John Frusciante

The Empyrean

(Record Collection)

Record Review by Alex Pudlin

I remember when I first picked up Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt. I was excited that the guitarist with the goofy ski-hat from the “Under the Bridge” video had come out with his own album. This was back when Frusciante had no teeth…and did copious amounts of heroin. Not surprisingly, Niandra sounds like a guy with an off-key voice trying to scare the dots off of his acoustic guitar. It’s haunting, almost-decent music. Now, fifteen years later Mr. Frusciante has a much happier story to tell. Since Niandra, he’s rejoined the Chili Peppers, kicked the junk habit, made three multi-platinum records and will now be remembered as the guitarist in a band that once couldn’t keep one for more than two years. Say what you want about the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but at least appreciate the rise, fall and resurrection of John Frusciante.

Which brings us to Mr. Frusciante’s latest non-Chili Peppers album, The Empyrean. In his press release, Frusciante refers to the album as “a concept record that tells a single story both musically and lyrically. The story takes place within one person, and there are two characters.” Interestingly, the first song is a wordless 9-minute guitar jam, while the next is a cover of Tim Buckley’s “Song to the Siren.” To say that this makes the “concept” of The Empyrean a bit hard to follow is an understatement. Perhaps the guitar soloing in “Before the Beginning” is one of the overall story’s two “characters.” Probably not, but that’s the problem. Most good stories have beginnings that the reader can latch onto and hold for the ride. I guess Frusciante is pulling more of a James Joyce. Ironically, although these first two tracks muddle the concept, they are easily the two strongest songs on the album. “Before the Beginning” is a brooding guitar epic rooted in some moody little guitar licks. It’s a bit aimless, but Frusciante’s fluid and melodic playing shows why he’s often cited as one of the better guitarists of the past 25 years. “Song to the Siren” keeps the album in a melancholy mood, but this time with a crooning Frusciante vocal that is unrecognizable from his Niandra days.

I once had a friend who said Buckley’s “Song to the Siren” was a classic but that he had to hate it because it sounded like the template for grunge-era power ballads. I never really agreed until I heard the rest of The Empyrean. “Unreachable” sounds almost like a joke. Perhaps Frusciante’s purposely sending up Candlebox to make a satirical statement, but it’s lost on me. “Dark/Light” is a piano ballad that starts out well but then shockingly changes directions to sound like a Mama Said-era Lenny Kravitz adult-contempo-soul outtake that continues on for another 5 1/2 minutes. “Heaven” is a much better ballad sprinkled with spacey keyboards and strings. Frusciante’s vocals are soulful in a Marianne Faithfull sort of way. But like much of the album, the lyrics are undecipherable.

After some more decent but uneventful neo-prog numbers you arrive at “One More of Me.” This one has to be a joke. Over nothing but strings, bass and Rhodes, a voice that sounds like a mix of Creed’s Scott Stapp and Joe Cocker rings out. It’s truly dreadful.

Sure The Empyrean is ambitious. And there are a lot worse things out there. But I would’ve much preferred an album of Tim Buckley covers. As for the whole concept thing? I still have no idea. There’s lots of talk of religion and space, but beyond that, I’m lost.