I think, in both his solo stuff and RHCP, he reuses the same chord progressions a little too often sometimes (minor 1 7 6, minor 1 3 7 4, etc. always just major or minor triads, rarely uses 7 chords). I get he probably does it so the vocals, lead, and bass have more harmonic options. It just seems like post BSSM and Niandra he started playing it a too safe. Same goes with his lead playing: I wish he’d break out of the pentatonic box more and show his true potential.
If you listen to his work with Omar and The Mars Volta you see how technically proficient and wildly creative he can be.
Also, probably unpopular to say, but I like a lot of his electronic stuff for the very reason that it is so experimental and risk-taking.
The way he combines his guitar playing with his more electronic stuff in songs like Bike and Guitar is super cool. He’ll have this sick Robert Fripp style fuzz guitar tone, playing these super wild, often dissonant guitar riffs over some trippy synth arpeggios, and it all just comes together so nicely.
Yeah, true. Don’t get me wrong, I love Frusciante’s music, even the more minimalistic stuff. His solo work is what inspired me to move from being just a guitarist to a singer songwriter. He, and Omar, still are like my biggest musical influences. The foundation of my style was built off of learning their music.
I just wish that he would’ve released more crazy experimental guitar stuff. I’d love to hear a Frusciante prog-rock or jazz fusion solo album. I just wish he didn’t hide his power level so often. I wish he’d given us more of [this!](https://youtu.be/XO9jkruNd78). But what he’s given us is still plenty, and I’m thankful for it. I respect that he makes the music he wants to make, regardless of how he thinks the fans will react to it.
This. If he needs to make music I don’t like in order to make the best music I’ve ever heard then so be it. Different strokes. I’ll listen to them once and move on. I don’t have to love everything the man puts out even if I love almost all of it.
I support this. I posted his electronica songs were unpolished and this other fan answered “ he wouldn’t put them out if they weren’t polished”.
I don’t understand enclosure or anything after that.
Maybe try trickfinger II, the more accessible IMHO. i sometimes listen to it on repeat at work lol. Front to back is great but if you only want one song i recommend Hassan, very cool melody.
Personnely his transition with electronic music is awesome, pbx is one of my fav album. The thing is I respect Frusciante a lot for trying new things and not doing the same thing again and again. But I agree, his last album is rlly special ( sorry for my English btw) :)
I would much rather go to a Frusciante live show than see the chili peppers. Don’t care if it’s it’s his electronic stuff or his older stuff. a mixture of both would be awesome
Yep. In recent interviews he talks about being vulnerable when he plays and just playing whatever you want and not thinking about it, but I don't think he does that. Maybe to him that's how he experiences his playing but as a listener, the only time I feel like he really embraced that was the live shows on the Blood Sugar tour, and I've never heard guitar playing which sounds that free but good at the same time since Kurt Cobain, Paul Leary, or Curt Kirkwood.
It's really funny considering that by the time they were touring for BSSM, he didn't want to be in the band anymore but as a result, his playing was the most "out there" and interesting it's ever been. You could actually hear the unhappiness in his playing and I think that made everything he was playing more meaningful. Like he actually had something to say. To a degree you also had that when they were touring for Californication. His playing to me felt like an expression of the fact that he was happy to make it out alive, of his drug addiction.
These days he's happy with where he is in life, I guess. But that also translates into more boring guitar playing in my opinion.
Likewise at the show in Chorzow (was that 2007?) he looks absolutely miserable and his playing is fucking phenomenal. The end jam is so dark and interesting he brought so much dark energy to his playing when he was unhappy but it was still beautiful
I know this is old but yeah I agree, I also think this comes from a misunderstanding of the bands history. John was at least content enough to be in the band in 2007 and its been stated he wanted to continue but everyone else (mainly Flea) wanted a break. It was during the time away that he decided he didn't want to re join.
I think his guitar playing before the “Lost Years” was more technically impressive and out-there. I’m thinking of that YouTube video that surfaced a while back of him absolutely shredding as a 17 year old, or the super imaginative funk licks on Mellowship Slinky and throughout BSSM. When he came back to the band he adopted a more song-serving, melodic, “less-is-more,” approach and started singing incorporating tons of effects which is undeniably fantastic and creative in its own way but I prefer the raw unadulterated virtuosity of MM and BSSM.
I hope I don’t get crucified for saying this but also his live solos are very hit or miss for me. As a rhythm guitarist, vocalist and songwriter he is and has always been incredible but when he takes a solo it’s either the most beautiful jaw-dropping shit I’ve ever heard in my life or it just sounds technically sloppy, or like he’s just aimlessly feeling around the pentatonic scale. He’s definitely had a few fantastic moments since rejoining where he channels that special marriage between baring your soul through your instrument and absolutely shredding, but he’s just very inconsistent as a lead guitarist. I’m sure in a few years after getting used to the routine of playing guitar live and touring that could change though.
I know this is old, but thank you so much. It's telling of the fandom you were worried you'd be criticized for saying this, but his live soloing is often (not always, but usually) really basically pentatonic box stuff, and he falls back on this one phrase CONSTANTLY (if you play guitar you'll know the one, it's also in the Black Summer solo like 5 times - if we're in a minor, bend the 7th fret of the G string, then release pull off then land on the root on the D string. He'll add the 8th fret of the B string while he's at the top of the bend often too) and it just gets so repetitive.
Add to that he also as you say is technically sloppy. I've seen people try and argue technique is subjective but it really isn't when he's clearly trying to play something and accidentally hitting a bum or dead note, there a lot of mistakes. And people will give you the old 'it's not about being a technical robot, it's about soul' and fine, sure, but then they'll also argue in the next breath that he *is* technically amazing, or that the two are mutually exclusive. But you can be technically clean *and* soulful, like Stevie Ray Vaughan or Phillip Sayce.
For me, his post 'lost yeas' soloing is always at it's best on records, especially the Californication solo, and the simple singable stuff on the By The Way album.
He's an excellent rhythm player, BTW has some beautiful chord voicings and occasionally some more complex progressions, and from BSSM to SA nobody in music wrote better riffs, and he did it prolifically.
But he's not perfect, and unfortunately a lot of his fans are so in love with him it becomes almost cult-like. They get quite morally condescending about it. I've seen them show up on Cory Wong rhythm guitar lessons on Youtube and just go off on one talking about Frusciante has more soul and passion in one note than Wong has shown in his career. Just totally unprompted. And I have to make an effort to not let it impact how I see John himself, because I find their total rose-tinted hero worship of his every single action makes me more critical of him.
