John Frusciante....... C/D?

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Say what you will about RHCP, but... seriously. Is his solo material worth a listen?

― maria b (maria b), Saturday, 26 April 2003 18:51 (10 years ago) Permalink

I like the turn the band has taken since he's returned (he played every instrument aside from bass and drums and did all the background vocals on By The Way), so I'm damn curious about it myself.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Saturday, 26 April 2003 19:03 (10 years ago) Permalink

the first two - niandra lades & usually just a t shirt and smile from the streets you hold (or something) - are TOTALLY cracked, incomparable to anything, quite unlistenable at points but also very interesting at others. I wouldn't sell my copy. He IS the only thing that makes RHCP even halfway listenable (examine the records without him - not counting Hillel Slovak era - apples and oranges, there) and he is very talented, obviously. Worth a listen, for sure.

The last record he did - to record water for xx days or whatever (these titles are probably all wrong) kinda sucked - he played it straight. I got it for 88cents and felt a little ripped off. Bummer. But the dude's technique is totally his own.

He's OK by me.

― roger adultery (roger adultery), Saturday, 26 April 2003 19:13 (10 years ago) Permalink

I like all three of his solo albums -- much MUCH more than the band he normally works for. The most recent album is actually sorta his Depeche Mode/New Order and so I rather approve...

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 26 April 2003 19:15 (10 years ago) Permalink

he is a fucking great guitar player, without his edgy playing rhcp would lose their last bit of relevance. when he came back for californication - that saved the band.

― Jay K (Jay K), Saturday, 26 April 2003 19:17 (10 years ago) Permalink

To Niandra Lades or Usually Just a T-Shirt or whatever it's called - of all 3 solo Frusciante albums, this is the most wacked-out. However, underneath the skin-flaking-off nasty crust, at the core is some very raw gorgeous SOUL.

Smile From the Streets You Hold - easily the harshest and angst-y-est of the three. This is among my top 10 albums-to-listen-to-whence-just-breaking-up-with-someone. Definitely not recommended for a sunny day.

To Record Only Water For Ten Days - prob'ly my favorite. Ned's right about the New Order/Depeche Mode comparison above, mostly for the use of synths and 80s-era drum machines. This album IS recommended for a sunny day, and I think it reflects in the music that this album kinda coincided with John himself getting out of his heroin + demons/wicked-energies phase, and, as I like to think of it, the album where he started using his powers for Good rather than Evil.

So, from the nickalicious, a resounding "CLASSIC".

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Saturday, 26 April 2003 20:17 (10 years ago) Permalink

J.F. is one of those guitarist that I find inspiration in all the time. When I first pick the guitar up in 6th grade, 1992, my heroes were Slash, because he is fucking sweet, and Kurt, because I could learn all of his shit pretty easily. After a few years, once I had mastered the art of the cliched blues scale and the Black Flag power chord change, John was the next level I tried to emulate. I'm still nowhere near Slash or John as far as technical proficiency goes, they are still the two that I still hope to be able to emulate well once I have the 3 or 4 years off work to hone my skills. Also, there's some Slayer in there somewhere, but that's only when I just try and play random notes as fast as possible to emulate the Slayer guitar solo thing where it sounds as if the guitar has turned into a flamingo and is deperately trying to fly away as you play as many notes as possible.

― Helltime Producto (Pavlik), Saturday, 26 April 2003 23:21 (10 years ago) Permalink

Superb guitarist. Rides the line between tasteful compromise/DIY very well. Who wouldn't want to be the guitarist for a band as big as RHCP?

― Cub, Sunday, 27 April 2003 01:56 (10 years ago) Permalink

another vote for "to record water for ten days". Ned's NO comparison is valid and that's maybe why I like it that much. There's also a pretty strong Cure element in it and this is really the sound Robert Smith should be aiming for these days, esp. as it incorporates the Mogwai thing much better than "Bloodflowers" ever did. Less is more, really..
Also, 'Going Inside' is THE perfect summer driving song.
so, there, CLASSIC

― Fabrice (Fabfunk), Monday, 28 April 2003 06:52 (10 years ago) Permalink

8 months pass...

just heard "Your Pussy's Glued to a Building on Fire" after a couple of years. Classic classic classic.

