The Empyrean
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*The above review has a longer version, which you can read on this particular page.
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Credits
Release date: 27th January 2009
Released: Worldwide
Publisher: Record Collection Music
Duration: 1:02:23 (with bonus tracks)
Credits: Full list is here – too big for this page
Recorded/mixed at/when:John’s home studio – December 2006-March 2008
Cover photographs/collage by: Sarah Sitkin (uncredited)
Art Direction: Unknown
Album Artwork
This is the list of credits from the album booklet.
Before the Beginning
Mixed by John and Adam
John – Guitars, Treatments
Josh – Electric Piano, Drums
Song to the Siren
Mixed by John, Chris Holmes, Adam and Josh
John – Vocal, Acoustic Guitar, Treatments
Josh – Organ, Electric Piano, Acoustic Piano, Synthesizer, Treatments
Unreachable
Mixed by John, Adam and Josh
John – Vocals, Guitars, Treatments
Josh – Electric Piano, Drums
Flea – Bass
God
Mixed by John, Adam and Josh
John – Vocals, Guitar, Treatments
Josh – Synthesizer, Electric Piano, Drums
Flea – Bass
Sonus Quartet – Strings
Geoff Gallegof – String Arrangement
Dark
Mixed by John, Chris Holmes and Josh
John – Vocals, Piano, Treatments
Josh – Organ
Light
Mixed by John and Adam
John – Lead Vocal, Guitar, Bass, Synthesizer, Drum Machine, Treatments
Lawrence Young – Vocal
Donald Taylor and the New Dimension Singers – Voices
Heaven
Mixed by John, Adam and Josh
John – Vocal, Guitar, Synthesizer
Josh – Organ, Electric Piano, Drums
Flea – Bass
Sonus Quartet – Strings
Neel Hammond – String Arrangement
Enough of Me
Mixed by John, Adam and Josh
John – Vocals, Guitars and Treatments
Josh – Backing Vocal, Organ, Electric Piano, Drums
Johnny Marr – Guitars
Flea – Bass
Central
Mixed by John, Adam and Josh
John – Vocals, Guitars, Treatments
Josh – Synth, Acoustic Piano, Electric Piano, Organ, Drums
Johnny Marr – Guitars
Sonus Quartet – Strings
Vanessa Freeibarn Smith – String Arrangements
One More Of Me
Mixed by John and Adam
John – Vocal
Josh – Electric Piano
Sonus Quartet – Strings
Geoff Gallegof – String Arrangement
After the Ending
Mixed by John and Adam
John – Vocal, Piano, Synthesizer, Treatments, Drum Machine
Today
Mixed by John, Josh and Adam
John – Vocals, Guitars, Synthesizer, Treatments
Josh – Drums
Flea – Bass
Ah Yom
Mixed by John, Josh and Adam
John – Vocals, Guitars, Treatments
Josh – Drums, Electric Piano
Flea – Bass
Produced by John Frusciante
Recorded by Ryan Hewitt and Adam Samuels
Recording Assistance by Sara Killion
Instrument Tech during basic tracks was Dave Lee
Production Coordination by Anthony Zamora
Ryan Hewitt recorded tracks 2, 3, 4, 5 (first half), 6, 7 and 8
Adam Samuels recorded tracks 1, 5 (second half), 9 and 10
Sonus Quartet is:
Caroline Campbell – Violin
Neel Hammond – Violin
Andrew Dukles – Viola
Vanessa Freebairn-Smith – Cello
Donald Taylor and the New Dimension Singers are:
Donald Taylor (Director), Alfie Silas, Pat Lee, Nikki Erwin, Nita Hutton, Sharon Bryant, Tamara Mitchell, Caprisha Smyles, Tracy Carter, Tony Wilkins, Lawrence Young
To make it easier for Invisible Movement visitors, I have tried to compile a list of frequently asked questions about The Empyrean. I tried to cover as many possible questions and group them into categories; but if there is no answer for what you wanted to know; Ask away and perhaps there’s a way. The forum is a good place to ask as well as there’s a four-digit number of people who could help you out.
Concept/Story
One of the songs is called God, John calls himself a man on the cross in Central…what are John’s personal beliefs?
Whatever they are, they’re his personal thing. It’s rude to question others’ beliefs.
Where can I read more about the concept of this album, its cryptic lyrics and the background story?
John’s blog
Hillingdon Mind Interview outtakes
MusicRadar podcast transcript
What does the word Empyrean mean?
According to Dante Alighieri, the Empyrean is the place where God and the souls of those who redeemed their sins reside. It’s located outside of the nine spheres surrounding the Earth in the heliocentric system. It was described in the four last cantos of Paradiso, the third and final part of the Divine Comedy.
So, is this album related to The Divine Comedy?
From what was heard so far, the answer is likely no. The Empyrean is used as a symbol/metaphore/comparison; and that’s been more or less explained on John’s blog.
I heard that John did a mental-health related interview which is somewhat related to creation of this album…what is it? Where is it?