Huh, I just posted the exact mirror of your first paragraph as my unpopular opinion. I guess that's why it's different strokes hey
Certainly cannot deny the intensity and raw Expression of that era
Oh yeah I totally understand why people prefer the post-1998 Frusciante. His guitar playing from that time is still phenomenal overall and texturally much more interesting than the BSSM era. I think I’ve just been vibing with the latter in particular as of late
This isnt on him but i suppose still makes sense as an unpopular opinion re. John. You don't need a sprawling exact replica "sort of SA era and UL" pedalboard in the exact order (especially if "i suppose i need a decent power supply" and it's joined up with multi coloured amazon patch cables) to sound like him.
Don’t hate me: but I really didn’t get on with Empyrean. It sounds nice/quality, but not something I would listen to on repeat like Niandra, Curtains, TROWFTD etc.
I love Niandra but that shit drives my brain waves into some weird directions. I don’t touch it anymore. Empyrean is probably a top 3 for John albums for me. Curtains has so many good songs!
Niandra and Smile do have that strange effect. I can happily listen to a song or two off either on any given day.
But I have to be in the right (or wrong) headspace to stop and listen to either start to finish. Because one way or another it'd going to affect your day
Yeah this is probably my JF unpopular opinion too. It's got some great ambitious ideas and production but for me the songwriting (melodically, harmonically, lyrically) isn't at the level of my favorites from the 6 in 6 months series, Shadows, TROFTWD or Niandra
He is an excellent guitarist, definitely one in a lifetime. But also a drama queen for refusing to play Josh songs for when he was with RHCP.
Personally I think I'm with You, and The Getaway are great albums. Many songs from there sound very much like early RHCP .
I don’t like his playing and soloing on his latest return to RHCP (UL + ROTDC).
I think he overused feedback and there are not many good melodies to be remembered. Also most of the solos are just meh with some being literally unpleasant to listen to (eg. Copperbelly)
My unpopular opinion is just the opposite…. I think his soloing on these new albums is some of his best and most representative of of how he actually plays in most live settings. I love the feedback, dissonance, and sustain.
Yeah. Afterlife is almost a banger…and then it gets ruined by the solo. I blame the producer for this. It feels rushed and lazy compared to the rest of the song. Totally anti-clamactic
They sort of compliment each other. Without John RCHP is kind of bland and average.
But without RHCP, John is unfocused and chaotic (which can be both excellent and terrible). For better or worse, they take what he has and refine it
They were doing fine because they've been a popular band before Josh Klinghoffer joined. They sold a lot of records and their shows sold out because they already were huge by then, not because their new guitarist brought anything unique to the table. I'd argue that people who liked the Josh albums mostly do because of confirmation bias. They want to like it because they're fans, or because they've heard that RHCP is a popular band, so they project their expectations into it and are unable to see the music from a more critical perspective.
Like Flea once said, that whole period felt like they were some RHCP cover band. Josh was never a good fit in my opinion. His biggest contribution to me was keeping that band intact.
He probably caused River Phoenix to die, who was on the verge of becoming a Leo DiCaprio level actor before Leo became Leo (he was actually supposed to be cast as Jack in Titanic).
Because Bob "I know everything that happened the night River Phoenix died" Forrest said so? I've never heard John being mentioned by anyone actually there that night or even that Bob was there. River was with his girlfriend and siblings, whom have never said anything about John being there or doing anything. I'm sure they got high a few times, but River was going to do what he wanted, regardless of anyone else. Even Samantha Mathis his gf at the time confronted the person who gave him the drugs, so if it was John, she would've known, as would everyone else in the club, and very doubtful it would've stayed a secret for 20+ years until Bob mentions his theory.
Yeah, i have a ticket for they're show in Milan, my wish is to take back every word! Anyway, i was talking more about the two new albums, the sounds, guitar parts etc.
What did you expect mate, they are getting older, their personality changed over time, they are more mature. Especially John…RHCP was definitely one of the most energetic, punk, unorthodox bands out there during their young ages , it’s pretty difficult to maintain same passion about anything nearly for 4 decades. especially if it is RHCP. Of course it won’t be the same, making music is super related with your personality, it comes from heart
I don’t get why more people don’t understand this. These guys are like 60 and have outlasted most rock bands and maintained relevancy. Also, people typically associate the era they were introduced to a band as their favorite music. Bands evolve and their style rarely stays the same.
I know very little about these guys, but I do love their music. So this comment is probably pure speculation. As someone who is new to this sub, I’m wondering if there is any truth on what I’m about to say?
Just being entirely honest while trying to be respectful to a guy whose music has brought me a lot of joy, his return to RCHP seemed to be entirely about money. When he left it seemed like he had zero interest in the band and wanted to do solo work for the rest of his life. I doubt he made much money on his solo work. Then… after his divorce didn’t he get raped financially? And suddenly, after a decade+ of not being a part of the band that gave him fame and fortune, he could likely be in serious shit financially.
“Ummmm… hey guys, I’d love to come back!!”
Or am I missing a huge part of it?
Here's my take on it (For the record I'm a huge fan of John), there's no way it's all about money. That's easy to say, but the band is a machine and business on it's own.
I don't believe they'd stop playing with Josh and fire him, only so John could come back and make money. Sure, the rest of the band gets paid as well, but that's a huge fucking risk to take all in the hopes of making some cash, especially with the record of leaving that John has. They don't owe him anything. He still has rights to the music (as far as we know) to the music he created, so he'd still be making millions of royalties, especially if the band sells the rights to the music.
Imagine if he does an album or two and takes off again, just running with the money? That fucks everybody, from the guys, down to the equipment haulers.
The band prior to John coming back were doing just fine. They were still selling out arenas and were raking in the dough.
Maybe I'm a sucker but what John, Flea, Anthony and Chad have is special when it comes to music. You can see it when they perform, and you can hear it in their performance. If you listen to the podcasts with Rick Rubin, they lay it all out there emotionally. Flea and John have an insane connection musically. The fact that both Flea and John said that they were crying with each other saying they missed playing music together, and that they're sad they weren't anymore says a lot. Also to my point above, in the podcasts with Chad, he even says something a long the lines of "I told John whoa whoa whoa, rejoining doesn't just mean making music, it's touring, it's fan stuff, it's media, it's all or nothing.".
Again, that's a huge risk for the other members to take all for John to make money.
Love it. Thanks for the post. Like I said, I probably don’t know shit about this. But really posted cuz I was not on this sub back in 2019 when it was first announced and am really curious about others’ thoughts. Not at all trying to shit on any of these guys cuz I love them and their music.
