Jerusalem Post review of TWTD
24th August 2004, Jerusalem Post (Israel)
Known mostly for his full-time job as the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s guitarist, John Frusciante has been releasing solo albums just under the radar for several years now.
Up until February’s release of Shadows Collide with People – a great collection of power chord-driven acoustic dark pop songs with fuzzy electric guitar solos – not that many people knew he also had a solo career.
Frusciante says he recorded Shadows Collide with People to refute all those who called his earlier albums inaccessible and unprofessional. The production was meticulous though, in retrospect, Frusciante says a bit too much.
The Will to Death is as accessible as Shadows Collide with People, just a bit rougher around the edges. Frusciante himself calls this album “a celebration of flaws” due to the immediate mixing upon recording.
Lyrically, Frusciante remains just as introspective and self-critical, his music serving as a personal journal that at times can make listeners uncomfortable.
The Will to Death is the first of a series of discs that Frusciante will be recording with collaborator Josh Klinghoffer on a bi-monthly basis for the next year.
Frusciante should be lauded for his guerrilla, lo-fi record making, and I am anxious to hear his next album, scheduled for release any day now.
— Harry Rubenstein