Yes. Chris Phillips of Hillingdon Mind spoke to John on the phone for a couple of hours and the results of it are an exclusive interview accompanied by two handwritten song lyrics; and also outtakes of the interview which have been kindly given to this site by mr. Phillips himself. The interview still hasn’t been completely transcribed, by the way.
The last four lines of After The Ending from the booklet are nowhere to be heard on the album!
You need to turn up the volume, as John is whispering them.
What does Ah Yom mean?
John said that it means a period of time in Hebrew. However, native speakers of Hebrew said that it means Today and that it’s actually written Ha Yom. This would mean that bonus songs have the same title.
And what is Ahm Yum / Aum Yaum?
No idea, sorry.
Who is the deep, dominant voice following John at the beginning of Light?
One of the New Dimension Singers, his name is Lawrence Young.
Is Song To The Siren originally by Tim Buckley?
Yes, it is.
Does Josh Klinghoffer sing anywhere on the album?
He only sings backing vocals on Enough Of Me and Today.
Where can I find more about Sonus Quartet?
Their Myspace would be a good place to start. Also, there is a little snippet related to their experience while recording The Empyrean.
Where can I find more about Donald Taylor and New Dimension Singers?
There isn’t a lot of information on them on the web, so help on this would be welcome. Either way, they’re a choir and Donald Taylor is their director.
Recording/Techniques
When was this album recorded?
On and off, from December 2006 to March 2008.
Are there any treatments on One More Of Me? John’s voice is soo deep!
According to the credits from the album’s booklet, there aren’t.
Where can I read more about the recording process for this album?
Tape Op interview, September/October 2007
Tape Op interview, September/October 2007 [scanned]
Tape Op interview with Ryan Hewitt, September/October 2007
Tape Op interview with Ryan Hewitt, September/October 2007 [scanned]
MusicRadar podcast, 05th January 2009
MusicRadar podcast, 05th January 2009, transcribed
The Watt From Pedro podcast, 25th January 2009
, transcribed
Guitar Magazine Japan, February 2009
Where can I find tabs for this album?
Here!
What guitars did John use on this album?
His vintage Fender Stratocasters, mostly. This is what he said to MusicRadar:
Yeah, that’s all I’m using. I don’t think I played any other guitars. It’s hard to remember. I might have used an SG on the solo of “Central†but I think I might have just made the Strat sound like an SG with and English Muffin Electro Harmonix Effect. I basically used all the same gear I use in the Chili Peppers, you know, just Marshall Major and Jubilee and my 62 Strat and my 67 Strat…
Why is this album so bloody quiet?
The sticker on the Japanese version of the CD has the answer. The same text can be found in the fold-out that comes with that particular version of the album.
This record was mixed so certain sounds would project in front and above the speakers. The album was mastered so these dynamic effects were preserved. Also the actual musical performances involved huge differences in level of intensity which were also retained. This means the general volume of the CD is softer than the industry standard (in which everything is compressed and flat and nothing ever gets louder than the average volume). So, turn it up!
-John
So, what do we know about its mastering?
Steve Hoffman was involved in mastering of the LP and this is what he said about it on his board, sometime late in 2007.
Heh, that’s supposed to be a secret! We reduced the upper bass boom a teeny-tiny bit (1/2 db). Other than that, it’s how John mixed it.
Why are Enough Of Me and One More Of Me alike?
Chord progression is the same, the vocal melody is almost the same, only the style and instruments are different. In fact, tittiesman1231 on YouTube did an interesting experiment by merging them. Make sure you have a look at that!
Is John talking something totally random at the beginning of Enough Of Me?
Yes, he says: Do…do you need to eat? Should I make you a couple eggs real quick?.
Who did the cover art for this album?
A talented 24-year-old photographer called Sarah Sitkin. You can see some of her work in her FlickR photostream and read an interview with her here.
Are the angel and the nude dead man on the album’s cover John and Josh?
Yes.
Where can I find photos related to this album?
Here, here and here.
If this is Empyrean, what is Imperium?
The album name was actually missheard by at least three people who sent in the news. As bizzare as this may sound! And it’s quite funny, too.
How about Solo X?
That was a name given to the album by the listeners, as they had to call it by some name, right? It stands for solo-album-number-ten.
I heard a story about this album being someone’s last wish, how much of that is true?
All of it is true. A 20-year-old college student from USA got to hear the album before he, unfortunately, passed away from leukemia.
Can I read the whole timeline of the album story somewhere?
Yes, there’s a history page.
This is complicated, where can I see all the past and present news items associated to this album?
All the news in the archive that are to The Empyrean can be found by using the site’s search function or by listing all the news items with its tag.
This page, formerly known as The Empyrean Rumour Mill and 10th Album Rumour Mill is a compilation of all the rumours that were circulating before The Empyrean had a set release date. It’s meant to serve as an archive, as a story of an album from the listeners’ point of view. Also, it’s another proof that everything you read on the internet is confusing.
