The boxset comes in two varieties, and both are overkill. For fans who don't have Jane's tattoos and autographed liner notes covering their bedroom walls, the standard version contains two demo discs, one live, a dvd, and the standard Rhino-brand boxset book. For those who do ritually worship Dave and Perry, you can get the ridiculous version, which contains all that, plus tarot cards, voodoo dolls, and more complicated packaging that includes a metal clasp. Look at it as a way for Perry Farrell – who is often outspoken about how we college students and our mp3's have ruined the world – to give us something to actually hold on to.

I don't know which points scale to assign to tarot cards or voodoo dolls, so I'm going to be reviewing the normal-person set. Since Jane's new tour boasts the original lineup, the boxset logically summarizes the group's history with original bassist Eric Avery, entirely skimming off the Strays-era like it never happened. All of the live recordings came from a single 1990 show, and an excellent one at that.

Here we see a legendary, unique band stripped down to its rawest nerves, and it usually sounds pretty great. Because of their long departure, fans have known Jane's primarily as a great studio band, but we can see here that they were more than that. The live version of "Three Days" is just as epically powerful as it was in the studio, a standout track indeed. The way the guitar quietly creeps up behind Farrell's deeply emotive vocals might send chills down your spine. The same can be said for the demo version of "Ted, Just Admit It…", in which dubbed-out drums enhance the trip so that the song is creepy not just because it reminds you of Natural Born Killers.

Even in demos, Farrell's voice floats along on clouds of echo. You can see him on the video version of "City" making it all up as he goes along, and still he sounds more passionate than 99% of his musical peers. "My Time" closes with some "you-should-have-done-this"–type chatter that might remind the listener of Lou Reed's raw demos from the Velvet Underground's Peel Slowly and See. Cabinet shows us that, like the Velvet Underground, this was a band that significantly redefined their field of music, and did so with an effortless air that has never been recreated.

For my money, the DVD is the best of the curiosities. The remarkably grunge video for "Been Caught Stealing" encapsulates an age in its three and a half minutes, while the concert footage is truly transcendent. Since these live videos clearly came from the same concert as the live album (you'll notice when Farrell mocks a shoe-thrower for having been wearing Birkenstocks), I would have liked the enter live album on video… but maybe they meant to leave me hanging, because that way I'll see them live this summer. Genius!

Sure, these are basically the type of afterthoughts that record labels tack on to CD reissues (why would you ever need a two-disc version of Pablo Honey? Seriously?), and it wouldn't be hard to see it as a cheap cash-in, riding on the hype of the reunion tour. Nevertheless this cabinet does pack a number of curiosities that would peak the interests of anyone who would've been anticipating it – which is to say, it won't convert anybody, but hardcore fans will dig it.

Recommended If You Like: Similar in-depth boxsets like Nirvana's In the Dark

Tracklisting (4 disc version)
Disc 1:

Jane Says [Radio Tokyo Demo][#]
Pigs in Zen [Radio Tokyo Demo]
Mountain Song [DVD][Demo Version]
Had a Dad [DVD][Demo Version]
I Would for You [Radio Tokyo Demo]
Idiots Rule [#][Demo Version]
Classic Girl [DVD][#][Demo Version]
Up the Beach [Live 1990][#][Demo Version]
Suffer Some [#][Demo Version]
Thank You Boys [#][Demo Version]
Summertime Rolls [Live 1990][#][Demo Version]
City [DVD][#][Demo Version]
Ocean Size [DVD][#][Demo Version]
Stop! [DVD][#][Demo Version]
Standing in the Shower...Thinking [#][Demo Version]
Ain't No Right [DVD][#][Demo Version]
Three Days [DVD][#][Demo Version]
Disc 2:

Ted, Just Admit It... [#][Demo Version]
Maceo [#][Demo Version]
No One's Leaving [Live 1990][#][Demo Version]
My Time [Rehearsal][#]
Been Caught Stealing [12" Remix Version]
Ripple
Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey - Ice-T, Jane's Addiction
L.A. Medley: L.A. Woman/Nausea/Lexicon Devil [Live 1989]
Kettle Whistle [Live 1989][#]
Whole Lotta Love [Live 1989][#]
1970 [Live 1989][#]
Bobhaus [Live 1989][#]
Disc 3:

Drum Intro [Live 1990][#]
Up the Beach [Live, 1990]
Whores [DVD][Live][#]
1% [Live 1990][#]
No One's Leaving [Live, 1990]
Ain't No Right [Live, 1990]
Then She Did... [DVD][Live][#]
Had a Dad [Live, 1990][#]
Been Caught Stealing [Live, 1990][#]
Three Days [Live, 1990]
Mountain Song [Live, 1990][#]
Stop! [Live, 1990]
Summertime Rolls [Live, 1990][#]
Ocean Size [Live, 1990][#]
Disc 4: