Each week I am going to write a short (under 200 word) review for an album from my collection chosen at random by iTunes. You can expect anything from Slayer to Salmonella Dub to (Ravi) Shankar and that is all part of the fun. Enjoy.
Week 3: John Frusciante – The Will To Death (2004)
Country: USA / Singer-Songwriter, Alternative, Art Rock
John Frusciante has had his hand in the Red Hot Chili Peppers but they were never his band. Released just two years after the award winning By The Way, The Will To Death could not be any more different than that album and each album plays to a different strength of this underrated guitarist. It opens with the heart-wrenching A Doubt that uses John’s frail falsetto to full effect and you are instantly miles away from a mainstream Grammy nomination. Throughout the album Frusciante is portrayed as the guitar hero for the avant-garde set: minimal but poignant. The production is certainly rougher than his famous (former) day job which puts the emotional gravitas the forefront of the sound. Considering its rawness, the album is a little long-winded. Even still songs like ‘The Mirror’ cut deep. As the guitarist of one of the most famous bands on the planet you might think Frusciante had nothing to prove. He did. He needed to prove that he didn’t need the fame and success. This album is a powerful statement to that effect.
Rating: B
For fans of: Tim Buckley, Frank Zappa, Beck
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