― OCP (OCP), Sunday, 11 January 2004 14:20 (9 years ago) Permalink

*goes and retrieves neandra lades and usually just a t shirt from its cd-shelf-silence*

― t\'\'t (t\'\'t), Sunday, 11 January 2004 15:28 (9 years ago) Permalink

3 weeks pass...

Saw him play last night with a 3-piece band at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood -- and his bassist was Joe Lally of Fugazi!

Morris Tepper opened - only know he was in the Magic Band -- he did a sort of Tom Waits-y set with some real cool guitar playing. What do people know about him?

But, anyways, the Frusciante show was cool -- songs composed specifically for the show. apparently he is doing a few more of these there -- they are listed just under "Performance #4, #5," and so on. He's playing again tonight.

― Ben Boyer (Ben Boyer), Tuesday, 3 February 2004 19:57 (9 years ago) Permalink

How cool! :-) Yeah, good on him. He'll always be the best guitarist that I wish was actually known more for his solo work, I figure.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 3 February 2004 21:04 (9 years ago) Permalink

"Your Pussy's Glued to a Building on Fire" is easily in the top 10 for songs whose titles do nothing to suggest how beautiful they are.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Tuesday, 3 February 2004 21:09 (9 years ago) Permalink

This thread inspired me to put on To Record Water for 10 Days and my mood is all the better for it.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Tuesday, 3 February 2004 21:22 (9 years ago) Permalink

i love the drum machines on that one, upon first listen i was shocked, in a good way. niandra..tshirt is one of my favorite albums of the 1990s. i love this album & and was shocked john lived through his addiction. him and v gallo are supposedd to be working on some sort of project.

― kephm, Tuesday, 3 February 2004 21:42 (9 years ago) Permalink

"the curtains were made for moving cause you know sometimes you're not always there"
"my smile is a rifle and its pointed at you"

i guess i wish i had an ipod right about now as i do not have the cd handy.

― kephm, Tuesday, 3 February 2004 21:44 (9 years ago) Permalink

1 month passes...

So his new album has been out for a while now, any impressions?

― Baaderoni (Fabfunk), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 10:45 (9 years ago) Permalink

i like it--even though tortured john doesn't make too many appearances. the songs and productions are strong and it is definitely a logical progression from all his other albums. anyone that has liked him since niandra will enjoy it.

― cutty (mcutt), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 13:12 (9 years ago) Permalink

2 weeks pass...

I am really not liking the new onem surprisingly. Maybe it'll grow on me, but right now it just sounds like standard modern-rock fare. Very similar to the recent RHCP stuff.

― Baaderoni (Fabfunk), Monday, 22 March 2004 11:15 (9 years ago) Permalink

6 months pass...

So, Another new Frusciante disc is out; this one is called "DC EP" and it's 4 songs produced by Ian MacKaye (!) and featuring Jerry Busher of Fugazi/French Toast on drums. It's got some great stuff on it. Put these four tracks with the 5 new ones that are on the Brown Bunny soundtrack and it's a whole nother great album.

I love his lo-fi guitar sound so much; I can listen to his noodling for hours.
See also, this thread:
Ataxia - "Automatic Writing" (Frusciante/Joe Lally-Fugazi collaborate on excellent psyche-out mini-epic)

― Taxi Dancing in the Soft Prison (Ben Boyer), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 20:14 (8 years ago) Permalink

This thread, and the recent discovery of the Brown Bunny soundtrack, totally has me in a Frusciante mood. I don't own anything past To Record Water, i'm downloading the Ataxia album - what should I get? How was Shadows Collide w/ People? How many have there been so far in the 'series?'

― roger adultery (roger adultery), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 20:46 (8 years ago) Permalink

roger: "shadows.." and "will to death"

both awesome.

i need to hear this DC EP.

