Review Summary: An album above and beyond the best work of the chilli's, and one of the highlights of Frusciante's solo career.
I’m sure that when John Frusciante announced he was leaving The Red Hot Chilli Peppers a few tears were shed by many. I was overjoyed however; as it gives him more time to create albums with such rich themes as “The Empyrean”. A sparse album mixing Frusciante’s technical guitar talents and song writing abilities with minimal elements of electronica more in the style of Brian Eno “The Empyrean” isn’t a concept album where the story is shoved up front like in “The Wall” or “Hospice”. The concept is there in the background of a collection of fantastic songs, you can listen to the lyrics and moods of the song and do some research to help establish the story being told, but it isn’t necessary to the albums enjoyment.
This album takes itself very seriously, like many of Frusciante’s albums it deals with themes that emerged during his dark years away from the Chili’s such as belief, the album certainly contains elements of religion and the nature of good and evil. The Empyrean is the highest level of Heaven, wherein dwells God and light. If this all seems a little heavy it can as previously mentioned be ignored entirely and you can focus your attention on the musical aspect of the album in its entirety.
The album opens slowly with the beautiful guitar instrumental “Before The Beginning”. Frusciante’s guitar soars over echoing drums and hushed piano chords in the background. It showcases all the elements of Frusciante’s playing that makes him a great guitarist, rejecting the virtuoso style of other guitarists for something more substantial and emotional. However at over 9 minutes the track becomes somewhat repetitive and never reaches a true climax. 4/5
“Song To The Siren” is a cover of a Tim Buckley song from his 1970 album “Starsailor” and I would argue that here, Frusciante’s hushed gentle vocals are an improvement on Buckley’s. In the background more hushed piano chords and ambient sounds make this the gentlest and probably the saddest song on the album. 5/5
With “Unreachable” The Empyrean finally explodes into life, that familiar combination of Frusciante and Flea are let loose in an epic song that contains everything great about this album bar the gentle emotion of the past two tracks. Along with “Central” this is by far the Rockiest song on the album but still contains Eno tinged keyboards but with more prominent guitar and driving drums. The second half contains a fantastic mesh of guitar/bass/keyboard solo that is simply breathtaking. The best song on the album. 5/5
“God” is shorter, faster but not better. It introduces strings for the first time on the album and but is still a heavier less experimental song. It is however, a well written and solid piece of music. 3/5
“Dark Light” is quite literally, a song of two halves. The first, Dark, containing a brooding Frusciante with echoing vocals backed by slow, delicate piano. Suddenly the song is transformed into Light, a more memorable piece, with drum machine and chords backing an exchange between the two guitars before the last 4 minutes where the song is transformed into a twined choir bass guitar instrumental with drum machine beating away. However at 8 minutes the piece is drawn out and like “Before The Beginning” becomes repetitive. 4/5
A subtler song emerges in “Heaven”, beginning as another pairing of Frusciante and piano, it is spiced up with a fantastic but unintrusive Flea bass line and with the addition of drums and synths it grows into a full song that just lacks a little something to be really brilliant. 4/5
“Enough Of Me”/”One More Of Me”. Are two views on the same situation, and exist on either side of “Central” .The songs share a similar structure but as two sides of an argument contradict one another, an example of this is where a messy frantic guitar solo at the end of “Enough Of Me” is replaced by smooth upbeat strings in “One More Of Me”. The vocals differ as well,“Enough Of Me” features Frusciante singing as usual, but as the other side of the argument “One More Of Me” is a far deeper performance that suggests a side with more experience and knowledge. Of The two tracks “One More Of Me” is the superior, it hold its own with the best songs on the album while “Enough Of Me” isn’t quite as good. 4/5
Between these two songs is “Central”, a song that sweeps you along from the very first note and features Johnny Marr on electric and acoustic guitar. The song is similar to “Unreachable” in length and style and battles with it for the title of finest song on the album. All the elements of the album come together as the albums crescendos with Flea laying the base and strings adding the soul before crushing keyboards and cymbal rush announce a 3 minute breakdown. It comes 2nd to “Unreachable in terms of quality, but only just. 5/5.
To close of the album “After The Ending” is a slower gentler piece that is as satisfying a song to close an album on as I have heard. An electronic piece that leaves just a piano trickling off into the silence as synths and whispers sooth the album to a close is followed by silence and leaves you to reflect on what you’ve heard. 4/5.
“The Empyrean” is all a good album should be, it has great songs, but more importantly they mesh together organically to bring you on a journey with the artist to explore your own thoughts and emotions. You may listen to it as the complex concept album that Frusciante has devised or you can simply enjoy it as a musical experience, but you cannot deny that it is a fantastic album and one of the most shamefully overlooked ones of 2009.
