First AlbumReviewed by Simba, 2010-03-05
5 stars. Though some people don't like this. If you do infact like it check out Smile from the Streets You Hold & the Estrus E.P. for more Niandra LaDes and Usually Just a T-Shirt songs. Two albums on one CD. Dedicated to Clara(Flea's daughter). No inserts but the digipacks inside is cool. One of his most famous CDs. You should see his interview with VPRO after this album on YouTube or Google videos if you like it & check out the short documentry of his home called Stuff directed by actor Johnny Depp & Gibby from the Butthole Suffers. He also performs the intro to Untitled #3 from the Usually Just a T-Shirt part for an intro to Scar Tissue when he rejoined the Red Hot Chili Peppers in the Californication era DVD(& VHS) Off the Map. He made By the Way & Stafium Arcadium with them & quit agian.His first albums with them were 4th & 5th albums Mother's Milk & Blood Sugar Sex Magik & Navarro joined for One Hot Minute. He has also made a lot of other solo albums and E.P.s later too.
Very confusing, but intriguingReviewed by D. Taylor, 2009-09-11
Frusciante is the lead guitarist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He
wrote half of this while recording the Peppers' breakthrough album
BSSM. The other half he wrote after quitting the band for a while
(he was too into drugs to be useful as a band member).
Bear that in mind when you listen to this album: He was stoned when
writing this album.
That said, it's very experimental. Rolling Stone recently labeled
him as "The Visionary" in guitar rock. There's tracks that are
played backwards, or digitally sped up, or any other distortion
they can get. And his vocals sound painful to sing - some are
painful to listen to. The lyrics make very little sense, though
they made sense to him, and I'm sure they would make sense to me as
well if I were to take drugs. "Running Away Into You" has a really
creepy part where the track loops about 2 seconds, speeds up and at
the same time changes the pitch rapidly upward.
Some have terrible guitar playing, but some are great guitar lines
that should be sampled or covered for another song sometime.
To sum up: This is NOT as rockin' as the RHCP, but it's not
terrible either. Would I have bought it if I had heard it first?
Probably not, but I did buy it, and I listen to it occasionally.
A religious experienceReviewed by Andres, 2005-09-25
As I sit here listening to this album for the first time, I find myself completely enthralled. It truly has been a religious experience. This man was on some stuff. It really shows. You have to have a solid background and appreciation in music to enjoy this album like I have. If you are looking for the beloved guitarist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, well, you are looking in the wrong place. It sounds very Frank Zappa influenced. This is a man at one of the lowest points in his life, yet, somehow, he manages to pull out some beautiful songwriting, and some of his best ever material. Frusciantes guitar is as good and lucid as ever. The second half (Usually Just a T-shirt) is much more chilled and instrumental. Great album by one of the greatest (and most underrated musicians) of the past decade.
No, you can still be a music fan, if you dislike it.....Reviewed by Jonti Daniels, 2004-08-17
First off, Alot of reviews stated that if you love music you have
to like this, which is not true at all.
Although if you want a great documentation of what was John
Frusciante of that time, and listen to some well structured lo-fi
pop songs while feeling uncomfortable at times, this is great
record to listen to then.
This is also a good aid for when your lonely and you can just pop
this into your stereo and lie in bed, it feels like he is right
there playing guitar and singing for you underneath the shelf where
your stereo lies.
MisunderstoodReviewed by Troy Irwin, 2003-12-29
This album is very misunderstood. I could say that I found a deeper
meaning to his lyrics, but some of you might find that to be naive.
Although if you're reading this, I imagine you're not some random
person trying to find a new artist to be interested in. So I assume
most of you are familiar with john, and with the chili peppers. And
although I may be the only person I know that knows enough of their
history, i know a lot of you do! But it really does make the man,
everyone has to understand that john was in a really low point of
his life during the recording of this album. The quality is low,
because he recorded it himself! The singing is his style, his
variety that he adds. It has certainly improved over the
years...between his occasional background vocals on
californication, and his constant backgrounds on By the Way.
The best example, has to be his singing on Save the Population, i'm
sure you all realize he has the last line in the song, and he
sounds, well, awesome!
I consider myself a philosophical person, so I can read into his
lyrics of a time that his life was in a valley of lows. We've all
had our low points in our lives, but he reached a certain low, that
I know he hopes none of us would ever have to. The lyrics, and the
singing definitely reflect the pain i can tell this man was going
through. And to hear and see him now, he's a new person.
I don't know if he'd like to say reborn, but in a sense he has
been. The songs on Niandra Lades are beautiful, artistically
overwhelming, and simply awe-inspiring!
I didn't even mention the guitar, don't let me forget that! His
playing would make a Neanderthal want to pick up a guitar and spend
hours attempting to do what he is capable of!
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