Washington Times
from Washington Times (USA), sometime in February 2004
“Shadows” actually bears less of a resemblance to the Peppers’ current modern pop than to the tortured howls of Kurt Cobain’s Nirvana; Pink Floyd’s druggy musical madness; and the harrowing, sugar-coated harmonies that emanated from Beach Boy Brian Wilson’s abusive childhood.
In the midst of the darkness herein, however, are more than a few radio-friendly surefire modern-rock hits a la the Chili Peppers. “This Cold” offers sweeping ear candy, and the bombastic danceable power of “Second Walk” provides the infectiously upbeat Los Angeles funk underscored by Mr. Frusciante’s autobiographical lyrics: “I’ve paid it off and paid for it again / All these miserable feelings never end / But to fall and be down’s something I transcend.”
And transcend Mr. Frusciante has.
Still a teenager when he joined the Chili Peppers, replacing his idol Hillel Slovak (the group’s founding guitarist who in 1988 died of a heroin overdose), he quickly began living out his rock ‘n’ roll fantasy, and in the process, he created groundbreaking music that would influence a generation of modern rockers. But the strain of superstardom taxed him heavily, and in 1992, he left the band while touring in support of the multiplatinum “Blood Sugar Sex Magik.”
Embarking on a course of excessive drug use to quell the psychotic voices he claimed he heard in his head, Mr. Frusciante spent most of the ’90s mainlining heroin and cocaine and smoking crack, pausing only occasionally to make music. His first solo record, 1995’s “Niandra LaDes and Usually Just A T-Shirt” proved abstract and too strange for most tastes. In 1996, he overdosed and almost died. It would take two more years for him to sober up, rejoin the Chili Peppers and contribute to the band’s wildly successful resurgence.
Today, Mr. Frusciante, 34, remains clean while rendering retina-scorching live performances with the Peppers. Now on his second tour since rejoining the band, success has only fueled his creativity. “Shadows,” his fourth solo recording (his previous three barely penetrated public perception), marks a celebration of the guitarist’s overflowing palate and his appeal to a mainstream audience.
His vocals and guitar playing have never been better. With lush, skillful phrasing, he covers ground between a whisper and a scream with equal aplomb. “Song To Sing When I’m Lonely,” the album’s most majestic cut, summons the memory of grunge legend Kurt Cobain’s proclivity for catchy, thought-provoking lyrics.
“Omission,” propelled by wistful Southern California harmonies and walls of guitar and keyboard sound, recalls the quintessence of Mr. Wilson’s sublime genius. Lyrically, it even seems to take a page out of the Beach Boys’ immortal “God Only Knows,” a song Paul McCartney has referred to as the “greatest pop song ever created.”
The album’s essential, and most personal, track, “Water,” is a direct reference to Mr. Frusciante’s dark years leading up to and after he left the Chili Peppers, while “Time Goes Back” — with its gorgeous, hypnotic melody — best underscores the time he lost during his six-year absence from the band: “You know this is nobody’s life / I saw the days I lost / Hiding behind tomorrow’s costs.”
