A Tale of Six CDs

At the end of each year, I usually spend a while listing my favourite new albums releases. This year was no different, and certainly I am not the only one who wasted their time on this trivial exercise. Hopefully, I was also not the only one who encountered a peculiar phenomenon in their final draft of the list. A particular name kept re-occurring as the name of the artist. Yet, it had not been one of those dry years where my list was compiled of one album. Nor was it an act of idleness on my part, as the name was usually followed by a different album title. What happened? What event of 2004 brought such a curious feature to my annual list?

It all began around the February of 2004, almost a year ago. I, like many fans of John Frusciante, the guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, had been expecting his new solo release, Shadows Collide With People. From his first release, Frusciante’s solo work had always been something intensely personal, a powerful experience of music. His musical influences, changing for almost every record revealed a more diverse artist than people familiar only to the most recent work of the Chili Peppers would expect. In fact, a majority of the credit for the different sounds tried out on the group’s latest album, By The Way, certainly could be given to Frusciante. However, his solo records, released ever since his period of departure from the band in the 1990s, were always the playgrounds for his most experimental works.

Shadows Collide With People proved to be no exception. It revealed Frusciante producing some of his most layered, polished work up to date. Collaborating more than previously, the album featured drumming by Chad Smith of the Chili Peppers, as well as Flea on one track. More importantly, it would turn out, Frusciante’s self-confessed fan and friend Josh Klinghoffer contributed to the album significantly. The songs of the album begun with experimental rock and ended in well done techno-pop, stopping by at hints of psychedelic sounds, well crafted alternative pop songs, and hauntingly strange electronic interludes. I was happy, and by the reactions seen on the web, so were other appreciators of Frusciante’s music. However, none of us knew what the future held. Without any hints to the public, in Frusciante’s head, a plan had been conceived.

Essentially, Frusciante had worked hard on Shadows Collide With People, mentioning in interviews he had spent about 2 months recording and polishing the album. However, while he was doing interviews in promotion for the release of the work, Frusciante as an artist had already moved on. In fact, the dedicated musician had a couple of new albums already done. A few months after the release of Shadows… the official announcement was released. John would release another solo record in June. Oh, and another one was scheduled somewhere toward the end of July, or beginning of August. In fact, Frusciante planned to release a new album every month for the remainder of 2004.

Premonitions of such a work ethic had surfaced before. Around the time the Chili Peppers released the hugely successful Californication, Frusciante released a solo album To Record Only Water For Ten Days. Shortly after this, he showed signs of wanting to release another album, which was released for free over the Internet on his site www.johnfrusciante.com. But the plan to actually produce 6 albums in 6 months seemed peculiar to anyone used to the pace of modern music business, where two years between albums is usually a relatively short period of time.

When the first of the batch, The Will To Death came out, Frusciante’s deliberate development from the work done on Shadows Collide With People was evident. If anything, The Will To Death stood as somewhat of an anti-thesis of its predecessor. Instead of a multi- layered polished sound, the opening track ‘A Doubt’ presented us with a stripped down, pure sound, complete with a guitar solo using only one note. Frusciante explained in numerous interviews and on his website that he had intentionally chosen the sound quality of the record as it reminded him of the great sound of albums by groups like The Beatles, The Velvet Underground or the Rolling Stones. He was paying tribute to the era when some mistakes were intentionally left in the song, and the out come was beautiful. Despite what the criticisms in some publications, The Will To Death was a work of beauty. The stripped down sound produced an album that was an intimate listening. Josh Klinghoffer performed on the record again, and was even given credit as a co-writer to the interlude ‘Helical’.

Automatic Writing, released under the band name Ataxia, and the DC EP followed The Will To Death. The two releases were both linked to the Washington DC band Fugazi. Ataxia was a band comprised of Frusciante, Klinghoffer and Joe Lally, the bassist of Fugazi. The album featured a more experimental, yet similarly raw recording sound than The Will To Death. Produced by Fugazi singer Ian Mackay, the DC EP showed a more song based, pop sound, with Frusciante’s typically bizarre lyrics producing some of their stand out lines, such as “all my children slaughter me”.

The following album, Inside Of Emptiness, continued on the more stripped down line of sound, although development from The Will To Death was evident. To me, Inside Of Emptiness contained some of the best work from John Frusicante. The overall distortion of every instrument on the opening track ‘What I Saw’ resulted in a dirty sounding, great rock song. ‘Look On’, described in Frusciante’s own words as being inspired by songs from the 70’s with huge guitar solos features some of the best guitar work he has done during his whole recorded career. Josh Klinghoffer’s drumming on ‘A World’s Edge’ holds the same sense of rhythmic expression one could encounter on a Joy Division or New Order album. ‘Interior Two’ juxtaposes musical styles from the early 60’s or late 50’s with modern day obscure lyrics. And as John humorously notes in the bio for the album, the album closer, the painfully beautiful ballade ‘Scratches’, should be purchased by The Rolling Stones. Only I doubt that Mick Jagger could deliver a line like “Your faces are bodies, and your hands are feet” as effectively as Frusciante’s high-pitched, yet rough, vocals.

Released in December, A Sphere In The Heart Of Silence concluded 2004 with an interesting, experimental sound. It was a return to the more complicated, layered sound of Shadows Collide With People. Only it was still recorded in a studio equipped like it was the 1970’s. Thus the album featured sounds from more modern, electronic instruments, in an environment that existed before these instruments were even created. It was a good way to conclude the year’s crop. The song styles nodded toward Shadows Collide With People, while the recording style bowed to the type used in works like The Will To Death. In case you have heard the album, the footsteps at the end of ‘My Life’ are actually Frusciante’s as he walks back to control room. The song was recorded in real time. Notably, the album’s cover no longer features only the name John Frusciante. Underneath appears Josh Klinghoffer’s name. The album was an equal collaboration between the two. The partnership first heard in the first record released in the year had grown to new heights.

How did the tale of this family of albums conclude? Well, it hasn’t concluded quite yet. The promised six albums in six months did not quite happen, as the concluding work, Curtains, awaits release at the end of January. However, due to the release of Shadows Collide With People, Frusciante released six albums in one year. That alone is an achievement. The fact that all these albums contain interesting, enjoyable music only makes the accomplishment more significant. Of course, for those previously unaware of Frusciante’s solo work, the classically rough sound of these releases might not work on the first try. It worth noting I have unashamedly written this account as an experience of a fan, as I experienced the release of these albums. Despite this, there is no arguing with good craftsmanship in song writing. Certainly other good releases came out during the year. However, in case you are curious enough to browse through the majority of the items on my list of Top Ten New Releases 2004, you don’t need to tire your legs too much running from one corner of the record store to the other. Start with the section for ‘F’ and you are well on your way.

By Juha Virtanen

The sources used for this article are:
www.johnfrusciante.com
www.amplifiermagazine.com/44_coverstory_johnfrusciante.shtml