To Record Only Water for Ten Days

John Frusciante | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 13, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warner Bros / Wea
• ASIN: B000056P60
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (81 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #79,586 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante's third solo album isn't far removed from a demo. Taking the idea of a solo album literally, Frusciante is responsible for everything here, playing guitar over drum machines and adding occasional keyboards to the 15 songs, à la Bill Callahan's excellent Smog. The opener "Going Inside" offers promise that To Record will be an entertaining ride thanks to Frusciante's characteristically incandescent fretwork. The project is a little one-dimensional, however, hampered as it is by Frusciante's sub-J. Mascis yelp. --Mike Pattenden

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning, March 21, 2001

By 

Thornton F. Cole "evilsailor9" (Chicago or an airport near you) - See all my reviews

This review is from: To Record Only Water for Ten Days (Audio CD)

How is it that a guitarist for one of the world's funkiest bands can create such a masterpiece of music so far removed from anything the Red Hot Chili Peppers have or will ever create? I suppose locking oneself in a room with the requisite instruments and kicking one's opiated ways will do it everytime. Tracks such as "Going Inside", "Someone's" and "Remain" sound oddly like late model Depeche Mode recorded on a Mississippi cotton plantation. The dirty yet lively guitar work coupled with agitated syncopations makes for one of the most unique releases I have ever purchased. I could only compare it to Red Red Meat or Califone if forced to put it in a tight little package of comparison, but neither does justice to the brilliance of this album. John's sparse yet impactful lyrics should strike a resonant chord in the hearts of music fans anywhere. Having been a devout follower of the RHCPs---trekking across the entire U.S. in 1985 to see them every single night, I assure you that this is not another RHCP album nor an indication of the next one. With that said, RHCP fans beware---if you love music, this is the album for you. If you want Californication 2, this isn't it. Quite simply, a brilliant record from beginning to end.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It is what it is, March 11, 2003

By 

"treestamp" - See all my reviews

This review is from: To Record Only Water for Ten Days (Audio CD)

Despite the RHCP-related hoopla that tends to surround John Frusciante's solo efforts, I find that this album is far more interesting and satisfying when removed out from under the RHCP umbrella. It's simply too unique in its own right to be damned to being compared with RHCP's vanguard-turned-consumerist music and it certainly has artistic merit to stand on its own -- something that John's previous worked really did not. While this album does possess some of the same self-defeating, drug-inflected nihilism and solipsism reflective of John's obviously addiction-prone personality as those other albums, it's not as weighted down by it. The result is a mood and tone that reveals something of John's inner world without it being overwhelming dark or tragic, and therefore it is much more listenable than his prior solo efforts.

Of course, "listenable" is a relative term. By comparison to the current industry's immaculately digital recording standards, this album is beyond raw. Like his other albums, it's basically a touched-up demo. While the drum machine and keyboard fillers do get annoying, the core of each song -- John's curious and occasionally odd style of voice w/guitar songwriting -- is consistently intriguing. The guitar playing is not the flashiest John's ever done, but it's interesting and inventive in many places. John's knack for creative background vocals also can be noticed here. Clearly, John has an immense talent for songwriting that should be put to use outside his commitment to RHCP.

Overall, it's a very unique offering, and while many seem too eager to respond to John's uniqueness with the label "genius," I'm not sure this, as well as any of John's work, warrants such prestigous praise. The demo quality of this album is indicative of John's major flaw as an artist -- for all his creativity and inspiration, he regularity fails to bring it to a proper and full end. For all the invention that went into this batch of songs, it still has an abandoned-while-still-in-progress quality that leaves you wondering how much more it could've been if the creative process was followed through to the gritty end. But it is what it is, and despite that one big flaw, it's a worthwhile and fascinating release that leaves you hopeful that John will continue with more solo offerings in the future.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Take a chance on this one, February 13, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: To Record Only Water for Ten Days (Audio CD)

First off, I'm a rabid fan of John's first two solo albums, so you might want to take my review with a grain of salt. I was a little disappointed in this record at first, but i've heard it 3 times now and its starting to grow from me. It's somewhat removed from the earlier works, having dropped a lot of the backward guitar and added 80's sounding synth and drum machines in many of the songs. Also, John's got teeth now, which makes the lyrics a tad clearer. There's tons of inventive guitar work, some thoughful lyrics and a nice overall rainy sunday afternoon feel. I'd recommend this for all fans of his previous work and anyone who enjoys lo-fi home recordings. This is not train wreck music, so if yr trying to buy this to listen to someone who's lost his mind or is so smacked out he cant chord a guitar, go buy something else you rubbernecker. Glad yr back John.