. An excerpt from the U.S. Constitution referring to freedom of speech was added to the album title and band name.
Singly related to the album:
1. "Stop!" 1990
2. "Three Days" 2 August, 1990
3. "Been Caught Stealing" 15 November, 1990
4. "Classic Girl" 17 July, 1991
""