John Frusciante Albums (9)
What The Critics Say
After lying low for a few years after a tremendous burst of activity in 2004, John Frusciante is back with another solo album, Empyrean. It starts out with a fantastic instrumental called "Before the Beginning": a great minor key guitar solo, replete with echoplexed drums that was surely inspired by "Maggot Brain." After that, it's back to the kind of introspective songs that have characterized much of his solo work. His singing is actually pretty remarkable considering his initial forays into vocals. He sounds confident and assured, even as the subject matter wrestles with dark thoughts and doubt. The songs tend to be fairly spare with guitar, electric piano, bass and drums with strings adding some lushness towards the end. Frusciante also uses the studio as an instrument à la Eno, adding cool treatments to nearly every song. Some of the songs are a bit mopey and the subject matter is often on the heavy end, but "Dark/Light" shifts gears nicely (dark to light?) where the heavy reverb and piano of "Dark" gives way to the cheesy rhythm box and falsetto vocals of "Light," which leads into a nice bass-driven coda with choir. "Enough of Me" also features Johnny Marr on guitar, and one of them turns in a really nice Robert Fripp guitar solo. "One More of Me" is just strings and electric piano with Frusciante seemingly trying to sound like Stephin Merritt. Frusciante has done a nice job of carving an identity completely separate from his main gig, and Empyrean fits nicely with his other solo albums. ~ Sean Westergaard, All Music Guide
'A Sphere in the Heart of Silence'
Release Date 11/23/2004
Tracks 7
Label Record Collection
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What The Critics Say
John Frusciante calls Sphere in the Heart of Silence, his collaboration with Josh Klinghoffer, "a record of electronic music," but it's not nearly as "electronic" as that statement makes it sound. It's really more an allusion to the fact that his other releases of this year have been mostly comprised of guitar, bass and drums, and that there is some programming, synth-work and overdubbing on this one. "Sphere" starts out like a cross between an organ fugue with sci-fi effects on top and sped-up Frippertronics. After about four minutes and a rough edit, beats come in along with a guitar solo each from Frusciante and Klinghoffer. "Afterglow" was written and performed by Klinghoffer, with Frusciante contributing only lyrics and vocals, and sounds reminiscent of early New Order. "Walls" has a more robotic feel and some strong vocals by Frusciante, with some "Planet Rock" influence towards the end. "Communique" was recorded in real time with Klinghoffer singing and playing piano while Frusciante adds winds sounds with a synth. Both singers have sort of a wailing, cathartic vocal style, which might become a bit much for some listeners by the end of the album. "Surrogate People" adds a bit of acoustic guitar to the mix, and the album closes with a brief track of just piano and vocals by Frusciante. Some of these tracks were written around the time of Shadows Collide With People, and others were written for specific performances, so the album feels more like a series of experiments rather than a cohesive album. Still, you've got to give Frusciante credit, as this is his sixth release of 2004, and they've all had some strong moments. ~ Sean Westergaard, All Music Guide
'Inside of Emptiness'
Release Date 10/26/2004
Tracks 10
Label Record Collection
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What The Critics Say
Inside of Emptiness is John Frusciante's fifth release of 2004, this time principally inspired by the raw production values of Lust for Life and White Light/White Heat. Considerably more guitar-oriented than Will to Death and more straightforward than Ataxia's Automatic Writing, Inside of Emptiness rocks hard up until the last track (a gentle rocker), without the polish of Shadows Collide With People. That difference is best exemplified by the leadoff track, "What I Saw," where every level is sent into the red; even the drums are distorted. Many of the songs are sung in falsetto, but when the guitar solos come in, they're all muscle and really benefit from the immediacy of the production. As with the other albums in this series, Frusciante is wearing his influences on his sleeve but following his own vision, and it's quite interesting to track an artist's virtually unfiltered output over the course of a year or so. Inside of Emptiness won't win any awards for originality, but Frusciante deserves credit for maintaining a high level of quality with such a prodigious output. ~ Sean Westergaard, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The