John Frusciante Shadows Collide With People (Warner) Rating: NNN
Rating: NNN
It’s easy to see how much John Frusciante has brought to the Chili Peppers – what with their, until recently, revolving-door guitarist policy – with this his most decent solo release to date. The influence of his melodic and solidly individual contributions to Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Californication and By The Way are evident here as he branches out yet again on his own, this time to showcase a more polished collection of tracks. His singing is decent if not great, and the keyboard experiments are at times haunting and sometimes enlivening additions. The lyrics are nothing to get excited about, what with the precious “I was a drug addict so therefore I am poetic and insightful” business, and the record is way too long at 18 tracks, but Frusciante is definitely headed in a good direction.
