Customer Reviews

Niandra Lades & Usually Just a T-Shirt

5 star:		(62)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I bought this and Smile from the Streets You Hold at the same time and I like this one a little more. This album is definatley not something you'll hear on the radio, but it just proves that some of the best music isn't heard on the radio. It was written during a bad period in john's life and you can tell by listening to it. You can feel what he's going through. The music reflects his life at the time. The more i listen to it, the more I want to listen to it. I love the fact that John sings off key for a lot of it. It's very emotional and pure. It makes all those teenyboppers look shallow. Overall, it's one of the most beautiful and open albums I've ever heard. John Frusciante is truly a genius one of a kind.

I just have to say that these solo albums are amazing and have shaped my life and opened my musical and spiritual mind. I concider myself a very huge Red Hot Chili Pepper fan, I've been a fan since the 80's - a long time. I've followed John through the years and listens to all the music he has made. And I would have to say that Niandra LaDes is my all-time favorite album - better then any Chili Pepper record. Thats my opinion. Yes it was hard for John during that period of time, and there are a few songs he admits he regrets putting out, but I'm glad he put them out. It's a piece of art recorded onto a cd. He should be proud of the person he is, and I know he is. John Frusciante is the reason I bought my guitar, and he is the reason I feel power when I play it. He builds my confidence, and like I said... he's shaped my life. His music makes me think of things that no one takes the time to think about, the slightest little guitar lick gives me the greatest chill up my spine. John Frusciante is a true artist, and any critic who wants to bash on him and his art because it wasn't rated the best of the year shouldn't really be a critic. And I have read lots of reviews and felt so bad for him because he's not recognised as much as he deserves to be. He is a hero to me, he is the kind of person that people should look up to. He is a person that devotes his life to putting out good feelings and good vibes to people. He does it through his music. Music - something that everyone around the world share a bond with, a language that everyone can understand. John Frusciante does a damn good job of getting his feelings across through it. I rate Niandra LaDes and Usually Just a T-Shirt 5 big stars. He desrves it and much more. I think everyone should try to listen to this album without critisizing it. Just give it a chance and let it open up to you... and I garentee you wont regret anything.

Listen-> The fact that this recording exists is absolutely amazing. As others have said Frusciante was having an plutonial problem with Heroin at the time this was recorded. The entire CD is disjointed, but strangly joined. The best part of the album is that Frusciante has no limitations, except the amount of heroin in his blood. It is as though he just lets everything flow out, and the record company does the same. There are no hit songs, many can cause severe headaches if played too loud. This ablum is a jewel, so raw and unfinished. It is very rare that something this unpolished gets produced any more, and that is its value. There is no comprimise. Most people who write these reviews are big Chili Peppers fans, I'm not. I appreciate this album outside of RHCP influence. John Frusciante is amazing. If you are looking for music that doesn't challenge your palette, do not buy this. If you like getting music that is fresh and unduplicated buy this.

I purchased this when it was first released in '92 (?) and no one could understand what exactly it was that I liked about this album.
IT BLEW MY MIND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In the middle of the grunge explosion, here was an album of 100% pure expression, recorded on a 4-track.
RAW vocals & guitar (forwards and backwards), insane lyrics (literally & figuratively), infinite in it's emotional content. Brave, daring, original, beautiful & sad.

An autobiography of self-destruction.

John Fruciante is a true artist and quite possibly a genius
(a term thrown around WAY too losely nowadys).

America's answer to Radiohead, except he's one person, and an extarordinary one.

This is my FAVORITE album by John Fruciante!!!

I've been a John Frusciante fan for about a year now, a rather large fan at that. I listen to the man's music almost every day and some days going through an album 4 or 5 times in a day. For a while I was not going to get this album because I've heard some bad things, namely this singing. Well I read the reviews on this site and decided that I needed it my collection. So I ordered it. When it came I listened to it and immediately noticed it was not like anything else I've heard, by any artist. That's exatly what this album is-art. I think one word describes this album best; interesting. This album is just very interesting to listen to, it really catches the listener and makes them want to listen to everything going on. And of course this is also John's first solo record, and shows him in his rawest, but still incredibly melodic state, which I think every fan needs to hear.

When I first put on Niandra I almost felt as though I were a voyeur: hearing things I wasn't allowed to hear. As you all know John made Niandra in his time away from the Peppers, only few know how fucked up he really was. Not that I regard myself as being in a position to give a meaningful account in any way, I'd like to tell you about a documentary that was broadcast on Dutch television about the time Niandra was first released somewhere in '94: John sitting on a beat sofa, dirty, guitar in hands, playing Hendrix-esque impressions, being unable to say anything that made sense to anybody, except for some brief moments of clarity, in other words: actually to painful to look at. In this light is where I want to put Niandra: his pain and feelings of not being able to heal his disrupted life are tangible, so intense... That's why I almost felt embarrassed when I gave the record its first spin, but if you are looking for a record of the purest honesty and a beauty that is only seldomly seen in contemporary music, this is your best bet! The album will take three, maybe four times to begin to be comprehended, but after that Niandra will take you by the hand and reveal to you a treasure of melody and feeling unheard of.

To my ears, there is no greater sound than John Frusciante's guitar playing over a soulful Flea bassline. So what happens when the bassline is removed and the guitar is left to stand for itself? Magic.

He manages to capture something that I don't think many of us could: the soul. I've always described John as a very soulful player, even before hearing this album. His work in the Chilis, while sometimes stepping into the metallic realm, has always been both necessarily funky and surprisingly soulful. Here, left to his own devices, he eliminates any semblance of song structure, and just pours his heart out through his six strings. And it's transcendent.

Some may not understand. The singing is off-key at times, the production values are non-existent, there's some Les Paul style studio trickery that can be really confusing, the lyrics (when there are any) are juvenile and faux-shocking. Let it be. It's a gloriously beautiful album, from a very talented man during a very torturous time in his life.

your friends may give you weird looks but if you like it (which anyone who gives it a chance usually does) it will be an invaluble gift. A glimpse into the (troubled) life of a BRILLIANT musician. i think his most creative work is in this album. and i got all his CD'S so get it

I was an ordinery boring person couple of months ago until John Frusciante opened my mind. Because of him i started to write music that comes from inside of me, from my soul. he guided me to his world of art and spirits and altough i never saw a spirit, and i don't really sure that they exist i feel comfortable in that world. now about the album. it's really two albums in one cd. the first album (Niandra LaDes) is from track 1 to track 12 and this album is a collection of beautiful songs. the second album (Usually Just A T-Shirt) is from track 13 to the end of the album and all the tracks sounds like one large song.

so the bottom line is that this album is a door the another world. a haunted but calm world. there are some people who can't pass thru that door but i did pass thru it. and i'm glad i did.

You have certain expectations from what you've heard in the past. It's not what you expect. The very first time is kind of awkward and uncomfortable - even scary; Don't know what to make of it - not sure if you like it. After repeated tries, you become more familiar with it, and learn how to appreciate it. Comfortable in your nakedness, you allow yourself to become vulnerable. With eyes closed, you let yourself feel the intensity and be taken away by it. Sometimes it can be so overwhelming that you're moved to tears; emotions felt are beyond words. There's nothing like it; You desire it all the time. *WARNING* - not for the easily obsessed.