Rolling Stone
24th February 2005, Rolling Stone
The most recent of a slew of albums from the Chili Peppers guitarist: Slow down, man! John Frusciante has a whole lot to sing about these days. Still riding the post-heroin-addiction wave of creativity that helped him revive Red Hot Chili Peppers, the guitarist released four solo albums and an EP in 2004. But no one — not even Guided by Voices — can maintain quality control at that manic rate, as suggested by Frusciante’s latest disc, a spare, mostly acoustic collection of contemplative, meandering ballads. His once-erratic vocals have grown sturdier — he now sounds more like Cat Stevens than a caterwauling homeless dude.
Despite some pretty instrumental passages, however, the sound-alike songs just aren’t strong enough to justify the album’s bare-bones, oft-drumless arrangements. A suggestion: How about a one-disc compilation of the best of Frusciante’s recent releases?
