release date: Mar. 8, 1994
format: digital
[album rate: 1,5 / 5]
Some tracks: 2. "My Smile Is a Rifle" - 3. "Head (Beach Arab)" - 4. "Big Takeover" - 8. "Been Insane" - 10. "Your Pussy's Glued to a Building on Fire" - 14. "Untitled #2" - 21. "Untitled #9" - 24. "Untitled #12"
Studio debut album by John Frusciante released on American Recordings. The album shows a completely different side to the guitarist of Red Hot Chili Peppers whom he left in 1992. Stylistically, it's a most evident example of Frusciante's interest in expressions of creativity made in "streams of consciousness". The first half of the album Tracks 1-12 are labelled "Niandra LaDes", and they were written shortly after the completion of Red Hot Chili Peppers' break-through album Blood Sugar Sex Magic (Sep. 1991), and the other half, tracks 13-25, labelled "Usually Just a T-Shirt" (commonly referred to as "Untitled #1-13") were recorded while touring with RHCP i.e. before breaking with the band but at a time when he had become a serious drug addict of heroin and cocaine. The music is said to reflect Frusciante's spirituality and an unbalanced emotional state, and also his drug abuse during the recording sessions, which took place in his own house from 1991-93. Anyway, it's apparent how the second part seems much more improvised. I have come to know of the music of Frusciante much later, and have only come across this album a few months ago, and I must agree to Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone Magazine that it mostly just appears to be 'ramblings' and what sound as rough demos. These takes may be avant-garde and / or experimental neo-psychedelic rock and instant expressiveness of a genius, but nevertheless, it ain't good.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 2 / 5 stars ]