― cutty (mcutt), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 21:11 (8 years ago) Permalink

It was $7.98 at Sea Level, which seems reasonable, considering the other discs on that label (Record Collection, which is an offshoot of Warner Bros., right?) seem to have obscenely high retail prices - at Amoeba they seem to go for like $16.98 and stuff.
Anyways, yeah - highly recommended. And I love the continued overlapping between the Chili Peppers and the Dischord scene!

― Taxi Dancing in the Soft Prison (Ben Boyer), Wednesday, 22 September 2004 21:34 (8 years ago) Permalink

does anyone else hear a (most likely unintentional) stylistic resemblance to Mark Linkous in some of the more recent songwriting?

― roger adultery (roger adultery), Thursday, 23 September 2004 02:19 (8 years ago) Permalink

on the website and listening to mp3's (the slides-automatic writing)
songs are getting stronger. his glorious trebly note bended solos persist. i gotta find out which one this is on. the last one i bought was "to record only water".

― kephm, Monday, 4 October 2004 19:22 (8 years ago) Permalink

That song is amazing - that's the one with all the dubby effects on the snare and hi-hat that make it sound like some spacy disco jam. It's on the Ataxia disc. Highly recommended. I never in a million years would have guessed I would become so into Frusciante (having not bought a Chili Peppers disc since "Blood, Sugar" in high school). I can't wait for more.

― Taxi Dancing in the Soft Prison (Ben Boyer), Monday, 4 October 2004 19:33 (8 years ago) Permalink

HE HAS NEW ALBUM COMING OUT OCT 25THish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Monday, 4 October 2004 19:35 (8 years ago) Permalink

sometimes when i am playing guitar, and i stop to listen to a little frusciante for inspiration, i just want to pull off my fingers & chop off my worthless hands

― kephm, Monday, 4 October 2004 19:37 (8 years ago) Permalink

ha ha YOU AND ME BOFE

I have almost given up on playing pretty things and resigned myself to sub David-Byrne-esque twerky strumming.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Monday, 4 October 2004 19:39 (8 years ago) Permalink

5 months pass...

He's been pretty quiet lately, huh?
I'm still enjoying 'Will to Death' but I just saw he'd released two since then. I'm tempted to get 'Curtains'. Any opinions?

― Baaderonixxxorzh (Fabfunk), Friday, 1 April 2005 09:28 (8 years ago) Permalink

Frusciante wrote and played some incredible music for the Jane's Addiction "Gift" soundtrack (I remember something called "Ants"?)...has anybody heard this? Or know how to get a hold of it?

iTunes synergy activate!:

Pussyfootin'the Duke...Comets on Fire
Your Pussy's Glued to a Building On Fire....John Frusciante
Instant Pussy....Matching Mole
Pussy Don't Fail Me Now...Missy Elliot

― Dr. Gene Scott (shinybeast), Friday, 1 April 2005 11:20 (8 years ago) Permalink

curtains is an all acoustic album. not bad.

― cutty (mcutt), Friday, 1 April 2005 11:38 (8 years ago) Permalink

Is "Ants" on the cassette version of Niandra Lades...? It's actually listed as one of the songs in his scrawlings in the packaging for it, but it's not on the actual CD.

― Vic Funk, Friday, 1 April 2005 11:48 (8 years ago) Permalink

yes, it's only on the cassette.

― cutty (mcutt), Friday, 1 April 2005 11:51 (8 years ago) Permalink

Curtains has some electric guitar and synthesizer on it too, but it's very folky and warm. It's EXCELLENT rainy day music.

Sphere In the Heart of Silence, the Frusciante/Josh Klinghoffer colab album, is far different. Way awesome. It's kinda reminiscent of Kid A in it's structure and pacing, but it uses some ancient electronics and is way scratchier sounding. Josh Klinghoffer's singing voice is surprisingly good, too. He sounds kinda like a softer, more effeminate Thom Yorke, which makes a nice foil to John's more weathered voice. The song "Walls" on this album has one of the best vocal performances John Frusciante has or probably will ever lay to a track.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 1 April 2005 13:21 (8 years ago) Permalink

His recent string of releases, IMHO:

Sphere... (with Josh Klinghoffer) > Curtains > Inside of Emptiness > Automatic Writing (Ataxia) > Will to Death > DC EP

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 1 April 2005 13:26 (8 years ago) Permalink

Exciting! I lost track after Will to Death so it seems it's time to catch up

― Baaderonixxxorzh (Fabfunk), Friday, 1 April 2005 13:30 (8 years ago) Permalink

1 year passes...

wow. To Record Only Water for Ten Days is beautiful!

