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Rating:
Conceived during the same compositional period as the drowsy By The Way, the first true misstep by the Red Hot Chili Peppers (of which we will not speak further and which are mentioned as a simple reference point), Shadows Collide With People shares with its half-brother the authorship of guitarist John Frusciante and occupies a crucial position in his solo discography, that is, after leaving behind purely lo-fi sounds and anxieties (the successful To Record Only Water For Ten Days) and just before the bulimic slew of more or less successful works published between 2004 and 2005.
It's not an easy position, but perhaps it's the key to understanding the personality of this work: on one hand, we find a Frusciante finally at peace and at the height of his compositional abilities, while on the other, we are still far from the overconfidence and desire to overdo that often marked negatively the subsequent episodes of his musical journey. The result is an album with a clean sound and born from Frusciante's passion for melodies and vocal harmonies.
Opening the album is the majestic Carvel (preceded by a relatively brief introduction that, to be fair, sounds rather pointless, a flaw that we will also find in the instrumentals –00Ghost27 and Failure33 Object), where the guitarist showcases his regained vocal ability accompanied by the unmistakable falsetto choruses, now a true trademark. The following Omission is a bittersweet ballad where his friend Josh Klinghoffer provides the second voice, followed by the melancholic and effect-laden Regret, dedicated to Frusciante's tumultuous past.
But the best is yet to come, and it's in Ricky that we find one of the album's most successful tracks: a few simple guitar chords frame the beautiful vocal harmonies, creating a sweet and incredibly catchy pop gem; a characteristic that we also find in the excellent Song To Sing When I'm Lonely and the concluding The Slaughter (though unfortunately marred by a horrific vocoder in the intro). In between are pleasant but non-essential tracks such as the vaguely garage Second Walk and This Cold, heavily influenced by Iggy Pop's The Passenger, the carefree chant Water, a pleasant Wednesday's Song, and the melancholic Time Goes Back and Chances (one of the two tracks featuring Omar Rodriguez from Mars Volta on guitar; the other being 23 Go In to End).
Overall, we are faced with an extremely melodic and well-crafted work that does have its slips (the poor instrumentals and some unnecessary intros) but where the average quality is remarkable and often very inspired, and one can't help but think that if By The Way had been at this level, perhaps there wouldn't be as much criticism: John Frusciante is undoubtedly one of the most overhyped guitarists of the past decade for various reasons, yet it must be admitted that not many "young" artists can boast the melodic talent present in this album.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 Omission (04:32)
Omit myself
(Take it from your eyes)
Omit myself as a favour of God
(All my rights are evryone's enemy)
Suffer fate cuz it's the only lift you've got
Dedicating all of before to now
Emphasizing these things you won't allow
Never now we need the other
(Centralize the force of rot)
In your life we take our cover
(Echoing what is not)
Going nowhere
(Take it from your eyes)
Going nowhere's the only clear whot
(All my rights are evryone's enemy)
At being somewhere the fates think you're not
Somewhere's hole to divides any way you want
Faking now faking who you are
Never now we need the other
(Centralize the force of rot)
In your life I'll take my cover
(Echoing what is not)
Never now I need the other
(And if you're suffering a lot)
In your life we take our cover
(Try being someone you're not)
02 The Slaughter (04:04)
I'll know her face a mile away
You'll be there in the slaughter
Freeing me when I'm cornered
Being arrested by the mind cops
They're the only ones worth changing what you do for
And I'll try to be in line
I guide my fate
And what it's good for there's no telling
It's blood
It's a flood
I'll know her face a mile away
She'll take me straight through that gate
Living there in a flower
You wouldn't have made it without her
Though she seems to stay in one place
She grows with your life
So cry for time
What's slow is fast at the same time
It comes to life
And if it dies
You'll never notice cause it
It slides as it climbs
I'll know her face a mile away
And I'll know my pains a life away
03 Ricky (03:52)
I was afraid to be me
Be anything you want to be
I don't blame my week
For my not being able to speak
Clearly about things I've said before
And if it's light outside night will fall
And if it's life it resolves
Everywhere you are in a maze is a lie
Anywhere you are on a page you still go to the right
Anytime there's no ground below you you're in the sky
Anytime you're afraid it's gonna be alright
I was a flame in the night
I heard what I wanted to hear
And the moment I disappeared
I grew the size of all outside
Cuz I became one with the night
And if it's real it's not all there is
There's alot in what appears not to be there at all
And you can function as someone besides who you are
05 In Relief (02:28)
To seem you're in me and over me
Relief in all things
And all things shoot through me
And all things shoot through you
Wherever you are
To seem you're a dream when you never stop
And we ask you what you are
Belief as one with what you believe
Travel slowly
Move in circles
You know time grows old in reverse
Life as a thing that began
And was magnified
And made the first fire and the last one
To mean everything you never say
Every single thing going every way
When you're leader's gone
He means to make you strong
He never went away
Cuz what you need you are
06 Everyperson (02:04)
You take me by the hand
A hand's all I feel right now
It's all I am
It's all that I am
You think that I'm a man
I beg to differ
For I am her as much as I'm me
You know this moment in time
Is all my life
Every day is each day thats past
Every person alive is everyone who's died
A ship out in the distance
Is here if I draw it
Multiply time by letting it go by
You paint a star
You give many years ago
New life and it appreciates it
You know this moment in time
Is all my life
Everyday is each day that's past
Every person alive is everyone who's died
09 Carvel (04:16)
When I try I force it out
Never looking in only out
Now is the time for millions to lose
Never the same since I lost you
Running me out of town
Wishing the best around
Would only get you off my back
Heaven receives you and throws you back
Sending a dummy to my God
Sending a dummy to my God
Sending a dummy to my God
Sending a dummy to my God
Driving to eat a Carvel cake
Somewhere you know isn't where you think
Have you gone away
Have you gone, have you gone away already?
