Review Summary: A dark rollercoaster ride into the depressing, morbid, and disfunctional mind of the man, for a time, it truly sucks you into his world. Whatever your opinions on Navarro, give this album a listen, its brooding textures will take you into a truly epic sou
Dave Navarro's only solo effort Trust No one was released on June 19, 2001, it received generally favourable reviews and moderate success for the prolific guitarist. The album was conceieved during a turbulant time in Navarro's life, where he had just left his wife and was suffering a deep relapse into heroin addiction, isolating him from his friends and his family. Therefore, the album itself is filled with dark, moody textures, and it is a haunting journey into this man's fractured mind.
The Album begins with Rexall, the first single off the album. It begins with a clean guitar, followed by a relaxed walking bass and a steady, but deep drum beat. Navarro's smokey tenor shines here, and the piece's relaxing mood abruptly shifts when the distored chorus hits;synthesized distortions and a haunting guitar riff propel the listener into Navarro's world as he spits, "There is no love left in your eyes, There is love between your thighs
I hate my life I hate my life Never want another wife,I want the life you think I have." The piece continues into a distorted climax of fuzzy guitar soloing, the tone dark, depressing, never ceasing its intensity until the bitter end. A solid, dark opener from an equally dark album, it sets the tone for whats to follow.
From here the second single off the album, Hungry, contrasts the earlier darkness with a clean guitar tone and a steady simple melody. From here however, the weird distorted fills permeate the verse, evoking the earlier dark mood. Then suddenly, the guitar swoopes into the chorus where Navaro spits " Please leave me in the empty word, I fell in love with the empty girl." Again here Navarro displays his vocal ability through a smooth, controlled tenor. Navarro displays his ability with such confidence, as if he's been singing his entire career. In fact, the chorus is a spiralling loop into catchy melody, and depressing lyric, it sucks you in and it doesn't let go until the end.
After Hungry we come to the album's highlight, the supreme Sunny Day, the one piece that encapsulates what the entire album has to offer, a perfect mix of darkness and melody into the world of Dave Navarro. starting off with a slightly distorted intro, the song kicks into a sexy, slow tempo beat of distorted rhythm. In fact upon hearing this piece, i feel like ***ing, its the perfect *** song.The chorus soon kicks in, while not as hard hitting as the previous two it suits the piece perfectly. from the choruses, the distorted break comes in, where its dark textures propel you further into Navarro's dark world. From there a hard hitting solo smacks you right in the face, here Navarro shows some of his skill, and there the piece climaxes into the most memorable phase of the album.
So far, I've painted a perfect picture of this album, so why isn't it a perfect score? In fact, amidst these gems, repetitiveness and some over the top songs serve to deter this album from being the masterpiece it should be. Mourning Son is a horrible version of the 1st three gems, where repetitivess and a sheer amount of boredom hinders the track from any musical progress. Everything is another awful song, over the top distored sounds, a brooding, yet repetitive sounding verse with a loud, unlistenable chorus, it is a sheer abomination amidst the true gems in this album.
However, the latter end of the album picks up from the brief spiral into oblivion previously mentioned. Avoiding the angel cohesively keeps the brooding nature of the album intact, with its melody matching the intensity of the 1st three tracks. While some may disagree, the cover of Venus in Furs by the Velvet Underground feels right at home here in this chilling album, its moody rendition acting as a refreshment from the horrible 'Everything.'
And finally, while slow motion sickness is nothing special, it at least is a serviceable closer to this masterful record.
Closing comments
Whilst not perfect, Navarro's solo effort is a masterful album. A dark rollercoaster ride into the depressing, morbid, and disfunctional mind of the man, for a time, it truly sucks you into his world. Whatever your opinions on Navarro, give this album a listen, its brooding textures will take you into a truly epic soundscape of darkness and obscurity.
4/5
