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Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt Album by John Frusciante
Niandra LaDes and Usually Just a T-Shirt is the debut solo album by John Frusciante, released on November 22, 1994, on American Recordings. Frusciante released the album after encouragement from several friends, who told him that there was "no good music around anymore."
Artist: John Frusciante Release date: 1994 Producer: John Frusciante
Notes The Deluxe Edition (this listing) includes 2xLP on translucent RED vinyl, bonus 7-inch of two extra tracks from the original cassette release and a black-and-white photograph of the artist. Strictly limited to 1,000 copies.
Issued in gatefold sleeve with printed inner sleeves.
This music was recorded between 1990 and 1992 on a Tascam 4-track cassette recorder.
Mail-order exclusive, limited to one per customer.
Deluxe edition includes 2xLP on translucent red vinyl, bonus 7-inch of two extra tracks from the original cassette release and a black-and-white photograph of the artist. Strictly limited to 1,000 copies.
Niandra LaDes And Usually Just A T-Shirt is the first solo record by John Frusciante. Between 1990 and 1992 the guitarist made a series of 4-track recordings, which at the time were not intended for commercial release. After leaving the band Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1992, Frusciante was encouraged by friends to release the material that he wrote in his spare time during the Blood Sugar Sex Magik sessions.
Originally released on Rick Rubin's American Recordings label in 1994, Niandra LaDes is a mystifying work of tortured beauty. Frusciante plays various acoustic and electric guitars, experimenting with layers of vocals, piano and reverse tape effects. Channeling the ghosts of Syd Barrett and Skip Spence, his lyrics are at once utterly personal and willfully opaque.
Frusciante's rapidfire, angular playing shows how key he was in the Chili Peppers' evolution away from their funk-rock roots. His cover of "Big Takeover" perfectly deconstructs the Bad Brains original with laid-back tempo, twelve-string guitar and a fierce handle on melody.
The album's second part – thirteen untitled tracks that Frusciante defines as one complete piece, Usually Just A T-Shirt – contains several instrumentals featuring his signature guitar style. Sparse phrasing, delicate counterpoint and ethereal textures recall Neu/Harmonia's Michael Rother or The Durutti Column's Vini Reilly.
On the front cover, Frusciante appears in 1920s drag – a nod to Marcel Duchamp's alter-ego Rrose Sélavy – which comes from Toni Oswald's film Desert in the Shape.
This first-time vinyl release has been carefully remastered and approved by the artist. The double LP set is packaged with gatefold jacket and printed inner sleeves.
Track Listing:
As Can Be My Smile Is A Rifle Head (Beach Arab) Big Takeover Curtains Running Away Into You Mascara Been Insane Skin Blues Your Pussy's Glued To A Building On Fire Blood On My Neck From Success Ten To Butter Blood Voodoo Untitled #1 Untitled #2 Untitled #3 Untitled #4 Untitled #5 Untitled #6 Untitled #7 Untitled #8 Untitled #9 Untitled #10 Untitled #11 Untitled #12 Untitled #13
Bonus 7-inch: Ants Untitled