Come back, come back, come back, come back
Have you gone, have you gone away already?
Come back, come back, come back, come back
Have you gone have you gone away already?
Come back, come back, come back, come back
Have you gone, have you gone away already?
Come back, come back, come back, come back
All the good things are on their way
Up and down that's how energy stays alive
Up and down that's how energy stays alive
And I wouldn't have it any other way
Wouldn't have it any other way
10 Carvel (04:17)
When I try I force it out
Never looking in only out
Now is the time for millions to lose
Never the same since I lost you
Running me out of town
Wishing the best around
Would only get you off my back
Heaven receives you and throws you back
Sending a dummy to my God
Sending a dummy to my God
Sending a dummy to my God
Sending a dummy to my God
Driving to eat a Carvel cake
Somewhere you know isn't where you think
Have you gone away
Have you gone, have you gone away already?
Come back, come back, come back, come back
Have you gone, have you gone away already?
Come back, come back, come back, come back
Have you gone have you gone away already?
Come back, come back, come back, come back
Have you gone, have you gone away already?
Come back, come back, come back, come back
All the good things are on their way
Up and down that's how energy stays alive
Up and down that's how energy stays alive
And I wouldn't have it any other way
Wouldn't have it any other way
11 Omission (04:36)
Omit myself
(Take it from your eyes)
Omit myself as a favour of God
(All my rights are evryone's enemy)
Suffer fate cuz it's the only lift you've got
Dedicating all of before to now
Emphasizing these things you won't allow
Never now we need the other
(Centralize the force of rot)
In your life we take our cover
(Echoing what is not)
Going nowhere
(Take it from your eyes)
Going nowhere's the only clear whot
(All my rights are evryone's enemy)
At being somewhere the fates think you're not
Somewhere's hole to divides any way you want
Faking now faking who you are
Never now we need the other
(Centralize the force of rot)
In your life I'll take my cover
(Echoing what is not)
Never now I need the other
(And if you're suffering a lot)
In your life we take our cover
(Try being someone you're not)
13 Ricky (03:44)
I was afraid to be me
Be anything you want to be
I don't blame my week
For my not being able to speak
Clearly about things I've said before
And if it's light outside night will fall
And if it's life it resolves
Everywhere you are in a maze is a lie
Anywhere you are on a page you still go to the right
Anytime there's no ground below you you're in the sky
Anytime you're afraid it's gonna be alright
I was a flame in the night
I heard what I wanted to hear
And the moment I disappeared
I grew the size of all outside
Cuz I became one with the night
And if it's real it's not all there is
There's alot in what appears not to be there at all
And you can function as someone besides who you are
15 Everyperson (01:53)
You take me by the hand
A hand's all I feel right now
It's all I am
It's all that I am
You think that I'm a man
I beg to differ
For I am her as much as I'm me
You know this moment in time
Is all my life
Every day is each day thats past
Every person alive is everyone who's died
A ship out in the distance
Is here if I draw it
Multiply time by letting it go by
You paint a star
You give many years ago
New life and it appreciates it
You know this moment in time
Is all my life
Everyday is each day that's past
Every person alive is everyone who's died
20 In Relief (02:27)
To seem you're in me and over me
Relief in all things
And all things shoot through me
And all things shoot through you
Wherever you are
To seem you're a dream when you never stop
And we ask you what you are
Belief as one with what you believe
Travel slowly
Move in circles
You know time grows old in reverse
Life as a thing that began
And was magnified
And made the first fire and the last one
To mean everything you never say
Every single thing going every way
When you're leader's gone
He means to make you strong
He never went away
Cuz what you need you are
24 The Slaughter (03:56)
I'll know her face a mile away
You'll be there in the slaughter
Freeing me when I'm cornered
Being arrested by the mind cops
They're the only ones worth changing what you do for
And I'll try to be in line
I guide my fate
And what it's good for there's no telling
It's blood
It's a flood
I'll know her face a mile away
She'll take me straight through that gate
Living there in a flower
You wouldn't have made it without her
Though she seems to stay in one place
She grows with your life
So cry for time
What's slow is fast at the same time
It comes to life
And if it dies
You'll never notice cause it
It slides as it climbs
I'll know her face a mile away
And I'll know my pains a life away
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