01st March 2004, The Sagamore Online

Frusciante's Shadows collide with overcoming his past.

Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante is back, allowing fans and critics of his new release Shadows Collide With People to either like him or hate him, based on their ability to grasp a whimsical and haunting musical style.

Once again, Frusciante emerges from his own shadowy past, fresh from a bout of rehab and an escape from his heroin addiction, and the results are the brilliantly tragic lyrics contained within some of this decade's most dazzling guitar styles.

Compared to his previous solo efforts, 1995's Niandra LaDes and Usually Just a T-Shirt, and 1997's Smile from the Streets You Hold, it is evident that Frusciante is in a better state of mind. With his release from the introverted state of his drug addiction, he is able to better connect to his audience and create an album that is challenging yet accessible.

In 'Wednesday's Song,' the album's triumph, Frusciante's past with the Chili Peppers is exhibited in the shimmering song style of the By the Way album efforts.

On the edgier side is 'The Slaughter,' which revisits Frusciante's struggle to overcome his past. His explorations on this album are reminiscent of Van Morrison's 1968 album Astral Weeks, a pre-Moondance effort.

Unlike Astral's inaccessibility, with its forwardthinking style in mixing musical genres that had not been attempted before, Shadows Collide is successful in carrying out Morrison's ambitions and the simple rock credos of the Chili Peppers.

Along with Frusciante's musical innovations will be the spectrum of the listening audience that will not be able to relate. Frusciante is first and foremost a guitarist, solely playing what he feels. In his new role as lead singer and guitarist, his stream of consciousnessstyle lyrics are open-ended and leave much to be desired.

His music does not have a dis-ciplined feel characteristic of the song writing style of fellow Chili Pepper's frontman Anthony Keidis. But his odyssey-ge ared musical stylings create a path for his fellow musicians to admire and respect, for fans to relate to, and for critics to praise.

---Elizabeth Gist