Sputnik
From Sputnik Music
John Frusciante – Shadows Collide with People: This amazing album begins with a little song called Carvel. This song opens with some melodic yelling and leads right into the strong vocal soundings that is the leader of Frusciante’s musical army. This continues into a little break off and goes to a few seconds of slower vocals which builds right back into that strong sound. Some very nice guitar work here along with the drumming done by none other than Chat Smith. This also is supported by the nice bass line done by Flea, who along with Chad, hails from “Red Hot Chili Peppers†which only leads to the question, where’s Anthony? Anyway, this song leads right into the second song, Omission. This, once again, leads you in from a nice, simplistic guitar intro. Then in comes Frusciante’s vocals, with some background vocal help from the also very talented Josh Klinghoffer.†More talent is shown with drums here, and the melody is something that you could fall asleep to. With alternating tempo’s from slow, to bouncy, to harmonic, then to medium, this song takes you many many places. A great duo to start off the album. These songs really get you prepared for the talent that is to come in the rest of the album.
The third track, Regret is much slower than the previous tracks. I honestly cant figure out what Frusciante regrets, as he is an amazing musician/singer and is the lead guitarist for one of the most respected bands in modern rock and roll, but who cares. This song is genius. Not too creative though, since all the choruses are the same lyrically, and same goes for every one of the verses, but that’s alright. “Regret†really shows the vocal abilities of Frusciante in a different way than the first two songs, as that instead of powerful, these vocals aim more toward emotional, which Frusciante can really pull off. This song is definitely one of my favorites on the album. The next song, Ricky begins with what sounds like being outside on a windy day; very therapeutic. The opening vocals are really soft which makes you think you have another Regret on your hands, but then it leads into a noticeably faster beat. There are some background “Ooh-la-la-la’s†which sound really nice and then it goes right into a faster beat with the same vocals from the opening. Again, a really great song with excellent bass and drum parts. But what else can we expect when Frusciante is involved.
Second Walk is the fifth track on the album and also the shortest. This is a really up-tempo, fast beat song including some really fantastic guitar work. No background vocals or over the top solo’s or anything, but definitely a fun song to listen to. The guitar sounds almost like something “Joe Satriani†would tune it to, if you know who that is (and you should one behalf of all and any love for phenomenal guitar), so it is something I didn’t expect. And the song ends with a simple guitar fade and cymbal crash. However, the next song, Every Person opens really gracefully. This goes right into some nice background effects and a simple guitar beat with Frusciante’s unbelievable vocals. There is some background vocal work in this song, but nothing special. This song builds and builds and builds until the end where it leaves you off by just dropping the vocals and fading away. Decent song, very beautiful.
This next number, -00Ghost27 is something completely different than anything else on the album. It is just this one sound followed by some different tones. I’m sure this will get annoying to a lot of you, in fact its kind of annoying me as I’m writing this. But it is Frusciante and he never really liked to stay inside the box for too long. It is just some nice experimental work, nothing bad but nothing noteworthy either, except for it being so different. Anyway, lets get to the next song. Wednesday’s Song opens with a pretty nice sounding guitar and some tom-tom work on the drums. This display’s some really great vocals on the side of Frusciante. There is some really nice beats in this song, and not to exclude the really nice bass in the song toward the end and in the breakdown’s. Another Frusciante favorite.
Next we get to one of my favorite Frusciante songs of all time. This Cold opens with a really funky beat, followed by some Chad on the drums. This goes right into Frusciante with his amazing chords and incredibly lyrics. Probably one of the more up-beat songs on the album. There is some really nice guitar parts in this song and while being guitarist, there is really nothing spectacular on the album, but this song features some of the better. Not to mention Flea on the bass is really enjoyable to listen to. The next song, Failure 33 Object is the second instrumental on the album. It is just this fast alternating sound changing tones constantly. Again, an experimental “song†that just shows how creative Frusciante can be. However it tends to get really high pitched, almost like an alarm toward the end which can frustrate some people.
The next song, Song to Sing When I’m Lonely starts with a techno sound, but don’t let that turn you off. The rest of the song is utterly fantastic. The song is a little slow at first and then transfers into a really fun, not fast but faster beat. Frusciante’s guitar gets some more spotlight here. Same goes for Chad’s drumming. There are some parts of the song where Frusciante’s vocals show a little more creativity, like tone pitches and some nice self-echoing. A fantastic piece of work that shows off what Frusciante has to offer. This next track, Time Goes Back, starts with yet another nice opener. Frusciante’s vocals once again take the stage with the hard, strong lyrics that we all love to hear. Flea’s bass is really fantastic here, complimenting Frusciante’s vocals and guitar. The echo work is really nice here and there is some background vocals by Mr. Klinghoffer. Another masterpiece by Frusciante. One of my favorite and definitely one of the more beautiful songs on the album.
In Relief is a really nice acoustic twist on the album. It is only Frusciante and his best friend, little woody (his guitar…you’re such a potty mind). There is no special vocal effects here, no synth, no anything which makes this probably the rawest song on the album, which I’m sure he did on purpose. A great acoustic song. Which goes straight into track number fourteen, Water. The first forty seconds of the song is just this building sound, like what you would imagine to hear at the bottom of the ocean. Then out of nowhere, Frusciante and his gang come right in with cheerful vocals. A really funky song here, with some really nice bass work by Flea. The chorus is really upbeat and theres some REALLY nice guitar effects, with distortion and the whammy stick. This is a really fun song to listen to, especially when you’re in a good mood, because this can only improve the experience. Theres some nice, fast-paced drumming by Chad and again, very nice bass. One of the highlights of the album. Definitely give this song a try.
Cut-Out is another slow opener. It is pretty mellow throughout, but the background instruments and vocals going “Oooooh†really help refine the song. Chad eventually comes in building up the beat on the snare and breaks into some cymbals and John really defining the song. Theres a nice, up-tempo guitar tune and some pretty cool string instrument (yes I said it) effects. This is another really great song, but not essentially a highlight. Still a great listen though. Chances almost sounds like a Beatles song with its beats. Again with the string instruments which add a really nice touch to the album. Flea’s bass and Chad’s drumming really help accent the song. However it is really short coming in at only 1:49. But this song leads directly into…
23 Go in to End. The last instrumental of the album, and also the longest track. This song, reaching 6:42 is another great instrumental. No more annoying synth. This is like an orchestra piece with strings, horns, and everything else. A truly fantastic song. The piano comes in later which really adds a depth that the song needs. This just continues for a while, tempo changes every now and then and eventually fades out right into our next song, The Slaughter, which also happens to be my favorite song. There is some nice synth effects towards the beginning and it goes straight into Frusciante’s entrancing vocals. There is more orchestra here which really add something special to the song. The guitars are simple enough to keep you interested and the lyrics are truly some of the more beautiful on the album. When he goes “Living there in a flower…†his vocals really came through and the album ends with a bang.
This album is really amazing. With songs that could send you into dreamland like *snap* that, the album is really nothing less than incredible. Frusciante who we all came to know and love in the ‘Red Hot Chili Peppers’, proved to us that his beautiful singing voice plus his undeniable ability to work a guitar to the bone can result in beautiful melodies, lyrically genius writing, and some really interesting instrumentals along the way.