― The Boy Who Cried YSI? (Freud Junior), Tuesday, 9 May 2006 01:30 (7 years ago) Permalink

best thing i have discovered in a while.

― The Boy Who Cried YSI? (Freud Junior), Tuesday, 9 May 2006 02:49 (7 years ago) Permalink

C/D? The guy has a song titled Your Pussy Is Glued to A Building on Fire. Obviously classic.

― trees (treesessplode), Tuesday, 9 May 2006 03:52 (7 years ago) Permalink

Obviously way more classic than the sock farmers?

― The Boy Who Cried YSI? (Freud Junior), Tuesday, 9 May 2006 04:58 (7 years ago) Permalink

2 years pass...

I've been re-dicsovering To Record Only Water for Ten Days these last two weeks what an awesome awesome album...

― baaderonixx, Thursday, 11 September 2008 13:23 (4 years ago) Permalink

Yup. Need to dig it out again...

― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 11 September 2008 13:39 (4 years ago) Permalink

With No One is awesome

― Zeno, Thursday, 11 September 2008 13:43 (4 years ago) Permalink

classic

― cutty, Thursday, 11 September 2008 14:03 (4 years ago) Permalink

Haha yeah "With No One" is the one I get stuck in my head all the time

― baaderonixx, Thursday, 11 September 2008 14:54 (4 years ago) Permalink

classique

― update prefs (ice crӕm), Thursday, 11 September 2008 15:41 (4 years ago) Permalink

saw this dude play last week, it sounded like the royal trux

― cool app (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Thursday, 11 September 2008 15:46 (4 years ago) Permalink

Weird; just last week I put all of the 6 Record Collection albums in one playlist and listened to them all for the first time in several years. There are some incredible (and incredibly sad) songs on there. I still have never heard the 2nd Ataxia disc (and I LOVED the first one)... I never see it in shops and it's not on iTunes for some reason (though the other one is). Anyone heard it?

― Ben Boyerrr, Thursday, 11 September 2008 16:00 (4 years ago) Permalink

2 months pass...

http://johnfrusciante.com/

― cutty, Thursday, 13 November 2008 20:07 (4 years ago) Permalink

He'll never end up on the John Petrucci thread if he only talks through his lessons.

― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 13 November 2008 20:12 (4 years ago) Permalink

ENJOY!!

― BIG HOOS' macaroni is off the motherfucking chain (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Thursday, 13 November 2008 20:15 (4 years ago) Permalink

AWESOME

― baaderonixx, Monday, 17 November 2008 09:20 (4 years ago) Permalink

2 months pass...

New album is streaming on Luisterpaal

― baaderonixx, Tuesday, 27 January 2009 13:59 (4 years ago) Permalink

I bought it blind from iTunes. It starts off with a great 9 minute instrumental with some awesome guitar stuff, which segues into a pretty cover of "Song for the Siren." Then it sounds a lot like his other albums - vague lyrics (as in platitudes, not surreality); nice chord changes. I need to give it a few more listens, but I'm having a hard time summoning the desire so far. Does anyone else have it/like it?

― Shannon Whirry & the Bad Brains, Tuesday, 27 January 2009 14:20 (4 years ago) Permalink

3 years pass...

new record is kinda batshit and very good

― emo canon in twee major (BradNelson), Saturday, 15 September 2012 16:47 (9 months ago) Permalink

100 percent more amen break on this record vs. other frusciante solo records

― emo canon in twee major (BradNelson), Saturday, 15 September 2012 16:55 (9 months ago) Permalink

without his edgy playing rhcp would lose their last bit of relevance. when he came back for californication - that saved the band.

