Curtains - John Frusciante
Febuary 1, 2005 on Record Collection
#1 "The Past Recedes" – 3:53
#2 "Lever Pulled" – 2:22
#3 "Anne" – 3:35
#4 "The Real" – 3:06
#5 "A Name" – 2:03
#6 "Control" – 4:29
#7 "Your Warning" – 3:33
#8 "Hope" – 1:56
#9 "Ascension" – 2:52
#10 "Time Tonight" – 3:12
#11 "Leap Your Bar" – 2:36
This is the last of the six albums Frusciante released in the six months of Late 2004/early 2005. It is mainly an acoustic album, with occasional electric leads thrown in. Take note of the fact i will be incredibly bias in this review not out of choice but because i hugely appreciate the work this man does.
That aside, i will go into this album song by song. The best part of the album as a whole is that each tack flows effortlessly into the next. There are certainly better and worse differences throughout the track listening, but for the most part remains steady.
The Past Recedes: The title track, which is beautifully written and has a pleasant video to accompany it, giving us a look at Johns life at home. (his rather big one)
Lever Pulled: My favorite on the album. Between the unconventional singing and minimal use of sound it forms a just beautiful song.
Anne: An interesting song about his past, in which he mainly sings and plays acoustically in a very minimalistic form.
The Real: A slow song that has an upbeat feel to it. Fits well where it is at. Not one of my favorites but does its respective job.
A Name: Probably my least favorite on the album, yet still a solid song. Only two minutes long, without much variation during the entire length.
Control: A very unpredictable track with one of the faster tempo's of the eleven.
Your Warning: Comes across as a very uplifting piano ballad in which his cheerful voice reflects on deeds of others and himself.
Hope: A brief short storytelling with very nice and subtle guitar backing.
Ascension: Different recording than the rest of the album, with comforting synths playing in the background throughout. Not one of the best but still worth listening to.
Time Tonight: One of my favorites because of its simplicity and his extreme range of voice.
Leap Your Bar: Again, not one of the better tracks and said in a bit of a chant. Regardless still fits in with the album as a whole and definitely worth hearing.
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As a whole this is one of Fruscainte's best done albums, and imo far surpasses any work the Chili Peppers have done. Each track showing originality and his great voice, along with a wonderful group of backing musicians. (including Ken Wild and Omar Rodriguez Lopez sp?)
Rating: 9/10