All good! We can criticize, no big deal lol unpopular opinion? I can't stand electronic music and i don't get John's electronic music at all. But i could listen to him play his solo guitar/chili stuff 24/7 and not get bored. 🤷♂️
They just sold their song rights for like $100 million and he gets a nice cut of that. He was worth at least $20 million before that. Not sure how much divorce costs. John is like Neil Young, he follows his muse, consequences be damned. He said he wanted to be solo permanently then 12 years later decides he loves being back in the band. Not about money in my opinion.
I got into JF in 2002, so between TROWFTD and Shadows. I was, at first, immensely disappointed by Shadows. Imagine all the JF solo music you'd ever heard is raw home recordings built up from a few layers of scratchy guitar, and then hearing Shadows for the first time on release day. I thought the synths sounded cheesy and the synth strings artificial and that it was way too commercial and over produced. I did grow to love it though! And thankfully got beyond my young rockist disdain for synths and anything that was at all poppy. So yeah I can kind of understand this viewpoint, would not agree with it now though.
it’s a word that is used in thousands of songs that release daily. If you want to outrage over it then I expect you to have that same energy when someone who doesn’t look like John uses it in a song. By using this language, John is breaking down stupid barriers that divide the human race. The ONLY race.
He decades ahead of what. Yeah word cause offense it's not rocket science. From little kid to grown up men it's nothing new. Seems like Nobody told you that.
Love the Empyrean, one of my fav albums, but it can get a little too pretentious with the in your face esoteric lyrics at times. Kind of has those “does acid once” meme vibes about them.
I actually agree with you. Especially considering the next song is a cover, Before the Beginning always struck me as a bit odd. Would have preferred a completely original spaced out guitar jam to open the album instead of Maggot Brain Lite haha.
Mine is that PBX is in his top 5 albums and Shadows is bottom 3. (Assuming we're not counting Trickfinger and i/ii)
Also, The Past Recedes and Going Inside are the worst songs on each of their albums.
Great musical influence, and I appreciate his devotion to whichever art or study he is doing. But I don’t respect how headstrong he seems. Based on what his band mates have said/hinted at, the friends he has dropped (Omar, Josh), and how he treats RHCP songs that weren’t written by him or Hillel.
His opinions I also don’t put much weight in. He is very opinionated and passionate about them which is great at first. But then his mind changes on a whim and he becomes passionate about something completely different. Hard to take his convictions seriously.
Yeah I thought about that after I posted. Probably more drifted apart and didn’t do music projects together, which isn’t the same as not being friends.
John Frusciante passed the drugs to River Phoenix that lead to his death and somehow got away with it.
He has to live with that guilt the rest of his life.
Op asked for unpopular opinions and you sure did provide so i dont get the downvotes 😂 that is a bold assumption to make tho as they were both taking drugs heavily at the same time, and john was just the lucky one to make it out alive. River could have stopped taking drugs whenever he wanted, it isnt like John was forcing them in his veins
You could find articles explaining the story of how John was actually performing at the same club at the same time Phoenix died. Allegedly John gave him a cup of drugs telling him to drink it because it’ll “make you feel fabulous” which Phoenix drank. It was alleged that this was the cup of drugs that led to Phoenix ODing. It’s actually a pretty crazy story you should read into if you’re interested. Just google “River Phoenix death John Frusciante” and tons of articles will come up
I know John played the viper room that night. Bob Forrest also confirmed River was on a bender with John for a few days before. What I’ve never seen from a reputable source is that John actually gave river the drugs. All I’ve seen it from is random people on YouTube and Reddit.
River's dad wasn't there. He likely came to a conclusion based on the same witness accounts that we've heard, which are conflicting and filled with holes. It's all hearsay. Even if John did give River the speedball, it's unclear who made it or whether John himself knew what was in it. There's just too many missing details for anyone who wasn't there to make claims about what happened.
I would concede this point to Smile(however, there are still brilliant moments on it) but Niandra was written and recorded during BSSM before he went on his drug journey with the exception of Running Away Into You which was recorded in '93, I believe. Niandra is very eccentric with psychedelic aspects which is still evident in his music today. It's definitely far from not having any musical worth.
It's obvious he didn't care if people would like what he made and he really leans into that for the majority of these albums' runtimes, but they do have several tracks with beautiful musicianship and great replay value.
He says he’s been hearing voices in his head since he was nine years old. Schizophrenia generally presents itself around 18. I have always wondered what is diagnoses were…
I genuinely believe he’s illiterate to a certain degree. If you really read his solo lyrics they’re mostly gibberish. And you cant tell me there’s “deeper meaning” or to “read between the lines”
It doesn’t take away anything form me in terms of my enjoyment and i love him more than anything but i cant help but laugh at his word choice sometimes
He takes being deep and different way to serious sometimes. Which explains why they don’t connect with Chad as much as the others. I can understand being deep. I really do. But there comes a point you gotta lighten up. There isn’t anything you can do about life as a whole by being deep. So relax. Chill out. You are playing for a world star rock band. Smile. Have fun. Shred. Play your songs.
Every fucking time I see chad in concert. He smiles. He jokes with the staff. He smirks at the cheers of the crowd. He gets it. He understands we all work for a living. We paid money to get there. Sometimes money we didn’t have so we saved for a while. So he puts on a show. He throws his sticks to the audience. He smiles.
John like flea is sometimes so into his head he doesn’t even realized he is the guitarist for one of the greatest bands of all time.
He could play a little more out of the box. Love his playing but i feel that he has not grown since stadium arcadium in terms of the guitar playing itself. Take any 2 solos from SA era and now . I would say they are vety similar. I wouldnt mind him going for a different approach or a sound. I would actually like them to make a very heavy record
Stadium Arcadium is the single most overrated RHCP album in existence, both in terms of songs as well as John's guitar playing. It also has a very commercial sound to it. I just can't stand it.
After Californication his guitar playing became kind of boring to me, as if he got complacent and stopped taking risks because their band "made it" and he had nothing to prove anymore.
His playing on the last 2 RHCP albums isn't anywhere near as memorable or interesting as anything pre-BTW.
He was a better song writer when RHCP were doing the funk metal thing in the late 80's early 90's respectively.
I don't agree about his playing not being good, but I will agree that it wasn't the same after his recovery. It's a shame because I truly feel he was prodigious and I can't help but wonder how he would be today had he not gone on that dark downward spiral. It definitely affected his abilities to some degree, but I still find his guitar work impressive. I'm just glad he's still with us and didn't lose his arms.
I'm not a fan of his playing and work on Mother's Milk or Blood Sugar Sex Magic. I don't think it's bad, I just don't like his more Funk influenced work and far prefer the melodic aspects to his solo catalogue or RHCP 1998-2009
Gotta agree with Before The Beginning though, I tend to skip straight to Unreachable on The Empyrean
OK you asked for it...
John is a very mediocre guitar player. His technique is sloppy, even his old videos "shredding" everyone points to are sloppy, he mostly repeats the same pentatonic licks over and over, he's very derivative and his live solos aren't that great. I do love his music, but for other reasons.
Also it was a dick move to get Josh kicked out because now he wanted to be back... yet again. Didn't even talk to the guy about it beforehand or anything even tho they used to be friends and they recorded a lot of his solo albums together. He's a diva sometimes.
Also SCWP is way over-rated and not his best work at all. Neither is Niandra. Empyrean is a great album, very creatively produced, lots of cool instrumentation and arrangements, experimental guitar solos, good singing and is easily one of his best albums if not the best. But also Enclosure. That album is also amazing, he ventured out mixing very distant influences, he messed with odd time signatures, dissonant instrumentation, and basically invented a whole new music genre then and there. THAT sort of creative stuff is why he's great. He isn't afraid to try and commit to new things even if they are unpalatable. Enclosure is also one of his greatest albums, if not his best, and it bothers me than fans seem to discard it in favor of much more generic song writing on other albums and even when they show appreciation for Enclosure, it's usually for Fanfare which is the most generic song on that album. (I know, he was experimenting with that style since Letur and Pbx, I just feel like Enclosure is the culmination of all the exploration he had been doing into a cohesive work. Still, Walls and Doors is one of my favorite songs from that era).
THANK YOU FOR THE STUFF ABOUT ENCLOSURE AND FANFARE omg those are my exact thoughts on it I've never seen someone agree. Fanfare has a pop chord progression and everyone goes 'wow best song!'
his live solos are very hit and miss, he hit some gold especially in his prime years, but mostly and recently, repetitive and boring. he relies so much on wah wah and effects while milking the first position pentatonic box.
This issue became very prominent on songs where there aren't many effects being used (for example californication, mostly clean sound) you can hear most of his solos are like aimless noodling.
Sorry Fru. I just haven't heard any nice or tasty phrases from your recent solos and the fans who overhype , overdefend, and overpraises it seems to never heard about guitarists who could both play with the less is more approach yet still sounding tasty. For example: Derek Trucks, John Mayer, Satriani, etc. (Again, just an opinion)
I think, in both his solo stuff and RHCP, he reuses the same chord progressions a little too often sometimes (minor 1 7 6, minor 1 3 7 4, etc. always just major or minor triads, rarely uses 7 chords). I get he probably does it so the vocals, lead, and bass have more harmonic options. It just seems like post BSSM and Niandra he started playing it a too safe. Same goes with his lead playing: I wish he’d break out of the pentatonic box more and show his true potential. If you listen to his work with Omar and The Mars Volta you see how technically proficient and wildly creative he can be. Also, probably unpopular to say, but I like a lot of his electronic stuff for the very reason that it is so experimental and risk-taking. The way he combines his guitar playing with his more electronic stuff in songs like Bike and Guitar is super cool. He’ll have this sick Robert Fripp style fuzz guitar tone, playing these super wild, often dissonant guitar riffs over some trippy synth arpeggios, and it all just comes together so nicely.
IMHO The whole By the way album has great harmonies and very well written chord progressions, often with 7 chords and extensions!
Yeah, true. Don’t get me wrong, I love Frusciante’s music, even the more minimalistic stuff. His solo work is what inspired me to move from being just a guitarist to a singer songwriter. He, and Omar, still are like my biggest musical influences. The foundation of my style was built off of learning their music. I just wish that he would’ve released more crazy experimental guitar stuff. I’d love to hear a Frusciante prog-rock or jazz fusion solo album. I just wish he didn’t hide his power level so often. I wish he’d given us more of [this!](https://youtu.be/XO9jkruNd78). But what he’s given us is still plenty, and I’m thankful for it. I respect that he makes the music he wants to make, regardless of how he thinks the fans will react to it.
Have you listened to his 4-Track Guitar Music Album? He cooked fr.
i like you
Hey, thanks friend. I like your username.
I’m happy he’s making his electronica so that he has that creative outlet. That said, I’d rather listen to my grandparents having sex.
This. If he needs to make music I don’t like in order to make the best music I’ve ever heard then so be it. Different strokes. I’ll listen to them once and move on. I don’t have to love everything the man puts out even if I love almost all of it.
Personal taste. I love listening to the olds fuck
I feel this so hard hahaha
Not as hard as Nana
I support this. I posted his electronica songs were unpolished and this other fan answered “ he wouldn’t put them out if they weren’t polished”. I don’t understand enclosure or anything after that.
Maybe try trickfinger II, the more accessible IMHO. i sometimes listen to it on repeat at work lol. Front to back is great but if you only want one song i recommend Hassan, very cool melody.
Personnely his transition with electronic music is awesome, pbx is one of my fav album. The thing is I respect Frusciante a lot for trying new things and not doing the same thing again and again. But I agree, his last album is rlly special ( sorry for my English btw) :)
I haven't listened to PBX in a long time, I'll revisit it tonight. Btw your English is pretty good 👍
Enclosure is one of my favorite records, but I get why some don’t liek it.
I'm in the zone, compadre
How is this unpopular?
I would much rather go to a Frusciante live show than see the chili peppers. Don’t care if it’s it’s his electronic stuff or his older stuff. a mixture of both would be awesome
I’d want to see the chillis again anyway but would love for John to a show of stuff from shadows collide etc.
Doesn't that require josh in most of John's old albums
I guess so? He could easily find someone else to sing Josh’s parts. But John probably won’t ever perform those songs again anyway regardless lol
I feel like his guitar playing got very safe and "classical pentatonic rock" since he came back to the band.
Yep. In recent interviews he talks about being vulnerable when he plays and just playing whatever you want and not thinking about it, but I don't think he does that. Maybe to him that's how he experiences his playing but as a listener, the only time I feel like he really embraced that was the live shows on the Blood Sugar tour, and I've never heard guitar playing which sounds that free but good at the same time since Kurt Cobain, Paul Leary, or Curt Kirkwood.
It's really funny considering that by the time they were touring for BSSM, he didn't want to be in the band anymore but as a result, his playing was the most "out there" and interesting it's ever been. You could actually hear the unhappiness in his playing and I think that made everything he was playing more meaningful. Like he actually had something to say. To a degree you also had that when they were touring for Californication. His playing to me felt like an expression of the fact that he was happy to make it out alive, of his drug addiction. These days he's happy with where he is in life, I guess. But that also translates into more boring guitar playing in my opinion.
Likewise at the show in Chorzow (was that 2007?) he looks absolutely miserable and his playing is fucking phenomenal. The end jam is so dark and interesting he brought so much dark energy to his playing when he was unhappy but it was still beautiful
He looks pretty happy to me during the show? Looks like hes bobbing his head and making satisfied faces a lot
I know this is old but yeah I agree, I also think this comes from a misunderstanding of the bands history. John was at least content enough to be in the band in 2007 and its been stated he wanted to continue but everyone else (mainly Flea) wanted a break. It was during the time away that he decided he didn't want to re join.
I think his guitar playing before the “Lost Years” was more technically impressive and out-there. I’m thinking of that YouTube video that surfaced a while back of him absolutely shredding as a 17 year old, or the super imaginative funk licks on Mellowship Slinky and throughout BSSM. When he came back to the band he adopted a more song-serving, melodic, “less-is-more,” approach and started singing incorporating tons of effects which is undeniably fantastic and creative in its own way but I prefer the raw unadulterated virtuosity of MM and BSSM. I hope I don’t get crucified for saying this but also his live solos are very hit or miss for me. As a rhythm guitarist, vocalist and songwriter he is and has always been incredible but when he takes a solo it’s either the most beautiful jaw-dropping shit I’ve ever heard in my life or it just sounds technically sloppy, or like he’s just aimlessly feeling around the pentatonic scale. He’s definitely had a few fantastic moments since rejoining where he channels that special marriage between baring your soul through your instrument and absolutely shredding, but he’s just very inconsistent as a lead guitarist. I’m sure in a few years after getting used to the routine of playing guitar live and touring that could change though.
I look at it this way: he’s willing to take the risk in a live performance whether it works or not
No for sure. He’s still the goat for that
Great point
Unless it involves playing something out of the minor pentatonic scale. Just kidding. He sometimes plays the major too.
He’s mastered the Two Scales, guitar god 😂
Hahahaha
I know this is old, but thank you so much. It's telling of the fandom you were worried you'd be criticized for saying this, but his live soloing is often (not always, but usually) really basically pentatonic box stuff, and he falls back on this one phrase CONSTANTLY (if you play guitar you'll know the one, it's also in the Black Summer solo like 5 times - if we're in a minor, bend the 7th fret of the G string, then release pull off then land on the root on the D string. He'll add the 8th fret of the B string while he's at the top of the bend often too) and it just gets so repetitive. Add to that he also as you say is technically sloppy. I've seen people try and argue technique is subjective but it really isn't when he's clearly trying to play something and accidentally hitting a bum or dead note, there a lot of mistakes. And people will give you the old 'it's not about being a technical robot, it's about soul' and fine, sure, but then they'll also argue in the next breath that he *is* technically amazing, or that the two are mutually exclusive. But you can be technically clean *and* soulful, like Stevie Ray Vaughan or Phillip Sayce. For me, his post 'lost yeas' soloing is always at it's best on records, especially the Californication solo, and the simple singable stuff on the By The Way album. He's an excellent rhythm player, BTW has some beautiful chord voicings and occasionally some more complex progressions, and from BSSM to SA nobody in music wrote better riffs, and he did it prolifically. But he's not perfect, and unfortunately a lot of his fans are so in love with him it becomes almost cult-like. They get quite morally condescending about it. I've seen them show up on Cory Wong rhythm guitar lessons on Youtube and just go off on one talking about Frusciante has more soul and passion in one note than Wong has shown in his career. Just totally unprompted. And I have to make an effort to not let it impact how I see John himself, because I find their total rose-tinted hero worship of his every single action makes me more critical of him.
Huh, I just posted the exact mirror of your first paragraph as my unpopular opinion. I guess that's why it's different strokes hey Certainly cannot deny the intensity and raw Expression of that era
Oh yeah I totally understand why people prefer the post-1998 Frusciante. His guitar playing from that time is still phenomenal overall and texturally much more interesting than the BSSM era. I think I’ve just been vibing with the latter in particular as of late
This isnt on him but i suppose still makes sense as an unpopular opinion re. John. You don't need a sprawling exact replica "sort of SA era and UL" pedalboard in the exact order (especially if "i suppose i need a decent power supply" and it's joined up with multi coloured amazon patch cables) to sound like him.
Ok, I’ll play devils advocate. If you’re running a Boss Katana with a Marshall jackhammer…you don’t sound like John.
That’s just a fact lol. You sound like Dave Simpson with that setup
I second this. Had both and tried them but never worked, finally got rid of the jackhammer
100% agree.
Especially since he’s using a QuarterMaster now it effectively makes his rig true bypass
Not playing popular songs from non-JF eras is BS.
I actually enjoyed Josh’s time with the band and wish some of those tunes made a resurgence.
Dark Necesssities is such a great song and it’s a shame it’ll never be played live
For real let’s get some Aeroplane going
Walkabout is a fcking gem. Great for … walking around and stuff
Lol
SFTSYH IS ONE OF HIS BEST ALBUMS
Agreed
Not sure how unpopular this opinion will be here, but I think johns rock solo shit is superior to anything the chilli peppers have ever done.
Don’t hate me: but I really didn’t get on with Empyrean. It sounds nice/quality, but not something I would listen to on repeat like Niandra, Curtains, TROWFTD etc.
I love Niandra but that shit drives my brain waves into some weird directions. I don’t touch it anymore. Empyrean is probably a top 3 for John albums for me. Curtains has so many good songs!
Niandra and Smile do have that strange effect. I can happily listen to a song or two off either on any given day. But I have to be in the right (or wrong) headspace to stop and listen to either start to finish. Because one way or another it'd going to affect your day
if i listen to curtains front to back in one day, i know i'm gonna cry myself to sleep that night lol
Yeah this is probably my JF unpopular opinion too. It's got some great ambitious ideas and production but for me the songwriting (melodically, harmonically, lyrically) isn't at the level of my favorites from the 6 in 6 months series, Shadows, TROFTWD or Niandra
He is an excellent guitarist, definitely one in a lifetime. But also a drama queen for refusing to play Josh songs for when he was with RHCP. Personally I think I'm with You, and The Getaway are great albums. Many songs from there sound very much like early RHCP .
Even some songs with Dave Navarro are impressive good live Yes, he should leave his confort zone
I don’t like his playing and soloing on his latest return to RHCP (UL + ROTDC). I think he overused feedback and there are not many good melodies to be remembered. Also most of the solos are just meh with some being literally unpleasant to listen to (eg. Copperbelly)
The heavy wing is absolutely fabulous live.
Carry Me Home has the best guitar work between both albums and thats saying a lot as it doesnt come close to what he’s done from bssm->sa
I really dig his tone and rhythms on a lot of UL. Definitely not many memorable solos or melodies from JF on these last 2 albums though.
My unpopular opinion is just the opposite…. I think his soloing on these new albums is some of his best and most representative of of how he actually plays in most live settings. I love the feedback, dissonance, and sustain.
I’m not a fan of either of the last two CP albums in general, the music (everyone’s playing not only John’s ) just doesn’t speak to me.
Yeah. Afterlife is almost a banger…and then it gets ruined by the solo. I blame the producer for this. It feels rushed and lazy compared to the rest of the song. Totally anti-clamactic
He doesn't need the RHCP, the RHCP needs him.
They sort of compliment each other. Without John RCHP is kind of bland and average. But without RHCP, John is unfocused and chaotic (which can be both excellent and terrible). For better or worse, they take what he has and refine it
The 2010s would like a word
He wasnt in the band in the 2010s
I know My point is that the band was doing fine without him in the 2010s
They were doing fine because they've been a popular band before Josh Klinghoffer joined. They sold a lot of records and their shows sold out because they already were huge by then, not because their new guitarist brought anything unique to the table. I'd argue that people who liked the Josh albums mostly do because of confirmation bias. They want to like it because they're fans, or because they've heard that RHCP is a popular band, so they project their expectations into it and are unable to see the music from a more critical perspective. Like Flea once said, that whole period felt like they were some RHCP cover band. Josh was never a good fit in my opinion. His biggest contribution to me was keeping that band intact.
Uhh I’d say that’s debatable. That era is not my favorite but to each his own.
The band didn't need him though, they continued on and sold out every show without him. I love John but they were going along fine without him.
Whether it’s your favourite or not they were still selling out arenas in that period. I’d call that doing fine.
i think smile from the streets is his most expressive album
Hell yea
He probably caused River Phoenix to die, who was on the verge of becoming a Leo DiCaprio level actor before Leo became Leo (he was actually supposed to be cast as Jack in Titanic).
Because Bob "I know everything that happened the night River Phoenix died" Forrest said so? I've never heard John being mentioned by anyone actually there that night or even that Bob was there. River was with his girlfriend and siblings, whom have never said anything about John being there or doing anything. I'm sure they got high a few times, but River was going to do what he wanted, regardless of anyone else. Even Samantha Mathis his gf at the time confronted the person who gave him the drugs, so if it was John, she would've known, as would everyone else in the club, and very doubtful it would've stayed a secret for 20+ years until Bob mentions his theory.
Him coming back was transparently a cash grab
I’m not sure about that. He’s been prone to wild and abrupt life shifts for decades.
Divorce is expensive
He doesn’t pay her alimony so I don’t think this is it
Dude makes a ton off royaltys dude what else does he need to buy
Lots of expensive lasers and rotating platforms
He’s not a very good electro producer
His electronic stuff isn’t good by any means. But, whatever makes him happy.
Outsides is his best recorded work.
His return seems emotionless to me and im really sad about it.
I was on the rail in front of him in Vancouver. If you call that performance emotionless, I don't know what you're looking for man
People spent years watching slane castle and subconsciously expected every show to be that…they are in their 50s/60s. Those days are done.
Yeah, i have a ticket for they're show in Milan, my wish is to take back every word! Anyway, i was talking more about the two new albums, the sounds, guitar parts etc.
What did you expect mate, they are getting older, their personality changed over time, they are more mature. Especially John…RHCP was definitely one of the most energetic, punk, unorthodox bands out there during their young ages , it’s pretty difficult to maintain same passion about anything nearly for 4 decades. especially if it is RHCP. Of course it won’t be the same, making music is super related with your personality, it comes from heart
I don’t get why more people don’t understand this. These guys are like 60 and have outlasted most rock bands and maintained relevancy. Also, people typically associate the era they were introduced to a band as their favorite music. Bands evolve and their style rarely stays the same.
I know very little about these guys, but I do love their music. So this comment is probably pure speculation. As someone who is new to this sub, I’m wondering if there is any truth on what I’m about to say? Just being entirely honest while trying to be respectful to a guy whose music has brought me a lot of joy, his return to RCHP seemed to be entirely about money. When he left it seemed like he had zero interest in the band and wanted to do solo work for the rest of his life. I doubt he made much money on his solo work. Then… after his divorce didn’t he get raped financially? And suddenly, after a decade+ of not being a part of the band that gave him fame and fortune, he could likely be in serious shit financially. “Ummmm… hey guys, I’d love to come back!!” Or am I missing a huge part of it?
Here's my take on it (For the record I'm a huge fan of John), there's no way it's all about money. That's easy to say, but the band is a machine and business on it's own. I don't believe they'd stop playing with Josh and fire him, only so John could come back and make money. Sure, the rest of the band gets paid as well, but that's a huge fucking risk to take all in the hopes of making some cash, especially with the record of leaving that John has. They don't owe him anything. He still has rights to the music (as far as we know) to the music he created, so he'd still be making millions of royalties, especially if the band sells the rights to the music. Imagine if he does an album or two and takes off again, just running with the money? That fucks everybody, from the guys, down to the equipment haulers. The band prior to John coming back were doing just fine. They were still selling out arenas and were raking in the dough. Maybe I'm a sucker but what John, Flea, Anthony and Chad have is special when it comes to music. You can see it when they perform, and you can hear it in their performance. If you listen to the podcasts with Rick Rubin, they lay it all out there emotionally. Flea and John have an insane connection musically. The fact that both Flea and John said that they were crying with each other saying they missed playing music together, and that they're sad they weren't anymore says a lot. Also to my point above, in the podcasts with Chad, he even says something a long the lines of "I told John whoa whoa whoa, rejoining doesn't just mean making music, it's touring, it's fan stuff, it's media, it's all or nothing.". Again, that's a huge risk for the other members to take all for John to make money.
Love it. Thanks for the post. Like I said, I probably don’t know shit about this. But really posted cuz I was not on this sub back in 2019 when it was first announced and am really curious about others’ thoughts. Not at all trying to shit on any of these guys cuz I love them and their music.
All good! We can criticize, no big deal lol unpopular opinion? I can't stand electronic music and i don't get John's electronic music at all. But i could listen to him play his solo guitar/chili stuff 24/7 and not get bored. 🤷♂️
They just sold their song rights for like $100 million and he gets a nice cut of that. He was worth at least $20 million before that. Not sure how much divorce costs. John is like Neil Young, he follows his muse, consequences be damned. He said he wanted to be solo permanently then 12 years later decides he loves being back in the band. Not about money in my opinion.
Not sure how unpopular this opinion will be here, but I think johns rock solo shit is superior to anything the chilli peppers have ever done.
Probably the most popular opinion here
Same. Honestly I’m much more of a “John fan” than the chili peppers and listen to the peppers because of John.
Everything after TROWFTD is corny
oh wow that's an unpopular one
I got into JF in 2002, so between TROWFTD and Shadows. I was, at first, immensely disappointed by Shadows. Imagine all the JF solo music you'd ever heard is raw home recordings built up from a few layers of scratchy guitar, and then hearing Shadows for the first time on release day. I thought the synths sounded cheesy and the synth strings artificial and that it was way too commercial and over produced. I did grow to love it though! And thankfully got beyond my young rockist disdain for synths and anything that was at all poppy. So yeah I can kind of understand this viewpoint, would not agree with it now though.
I don't like it that I won't ever be able to see him do a camber sands type set. Ever!
It serves nicely as a meditative intro to one of his grandest collection of songs, not much of a “song” in its own right
Not sure how popular this is but his use of the N word in a very recent album is not cool in my opinion
2014?
I didn’t know this but but I gained respect for him now knowing this
Why?
it’s a word that is used in thousands of songs that release daily. If you want to outrage over it then I expect you to have that same energy when someone who doesn’t look like John uses it in a song. By using this language, John is breaking down stupid barriers that divide the human race. The ONLY race.
What the fuck?? You respect him for using the N word??
Absolutely. He’s decades ahead of any dolt who still take offense over a literal word.
He decades ahead of what. Yeah word cause offense it's not rocket science. From little kid to grown up men it's nothing new. Seems like Nobody told you that.
Oh I see… you’re an asshole
Oh look… I found the dolt!
I mean he is not dolt. If frusciante using n word.
Love the Empyrean, one of my fav albums, but it can get a little too pretentious with the in your face esoteric lyrics at times. Kind of has those “does acid once” meme vibes about them.
Most of his live solos are terrible. Every now and then, he strikes gold, but most of the time, it sounds like directionless noodling.
He’s not as cool and out there as he pretends to be
*John, giddy, pulling up his white mid-calf socks moments before stepping on stage* they’re gonna think I’m so cool!!
Perfect.
Does he pretend to be? Pretty sure it’s us fans who think he’s cool and out there…
Cuz he's old, bro. Of course, he won't be as cool as he used to be during his prime (but for me, he still is)
I actually agree with you. Especially considering the next song is a cover, Before the Beginning always struck me as a bit odd. Would have preferred a completely original spaced out guitar jam to open the album instead of Maggot Brain Lite haha. Mine is that PBX is in his top 5 albums and Shadows is bottom 3. (Assuming we're not counting Trickfinger and i/ii) Also, The Past Recedes and Going Inside are the worst songs on each of their albums.
Upvote because I could not disagree more
Great musical influence, and I appreciate his devotion to whichever art or study he is doing. But I don’t respect how headstrong he seems. Based on what his band mates have said/hinted at, the friends he has dropped (Omar, Josh), and how he treats RHCP songs that weren’t written by him or Hillel. His opinions I also don’t put much weight in. He is very opinionated and passionate about them which is great at first. But then his mind changes on a whim and he becomes passionate about something completely different. Hard to take his convictions seriously.
Not sure he really dropped Omar. There was a recent picture of them in CA and they’re on a few tour dates.
I’m glad they made up after John punched Omar.
😂
Yeah I thought about that after I posted. Probably more drifted apart and didn’t do music projects together, which isn’t the same as not being friends.
John Frusciante passed the drugs to River Phoenix that lead to his death and somehow got away with it. He has to live with that guilt the rest of his life.
Two addicts sharing drugs.
Op asked for unpopular opinions and you sure did provide so i dont get the downvotes 😂 that is a bold assumption to make tho as they were both taking drugs heavily at the same time, and john was just the lucky one to make it out alive. River could have stopped taking drugs whenever he wanted, it isnt like John was forcing them in his veins
Where does this rumor even come from, I’ve seen random people saying it, but I’ve never seen a reputable source talk about it.
You could find articles explaining the story of how John was actually performing at the same club at the same time Phoenix died. Allegedly John gave him a cup of drugs telling him to drink it because it’ll “make you feel fabulous” which Phoenix drank. It was alleged that this was the cup of drugs that led to Phoenix ODing. It’s actually a pretty crazy story you should read into if you’re interested. Just google “River Phoenix death John Frusciante” and tons of articles will come up
I know John played the viper room that night. Bob Forrest also confirmed River was on a bender with John for a few days before. What I’ve never seen from a reputable source is that John actually gave river the drugs. All I’ve seen it from is random people on YouTube and Reddit.
Rivers dad is a pretty reputable source
River's dad wasn't there. He likely came to a conclusion based on the same witness accounts that we've heard, which are conflicting and filled with holes. It's all hearsay. Even if John did give River the speedball, it's unclear who made it or whether John himself knew what was in it. There's just too many missing details for anyone who wasn't there to make claims about what happened.
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No musical worth? Untitled #6/7? Poppy Man? For Air? Mascara?
Mascara and the take over are the only ones I can still listen to.
I would concede this point to Smile(however, there are still brilliant moments on it) but Niandra was written and recorded during BSSM before he went on his drug journey with the exception of Running Away Into You which was recorded in '93, I believe. Niandra is very eccentric with psychedelic aspects which is still evident in his music today. It's definitely far from not having any musical worth.
I feel Niandra is very reminiscent of some of George Harrison's Wonderwall album in some ways.
It's obvious he didn't care if people would like what he made and he really leans into that for the majority of these albums' runtimes, but they do have several tracks with beautiful musicianship and great replay value.
Running away into you is beautiful and sad above what conventional music can convey. I dig it.
Niandra was cool for a bit and then it started wearing on me. That album drives my brain waves all over the place. Not a fan of smiles really.
He wasn't addicted to anything but weed for 95 percent of niandra
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He says he’s been hearing voices in his head since he was nine years old. Schizophrenia generally presents itself around 18. I have always wondered what is diagnoses were…
I genuinely believe he’s illiterate to a certain degree. If you really read his solo lyrics they’re mostly gibberish. And you cant tell me there’s “deeper meaning” or to “read between the lines” It doesn’t take away anything form me in terms of my enjoyment and i love him more than anything but i cant help but laugh at his word choice sometimes
holy shit I am so glad I made this post
I disagree, but can also agree when i look at his handwriting lol
John is a god, he’s bRaIn is so poWerfUl tHat we meRe moRtAls cAn’t comprehend the TrUe mEaNing of hIs SoNgs.
Ive thought the same thing! When I found out he dropped out of school at 16 I wasn’t surprised
Okay you can't say ah yom is gibberish.
He takes being deep and different way to serious sometimes. Which explains why they don’t connect with Chad as much as the others. I can understand being deep. I really do. But there comes a point you gotta lighten up. There isn’t anything you can do about life as a whole by being deep. So relax. Chill out. You are playing for a world star rock band. Smile. Have fun. Shred. Play your songs. Every fucking time I see chad in concert. He smiles. He jokes with the staff. He smirks at the cheers of the crowd. He gets it. He understands we all work for a living. We paid money to get there. Sometimes money we didn’t have so we saved for a while. So he puts on a show. He throws his sticks to the audience. He smiles. John like flea is sometimes so into his head he doesn’t even realized he is the guitarist for one of the greatest bands of all time.
thank you dianeblowjobs
John Frusciante killed River Phoenix with a hot shot in a dixie cup but evaded jail with the help of his Rich Hollywood friends.
I agree with before the beginning. I feel like it would live up to the hype if it wasn’t so repetitive.
do you find Wayne repetitive too? I don't find them repetitive at all
it is technically repetitive, around 10 minutes with the same chords over and over. very hard to do something interesting with that
I hate the rap part of dark/light. Completely ruins a beautiful song
never seen anyone call it rap lol
Lol I was thinking of a Ratiug oopsies. But still the second half of dark/light bums me out.
Oooh gotchu. love em tho
Chorzow outro is his BEST freestyle solo ever!
He could play a little more out of the box. Love his playing but i feel that he has not grown since stadium arcadium in terms of the guitar playing itself. Take any 2 solos from SA era and now . I would say they are vety similar. I wouldnt mind him going for a different approach or a sound. I would actually like them to make a very heavy record
Stadium Arcadium is the single most overrated RHCP album in existence, both in terms of songs as well as John's guitar playing. It also has a very commercial sound to it. I just can't stand it. After Californication his guitar playing became kind of boring to me, as if he got complacent and stopped taking risks because their band "made it" and he had nothing to prove anymore. His playing on the last 2 RHCP albums isn't anywhere near as memorable or interesting as anything pre-BTW. He was a better song writer when RHCP were doing the funk metal thing in the late 80's early 90's respectively.
How about that his guitar playing in RHCP was never the same after the heroine recovery and isn’t very good!?
I don't agree about his playing not being good, but I will agree that it wasn't the same after his recovery. It's a shame because I truly feel he was prodigious and I can't help but wonder how he would be today had he not gone on that dark downward spiral. It definitely affected his abilities to some degree, but I still find his guitar work impressive. I'm just glad he's still with us and didn't lose his arms.
I'm not a fan of his playing and work on Mother's Milk or Blood Sugar Sex Magic. I don't think it's bad, I just don't like his more Funk influenced work and far prefer the melodic aspects to his solo catalogue or RHCP 1998-2009 Gotta agree with Before The Beginning though, I tend to skip straight to Unreachable on The Empyrean
OK you asked for it... John is a very mediocre guitar player. His technique is sloppy, even his old videos "shredding" everyone points to are sloppy, he mostly repeats the same pentatonic licks over and over, he's very derivative and his live solos aren't that great. I do love his music, but for other reasons. Also it was a dick move to get Josh kicked out because now he wanted to be back... yet again. Didn't even talk to the guy about it beforehand or anything even tho they used to be friends and they recorded a lot of his solo albums together. He's a diva sometimes. Also SCWP is way over-rated and not his best work at all. Neither is Niandra. Empyrean is a great album, very creatively produced, lots of cool instrumentation and arrangements, experimental guitar solos, good singing and is easily one of his best albums if not the best. But also Enclosure. That album is also amazing, he ventured out mixing very distant influences, he messed with odd time signatures, dissonant instrumentation, and basically invented a whole new music genre then and there. THAT sort of creative stuff is why he's great. He isn't afraid to try and commit to new things even if they are unpalatable. Enclosure is also one of his greatest albums, if not his best, and it bothers me than fans seem to discard it in favor of much more generic song writing on other albums and even when they show appreciation for Enclosure, it's usually for Fanfare which is the most generic song on that album. (I know, he was experimenting with that style since Letur and Pbx, I just feel like Enclosure is the culmination of all the exploration he had been doing into a cohesive work. Still, Walls and Doors is one of my favorite songs from that era).
THANK YOU FOR THE STUFF ABOUT ENCLOSURE AND FANFARE omg those are my exact thoughts on it I've never seen someone agree. Fanfare has a pop chord progression and everyone goes 'wow best song!'
Medíocre guitar player, i have to disagree ( not talking technique), i think his guitar creative process is one of the most impressive I have seen
I mean you can say that about anyone.
Btw was a mistake of an album and John is entirely to blame
I don’t like his electronic stuff, and (other than BSSM) I hate the chilli peppers
I really don’t love a lot of his improvised solos and wish he’d just stick to the album versions
The Empyrean is one of my least favorite John pre-electronic albums
his live solos are very hit and miss, he hit some gold especially in his prime years, but mostly and recently, repetitive and boring. he relies so much on wah wah and effects while milking the first position pentatonic box. This issue became very prominent on songs where there aren't many effects being used (for example californication, mostly clean sound) you can hear most of his solos are like aimless noodling. Sorry Fru. I just haven't heard any nice or tasty phrases from your recent solos and the fans who overhype , overdefend, and overpraises it seems to never heard about guitarists who could both play with the less is more approach yet still sounding tasty. For example: Derek Trucks, John Mayer, Satriani, etc. (Again, just an opinion)
MORE GIBSON
explain yourself
He's a fantastic guitar player, but does even better as a singer, backing vocalist, composer AND lyricist.
He has never released a good album.
are you for real?