2005
The last out of six albums in six months, Curtains, is released in January/February. As it was the case with all the previous albums released on vinyl, the inscriptions on it were thought to be previewing lyrics off a possible next album. Those inscriptions were A million ways things could be and The whole circle stands stamp where you stand. However, in March that year, John’s official website was updated stating that he’ll be commited to the band for a longer period of time as they had just started recording the new album.
2006
The first time the album got a mention was early in 2006. This is an excerpt from a fan’s review of the 11th February acoustic benefit RHCP played. The fan (whose name would come in handy, as I forgot to save it) spoke to John and this was what he wrote about it.
When I asked if he had any other plans for solo albums, he said that Josh Klinghoffer has about 14 songs (I’m not sure precisely whether they wrote these together or what the deal is with them), but that basically, he does plan to do another solo album, but he wants to spend more time on it, not rush it out like the Record Collection albums. He wants to get some other musicians in on it, and he said that he’s planning to use more classical guitar on it. He wants to mix it more than he did on the bare bones Record Collection albums.
On a couple of occasions throughout the year, people were getting more or less the same responses. Everything was focused on the Red Hots and Stadium Arcadium.
2007
According to the now-famous Tape Op interview [text-only version here] which took place in February 2007 and was published in the September/October issue of the same magazine, the album was first recorded in the breaks of the later legs of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Stadium Arcadium world tour. After the RHCP tour was over, John withdrew from public eye, more or less. Around November 2007, Ryan Hewitt used to have John’s album on his list of projects in progress on Myspace, but later on he deleted it from the list. During that period of time, he has not given a clear response regarding this to anyone.
From this point on, in lack of a proper name, people were refering to the album as “Solo X”, as in “Tenth solo album”; though this is debatable, as it could as well be ninth or eighth; given that From The Sounds Inside was never commercially released, that A Sphere In A Heart Of Silence is a collaboration and that DC EP is, well, an EP.
2008
Mastering process of the album started started in mid-May 2008. San Diego college student named Armando Ruiz, a leukemia patient, had the pleasure of hearing the album and actually speaking to John on 12th May. His impressions are listed under “facts”. Sadly, Armando passed away on 25th May. Due to respecting his last wish, the webmaster of Invisible Movement did not want to reveal the album title, as Armando said that he did not ask John if it would be OK to reveal it.
After this was announced, there were many negative vibes around the whole story, even coming close to the point where people were coming up with incredibly sick stories. However, Josh Klinghoffer confirmed this story to a third party who them informed Invisible Movement.
During the summertime, Vanessa Freebairn-Smith, cello player who toured with Gnarls Barkley and who is a member of Sonus Quartet, was in contact with fellow fans and she said that John’s album was getting recorded what seemed like forever ago.
It was still not clear if the album was mastered for the second time or the first time. John’s current label, Record Collection Music were not giving any answers. Their page on John had not been updated in a long time and his official site was down for months and months. Their response to a letter written on behalf of the Invisible Movement community in February 2008, contained the following excerpt:
as soon as we have updates on new releases, tours, etc, they will be posted to john’s website and his myspace page.
The logical assumption for this silence was that none of these people were given a green light to give information out at the given point; which was understandable.
On 27th September 2008, the board member with alias hyakprods met John at the Fourth Anual Hullabaloo hosted by the Silverlake conservatory. He briefly spoke to John, who said that Imperium indeed was the album’s title, that the release date should be 20th January 2009 and that tour is currently not an option. A couple of days later, another person, David, came along with the indentical story.
I considered this to be a green light to break the silence and, according to all three of them, the album title was The Imperium. The news, originally announced at this URI spreaded accross the internet pretty fast. Some non-English speaking blogs and music news sites even translated the tour-related information wrong and wrote that there won’t be song clips prior to the album release, which nobody ever said…?!
However, the same doubt was dragging over all along, based on what Armando Ruiz wrote:
The name of it is “Imperium” which means the highest point in heaven.
According to literature, mainly Dante’s Divine Comedy, the highest point in heaven is The Empyrean. Some people were expressing their doubts and wondering if the name was missheard by all the people who heard it as The Empyrean was obviously making more sense.
On 14th October 2008, a possible insider confirmed that the name of the album was indeed The Empyrean. For more information and possible connections with other songs, check this link. The owner of this site admits she got a bit too carried way, but hey, exploring things is cool.
On 11th November 2008, John launched a blog and Record Collection Music staff confirmed the album’s release date and more. A new store was launched shortly afterwards. Some of the blog posts are explaining the album a bit more.
On 25th November 2008, song Unreachable was posted up on John’s Myspace page, alongside some new photographs. At the same time, handwritten lyrics of one of the bonus songs off the album revealed one of the lines from the beginning of the story: A million ways things could be. And this is where the story ends and everything becomes official.
Many thanks to hyakprods, David King Jr, JKDN staff, Daniel P, Record Collection Music, Ryan Hewitt, some people who’d prefer to stay anonymous and the late Armando Ruiz. Many thanks to every single person who reads this, too. Even the search engine bots.
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