Ultimate Guitar review of Smile
01st September 2004, from ultimate-guitar.com
Released: Aug 26, 1997
Genre: Rock
Styles: Alternative Pop/Rock
Number Of Tracks: 17
It is a collection of tracks from all over the place, though absolutely nothing about the packaging or liner notes indicates that.
Overall Sound: 5
5 Lyrics: 5
Impression: 5
Sound: Well basically the sound on this CD is pretty poor quality, but that’s not without rhyme or reason. This recording was released in 1997 and later taken off the shelves because John felt uncomfortable with its presence on the shelves. When this was recorded he was addicted to hard drugs, notably heroine. At the time of recording, he had stubs for teeth and was as thin as physically possible. He recorded this in his motel room, which was in atrocious condition (check out VH1’s Behind the Music: RHCP for confirmation) He recorded it on a 4 track system and it goes without saying that the sound quality isnt the greatest. But that said it adds to his feelings. It still gets a 5 but only because he deserves the greatest praise going for producing this record. [5]
Lyrics: Well where to start? The lyrics on this album are so heartfelt that it brings a tear to the eye. his expresses all of his emotions into this disc. His joy, sorrow and pain compiled into one. John’s voice is off key, but his out of tune wails only add to the sentiment. You really have to listen to the album a few times to really get the full extent of this CD. Its the most emotional music I have ever heard, and most definately a CD that should gain more recognition, maybe not commercially because I doubt its radio friendly but people need to hear this album. [5]
Overall Impression: This album is currently out of print. So is extremely rare to find. I bought my copy off Ebay for £45 which I thought was a bargain, seeing as Amazon were selling it for £70! I love this album, it’s one of my favorite of all time and is worth every penny! If you’re new to John Frusciante, then I recommend listening to his more recent stuff, then moving onto this material. But if you like dark, drug ladened, emotional music. This is the CD for you! [5]
