It's not curtains for Frusciante yet (Curtains - John Frusciante)

Member Name: Lakerfanster

Product:	Curtains - John Frusciante
Date:	26/07/09 (61 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Guitar, voice on form

Disadvantages: Voice when not on form

**Introduction**

I'm sure all of you will know John Frusciante from his work in Red Hot Chili Peppers but not as many of you would know that he has also released many solo albums. A couple of years ago I had an offer on a download site which allowed me a certain amount of free downloads as a thank you for signing up. I am not sure what the exact number of free downloads I received but I guess it was around 100 or so, Anyway. After searching through the database on the site I chose this album to download as I like the Red Hot Chili Peppers and In particular John Frusciante's guitar playing in the group.

**Curtains**

Curtains is the ninth solo album from John Frusciante and features the following musicians. Carla Azar (from the band Autolux) plays drums, Ken Wild plays upright bass, and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, of The Mars Volta, makes various guest appearances on guitar. As well as playing guitar John Frusciante can also be heard playing the following instruments. electric bass, melodica, piano, string ensemble, mellotron, synthesizer, treatments as well as Producing the album and doing the artwork for the album cover.

"The Past Recedes" - 3:53
"Lever Pulled" - 2:22
"Anne" - 3:35
"The Real" - 3:06
"A Name" - 2:03
"Control" - 4:29
"Your Warning" - 3:33
"Hope" - 1:56
"Ascension" - 2:52
"Time Tonight" - 3:12
"Leap Your Bar" - 2:36

**My Verdict**

Opening the album up we have Past Recedes which gets the album off to a really great start. His vocals remind me of Cat Stevens in that story telling vocal which also appears on many of the other tracks too. This track is predominantly acoustic guitar based with a bass guitar backing. A good start. Next up we have Lever Pulled which is features a gorgeous falsetto from Frusciante which you may have heard from his backing vocals in RHCP's. When you first hear this It does sound like he is singing "Liverpool" instead of Lever Pulled.

Anne is up next and this starts softly with an emotive vocal from Frusciante. Once in full flow there is some great electric work on the guitar from Frusciante and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez as you'll be able to hear both guitarists at work. This is a really impressive track. Next up we have The Real which is opens with a folky sound and then has a catchy acoustic guitar melody, This is a decent track but does not have the same progression as some of the other tracks on the album.

Now we have "A Name" and this really shows the likeness to Cat Stevens. I like the way Frusciante's voice gets louder and then suddenly goes quiet, This is a very good track but at just over two minutes it is a tad short. Next we have Control which starts as a very gentle track which also has the loud-quiet thing going on to good effect. This is a very good track which changes up to feature some harder acoustic guitar playing. Very good stuff.

Now we come to Your Warning which is a very slow track with Frusciante's vocals sounding very relaxed and very effective. This is a really good track which shows that his guitar is not just what he is about. I really like the piano on this one which is played by Frusciante. Very good stuff, Next up we have Hope which is a short track which clocks in at just under two minutes. This is probably one of the weaker tracks as it does not really get going and does not have enough about it to take it from just above average.

Ascension is the next track and this is a live style track which works really well. This is a really flowing track which features some great vocal harmonies from those involved. I like the string background which adds an intimate quality to the track. Now comes the track "Time Tonight" which is another very well sung track which features gentle acoustic guitar and beautiful piano. This is up there with the best on the album for sure. Now comes the final track which is Leap your bar, This is Probably the only track that gets on my nerves a bit as his voice is not as good on this one as he is for most of the album. It's a decent enough track but not up there with the best. Could be better.

**Overall**

For those of you who may have expected this to be much like his material from Red Hot Chili Peppers you may be surprised when you listen to the album. If I was to describe the album compared to the band I would say that this blends the best work of Cat Stevens with John Frusciante's guitar from Red Hot Chili Peppers. This is a very solid album which is the last of six albums in a row for the solo John Frusciante.

Summary: Good stuff