Perry Farrell’s solo work since breaking with Jane’s Addiction has been spotty at best with his collaboration group Porno For Pyros being a solid blueprint of the eclectic mix of music he is capable of putting together. His new group Satellite Party is an odd mix of musicians that works to his advantage including Nuno Bettencourt (ex-guitarist for Extreme), Flea and John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers), UK DJs Hybrid, bassist Peter Hook (New Order & Joy Division), Thievery Corporation, guitarist Peter DiStefano (Porno for Pyros), Fergie (Black Eyed Peas), film composer Harry Gregson-Williams (Chronicles of Narnia, Kingdom of Heaven), and a 30-piece orchestra. To top all of that off, Ultra Payloaded is a concept album with all the songs being about global warming issues. Oh, yeah, did I forget to mention that Jim Morrison makes an appearance singing a NEW song? To say that a project like this is ambitious would be an understatement, but for Perry Farrell, I guess this is the norm.
Surprisingly, the album is solid. Most of the songs here are beautiful, interesting and eclectic as Perry marries various musical styles like dance and pop on the single "Wish Upon a Dogstar" as Peter Hook’s legendary and addictive basslines drive this song into the cosmos. His touring band features his wife Etty Lau Farrell singing backup on several tracks, sounding rather nice backing Perry’s high falsetto. On "Awesome", the albums tearjerker, Perry sings of the beauty of creating his son. While on "Kinky", he sings of, well, being Kinky. Nuff said but one worth hearing as he has the knack of writing any kind of song for the ears of any age. Satellite Party also kind of cover Rare Earth's "Just Wanna Celebrate" by adding new lyrics and calling it “Celebrate,” while the Bee Gees' "Lonely Days," is recast as "Mr. Sunshine." Of course, there’s the song "Woman in the Window" ending the album. An unreleased vocal track of Jim Morrison, he sings over music that Perry Farrell wrote. As a huge fan of the Doors, I was slightly disappointed that it was not the best song on the album, though by no means the worst. Maybe it was due to hearing the Lizard King out of his element but it was a nice collaboration between two artists who are legendary in their own right.
"Hard Life Easy" is a funk blast led by Chili Peppers Flea and John Frusciante that is pretty much ready for radio play. The album has so many good to great songs that Satellite Party should have no problem winning the hearts of Jane’s fans, Porno for Pyros fans, Perry Farrell solo project fans or Perry Farrell the activist fans. Why? Because Ultra Payloaded is injected with just enough of all these things to warrant being a kick-ass album and a damn good listen. |