so, when i said i'm a sucker for a guy with a guitar, i should have said i am a sucker for a tortured soul with a guitar. recorded after a month-long stint in rehab, kind-of-reformed-but-still-messed-up sometime-heroin-addict frusciante uses this album, like all of his solo work, as an outward expression of some of the crazy stuff going on in his head. that said, this album is actually the most accessible of his stuff that i've heard. he draws on a range of new wave sounds including synth-pop and electronica, to complement his often dark, experimental style.
as seems to be becoming a theme with me, this album is remarkable in its entirety as a journey, and tracks don't necessarily jump out to me individually. i almost always listen to it as a whole, and the only track i have ever listened to in isolation is the final, 'moments have you', a song to which i am mildly attached for various reasons.
part of the beauty of this album is its flaws. there are moments of not-quite-in-tune guitars and vocal imperfections. but john frusciante really can sing. evidence of this is offered in his backing vocals on a number of chilis albums. his haunting, striking voice is employed to full effect on 'to record only water for ten days'.
as you'd expect, this album is driven by a range of guitar techniques, but is also notable for his experiementation with synthesisers, mostly to good effect. as a guitarist, this guy is mesmerising. i saw him with the red hot chili peppers in 2007, and could not tear my eyes away from him. ranked eighteenth in rolling stone's hundred greatest guitarists of all time (2003), he is incredibly deft and technically talented, yet at the same time an understated anti-hero. he commands attention precisely because of his awkwardness, his need not to be in the limelight. watch him here, nonchalantly playing one of the world's most instantly-recognised songs. i love this video. shit he is beautiful.
i'd love to see him live with an accoustic. below he covers bowie's 'modern love'.
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