John Frusciante is the guitarist for Red Hot Chili Peppers; his presence in the band spans over decades – initially a part of the band from 1988 to 1992, he returned after several years (and two solo records) in 1999 to revitalize the group. He has been back with RHCP since then, but his work in the band had not quelled his desire to write and record his own music. The Empyrean, Frusciante’s eleventh solo album, is a instrumentally-focused record, showcasing Frusciante’s massive talent as a guitarist as well as his quivering, almost ethereal voice. The album is a mellow blend of rock sounds and tones.

Frusciante sings remarkably well and has the ability to be diverse – “Dark Light” starts off very choral and as beat and style change, and he does so too flawlessly. He seems to change into someone completely different altogether in “One More of Me”.

The renowned artist, as quoted from his official website, describes the nature of the album: “Lyrically this record became a concept album and was not initially written that way though I had a clear idea of what sort of things I wanted to write about.  I did not write the songs as a character but as myself. The form revealed itself as it took shape and I added songs to complete the flow I perceived.”

The overall sound of the album is very raw, the echoes and relatively bare musical accompaniment give the music the bearings of a live performance.  The styles seem to stem right out for the psychedelic 60s and 70s; “Unreachable” is a particularly trippy, hippy song that, if represented in colour, would emit waves of tie-dye. Appropriately enough, “Song to the Siren” is a cover of the original 1970s Tim Buckley hit from his album Starsailor.  While some of the tracks seem to go on for a bit too long, with Frusciante’s unique energy and vision, I expected the more epic lengths.

To learn more about John Frusciante’s insights on the album, visit his website at http://johnfrusciante.com/.



TRACK LISTING:

BEFORE THE BEGINNING
SONG TO THE SIREN
UNREACHABLE
GOD
DARK/LIGHT
HEAVEN
ENOUGH OF ME
CENTRAL
ONE MORE OF ME
AFTER THE ENDING