When he left the 2nd time, it made the band irrelevant again.

― Lee626, Saturday, 15 September 2012 21:39 (9 months ago) Permalink

what's the new one like - after my initial enthusiasm for this guy and the godly 'Water' I kinda drifted away as he seemed more interested in tortured blues rock.

― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Monday, 17 September 2012 15:21 (9 months ago) Permalink

new one is sort of like a proper follow-up to to record only water for ten days, but way more unhinged. free jazz drumming that morphs into drill n' bass, cheesy synth sounds, almost niandra-esque frusciante vocal stuff over the top

but in more than a few instances the songwriting is very traditionally pretty.

― emo canon in twee major (BradNelson), Monday, 17 September 2012 15:29 (9 months ago) Permalink

xp
wow - reading his blog/website, it seems I shouldnt be worried about him getting too trad-rockish:
http://johnfrusciante.com/2012/07/09/my-recent-history/

It's a great read esp the part about training his musical mind to regain control from his musical body - which goes against so many rockist clichés.

― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Monday, 17 September 2012 15:30 (9 months ago) Permalink

here's probably my favorite track from the record

― emo canon in twee major (BradNelson), Monday, 17 September 2012 15:33 (9 months ago) Permalink

hmmm might take me a while to get into this...

― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Monday, 17 September 2012 15:39 (9 months ago) Permalink

not sure what i think about the musical results, but the blog post is great, for someone in his potential position to make that kind of move is really admirable.

― tubular, mondo, gnabry (Merdeyeux), Tuesday, 18 September 2012 02:03 (9 months ago) Permalink

oh god i've turned into hansel from zoolander.

― tubular, mondo, gnabry (Merdeyeux), Tuesday, 18 September 2012 02:03 (9 months ago) Permalink

1 month passes...

oh man this EP is just awful.

― If Assholes Could Fly This Place Would Be An Airport, Monday, 5 November 2012 20:52 (7 months ago) Permalink

Yeah I checked it out after reading the blog post linked above and man, what a letdown.

― xanthanguar (cwkiii), Monday, 5 November 2012 21:04 (7 months ago) Permalink

Sounds like he heard Roni Size and Wu Tang yesterday. Is the full length better? It was on my wishlist but now...mmm not so sure. Always have time for this guy but this EP is the pits. One of those rare times I wish I hadn't bought without listening first. Maybe the kids are onto something.

― If Assholes Could Fly This Place Would Be An Airport, Monday, 5 November 2012 21:32 (7 months ago) Permalink

i like the full length but it's definitely in the mode of the ep

― emo canon in twee major (BradNelson), Monday, 5 November 2012 21:58 (7 months ago) Permalink

streamed the LP and listened to it distractedly hoping for a new 'Water...' but yeah the whole thing sounded very stuffy and messy

― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Tuesday, 6 November 2012 10:50 (7 months ago) Permalink

2 months pass...

Listened to the Empyrean a bit this weekend. I could see myself getting lost in it for a while. The opening track is very much Maggot Brain-inspired, but makes me sadder than Maggot Brain.

― cloacachella (how's life), Monday, 28 January 2013 14:46 (4 months ago) Permalink

His singing at times reminds me of Phil Collins.

― how's life, Monday, 28 January 2013 23:03 (4 months ago) Permalink

2 months pass...

Still listening, by the way. Never stopped. I've checked out and enjoyed several of his other solo records too (Niandra Lades, Ataxia, the first one with Klinghoffer, Curtains), but the Empyrean is something else completely astounding. I wish I'd been listening to for 20 years. Very intricate and proggy and psychedelic, but soulful and real too.

Been especially into this pair (not consecutive on the album)

― how's life, Thursday, 28 March 2013 12:41 (2 months ago) Permalink

listened to the empyrean on repeat on a lot last year and i decided it's his best

― emo canon in twee major (BradNelson), Thursday, 28 March 2013 14:21 (2 months ago) Permalink

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