When I think of this album, I think of it as his darker rockier album. `Inside of Emptiness' is the 4th album in the series of six albums which were released in six months and his 8th overall. This album sees Josh Klinghoffer return behind the drums and John doing what he does best; guitar wizardry.
The focal point of the album and appropriately the track which is slam in the middle of the album, is `Look on'. There are times when I read reviews and think reviewers totally over-exaggerate. For instance, they tip some unsigned band by saying they are the new Beatles. Basically the aim is really just trying to draw attention to them by making outlandish statements. For this song though, I really do believe this is one of the best guitar solos out there. Starting 2 minutes and 41 seconds into the track, the solo lasts for about a minute and a half and I reckon it's up there with the solo in Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin. It certainly has the same key ingredients which make for a great guitar solo; length, twist and turns and that clean, pure guitar sound. The rest of the song is great too, but the guitar solo really is that good that it takes centre stage. Not just centre stage in the song, but in the whole album. Now pretend songs are people. It would be as if all the other songs on the album are shining bright lights at it making it stand out over the rest, purely out of respect of the genius of the song. It's like the cool kid at school, who everyone wants to be. I think a lot of people, including myself thought this what all the albums would sound like; just one guitar solo after another. How wrong was I?! The diversity, strength and depth of his music is like no other. It's almost as if he wrote this album to say `Yes I can make an album like this, but just one, there is a lot more to me than that'.
`Look on' maybe the centrepiece of the album, but the standard of the rest of the songs is also exceptionally high. Worthy mentions include opener `What I saw', `Inside a break' and `666'. All these songs have a kind of edgy rugged rock feel to them, in particular `666' which it as if John is just putting his blood, sweat and tears into the song, both in his vocals and in his guitar playing. `Inside a break' has a great rhythm to it, using the stop start technique after singing each line, while gathering momentum until a vocal explosion when singing `I go away to turn the dark to light'. Overall this is a great song and has some good changes of pace to keep things interesting.
The album opener `What I saw' swaggers in, showing a man brimming with confidence and on top of his game.
If there was ever any doubt as to whether Frusciante can sing or not, just listen to the last track `Scratches' where he sings 'The weight of my freezing' or the opening line to `I'm around'; `You know I'm around you'. These parts show the purity and range of vocals John possesses. Sometimes I wonder how Anthony Kiedis is still in a job with the Chilis as John as a far better singer. However at the same time John doing the rap bit to the beginning `All around the world' wouldn't really work, although I think it would be hilarious. So although John is the better singer, Anthony's style of singing is far more suited to the funk edged rock which the Chili's deliver year after year.
One thing that intrigues me about this album other than the masterful music on display is the title of the album `Inside of Emptiness'. The first question which springs into my head is `How can you be inside of emptiness?'. It is a very weird yet thought provoking title. On this occasion he doesn't even have the excuse of being on drugs, as he is now completely dry in every sense. This sort of thing though, I think is just another example of how John's mind works. He is always exploring things beyond conventional wisdom, trying to make sense of things which are echoed through his lyrics such as `Emptiness set me free' from the track entitled `Emptiness'. Is he trying to maybe say that if emptiness had a soundtrack this is what it would sound like. I think it probably is a reference once again to his drug era, but the possibilities seem endless. At the end of the day maybe that's really what Frusciante's aim is; to make the listener explore their minds more through his lyrics and try to think more outside the box.
Overall this is an absolutely cracking album and out of the six releases in six months, I would say it's his best. Out of all his albums I would say only `Shadows' is better, and even then it is just by fraction and no more. It's the album Frusciante fans would want him to make all along. A guitar master class. This was before they knew what he was really capable of. For people who have never heard his music before I would strongly encourage you to `Look on'.
No comments:
Post a Comment