sixth of six albums recorded by Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante during 2004, Curtains was initially tracked on the musician's living room floor and subsequently overdubbed with Carla Azar of Autolux on drums, Ken Wylde on upright bass, and Omar Rodriguez of the Mars Volta, who lent his guitar playing to a pair of tracks. Initiated by the stellar, Dylanesque acoustic tones of "The Past Recedes," Curtains opens to reveal evocative, soulful material like "Lever Pulled" and the bright, melodic reflection known as "A Name." The magical "Ascension -- which uses George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" as a touchstone -- offsets the piano dirge "Leap Your Bar," but Frusciante's increasing comfort as a vocalist during this prolific spell is what is most notable. One needs to look no further than the beauty of "Anne" (which is arguably the best of the lot here) for evidence. But Curtains is the sum of its parts. Nearly always inventive, the 11 tunes here collect to form one magnificent piece of art. ~ John D. Luerssen, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
John Frusciante kicked it into high gear in 2004, not only releasing Shadows Collide With People through Warner Bros., but also planning to release an album every other month or so through the rest of the year on the Recordcollection label. The first of these releases is Will to Death, a collaboration with Josh Klinghoffer (who also helped out with Shadows Collide With People). Those familiar with Frusciante's other solo work will know that this material will be far from Red Hot Chili Peppers lite: Frusciante definitely has his own (somewhat haunted) muse. The songs are basically nice little pop tunes, with hard-panned oddball production and very personal, introspective lyrics. This album also marks a new personal aesthetic for Frusciante: he wanted these songs to be raw and immediate (as inspired by some of his favorite albums), and to this end there were very few takes involved with any of these songs, and mistakes and elements of chance found their way in as well. Frusciante's voice has come a long way, and there are some really interesting production touches like all the backwards touches on "A Loop" and the double-tracked piano tinkling on "Wishing." There's almost nothing in the way of guitar heroics and it's far from groundbreaking, but fans of darkly personal skewed pop should enjoy Will to Death. ~ Sean Westergaard, All Music Guide
'Shadows Collide with People'
Release Date 1/1/2004
Tracks 18
Label Warner Bros.
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What The Critics Say
The fourth solo outing from Red Hot Chili Pepper guitarist John Frusciante -- OK, fifth for those counting his free 21-track downloadable-only From the Sounds Inside released in 2001 -- is his most accessible effort to date in terms of mainstream appeal. It is likewise worth mentioning that he has made available demos of a majority of these sides on his website for a limited time. Frusciante also maintains intermittent contact with the avant-garde forces that drove the Niandra LaDes and Usually Just a T-Shirt coupling in 1995. Admittedly, enthusiasts of his edgier lo-fi recordings may find 2004's Shadows Collide With People too polished and produced. However, the sonic spit-shine rarely detracts from the very palpable emotive presence within each of the selections. Although Frusciante and Josh Klinghoffer (guitar/vocals/bass/keyboards/percussion) divvy up the lion's share of the instrumentation, the two are joined by fellow Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and bassist Flea -- the latter contributing an upright bassline to "The Slaughter" -- as well as Omar Rodriguez on slide guitar and Charlie Clouser's orchestral programming. While "Omission" is signified by Klinghoffer's co-lead vocal, at the center remains Frusciante's probing melodic sense. He vacillates between the power-chord rockers "Carvel," "Second Walk," and "This Song" and the haunting beauty of "Regret," which is set against the decidedly more experimental and bold "-00Ghost27," "23 Go In to End," and "Failure33 Object." These wordless excursions lacerate a discernible swath across Frusciante's otherwise introspective songwriting. Examples include the introduction to "In Relief," "Water," and the Byrds-ish feel incorporated into "Cut-Out." Even though it might not be the artist's intended goal, with such strong -- if not arguably disparate -- material exemplifying the best of what Frusciante has to offer, Shadows Collide With People has something for his listeners past, present, and future. ~ Lindsay Planer, All Music Guide
'To Record Only Water for Ten Days'
Release Date 2/13/2001
Tracks 15
Label Warner Bros.
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What The Critics Say
With the opening kick of a simple but loud drum machine beat and multiple full-throttle guitar wails over the top, it quickly becomes apparent that John Frusciante has also given a swift kick to his heroin addiction. Hard drugs left the Red Hot Chili Peppers' guitarist derailed, deranged, and near death before an L.A. Weekly reporter detailed his frail state in a chilling story, moving some friends to help Frusciante check into a rehab center. He got off drugs and rejoined the Peppers in time to help Californication become a critical and popular success in 1999. In his time off from the band, however, Frusciante released two solo records, which he later admitted were made for drug money. Niandra LaDes and Usually Just a T-Shirt and Smile From the Streets You Hold displayed an intriguingly dark departure from the Peppers' polished funky punk. The scratchy and naked lo-fi ramblings reveled in the art of voyeuristic discomfort. And while some of the results displayed intense, edge-teetering freakouts, ragged beauty, or bleak intelligence -- celebrating the idea that the process and development of a song can sometimes be just as engaging as the "finished" product -- others simply unraveled into crumbs of little or no value. To Record Only Water for Ten Days, however, is made up of 15 "legitimate" songs. The whole is still quite simple -- stellar guitar work, impressive vocal range, drum machine, and minimal effects -- but it's a much healthier and "together" sound. Still a departure from the Peppers, To Record has an overall almost goth-like singer/songwriter vibe, at times colliding into rock catharsis. But Frusciante hasn't forgotten his shaky past, utilizing similarly abstract and slightly disturbed lyricism: "Where you go doesn't matter/Cuz there will come a time/When time goes out the window/And you'll learn to drive out of focus/I'm you and if anything unfolds/It's supposed to." Although most fans will no doubt be relieved that Frusciante has pieced his life back together, appreciators of the "falling apart" aspect of his past work might be disappointed by To Record's more accessible, less collapsible sturdiness. Even the look of the record is excessively clean, with a simple two-color design and all-caps block letters. ~ Melissa Giannini, All Music Guide
'Smile from the Streets You Hold'
Release Date 8/26/1997
Tracks 17
Label Birdman
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What The Critics Say
Those who felt that Niandra Lades demonstrated most of all that John Frusciante seemed to be going over the edge likely thought their suspicions confirmed when Smile From the Streets You Hold quietly appeared on the Birdman label in 1997. However, it's not so much an album as it is a collection of tracks from all over the place, though absolutely nothing about the packaging or liner notes indicates that. At least one cut, the odd semi-goth "A Fall Through the Ground," was recorded in 1988, while others were finished the year of the record's release. Frusciante later confirmed that in 1997 he was still in the grips of a nasty heroin addiction that he has since kicked, and backhandedly dismissed the release as being done pretty much for drug money. Set aside any prurient interest in the work of an artist in the absolute depths, though, and Smile From the Streets has some high points worth investigating, like the lengthy, truly trippy "I May Again Know John." There's nothing quite so stunning as his magnificent remake of Bad Brains' "The Big Takeover," for instance, but his fragmentary, quietly menacing guitar work and often completely thrashed, howling voice -- itself usually further treated and tweaked -- achieves their own catharsis. If listeners can get through the opening primal howl of "Enter a Uh," then that will be enough to indicate whether the rest of Smile From the Streets is for them. Comparisons can be made to similarly on-the-edge musicians like Syd Barrett or Skip Spence, or even Jandek, but Frusciante has his own soulful qualities and approach, disturbingly extreme as they often are. The entire collection, much like Niandra Lades, was recorded for the most part on basic four-track and sounds it, as lo-fi as anything an purist could demand and arguably more unsettling than many of that supposed movement's avatars could create. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
'Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt'
Release Date 11/22/1994
Tracks 25
Label Warner Bros.
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What The Critics Say
Upon leaving the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1992, guitarist John Frusciante delved into home recording, eventually completing a 12-track album titled Niandra Lades that bore the influence of '60s oddballs like Syd Barrett and Captain Beefheart. Niandra Lades languished on the shelf for a while until it was paired with another 12-track collection of Frusciante's home-taping efforts; this one, titled Usually Just a T-Shirt, concentrated on pleasant psychedelic instrumentals with plenty of backward-guitar effects. While some might find the jump from bizarre vocal numbers to atmospheric instrumentals (and the resultant shift in mood) a bit jarring, the two halves do share certain characteristics. Frusciante's singing voice has a fragile, wispy quality that sits well next to the often delicate second half, and the sparse arrangements of the first half help set the stage for the gossamer guitar work later on. Because the whole project has a definite stream-of-consciousness feel, it does fall prey to underdeveloped ideas at times, but overall, Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt is an intriguing and unexpected departure from Frusciante's work with the Chili Peppers. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
