Frusciante joined the Chili Peppers at the age of 18 after the death of guitarist Hillel Slovak, and first appeared on their album Mother's Milk (1989). His second album with the band, Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991), was their breakthrough success. Overwhelmed by the band's newfound popularity, he quit in 1992. He became a recluse and entered a period of heroin addiction, during which he released his first solo recordings: Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt (1994) and Smile from the Streets You Hold (1997). In 1998, he completed drug rehabilitation and rejoined the Chili Peppers, taking them to major success with their albums Californication (1999), By the Way (2002) and Stadium Arcadium (2006). He left the Red Hot Chili Peppers again in 2009 to focus on solo work, and rejoined in 2019.
Frusciante's solo work encompasses genres including experimental rock, ambient music and electronica. He released six albums in 2004, each exploring different genres and recording techniques. In 2009, Frusciante released The Empyrean, which features Chili Peppers bassist Flea and guitarist Josh Klinghoffer. Frusciante also releases acid house under the alias Trickfinger. With Klinghoffer and Joe Lally, he has released two albums as Ataxia.
Frusciante was named one of the greatest guitarists by Rolling Stone and Gibson, and in a BBC poll. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2012.
Frusciante's musical style has evolved over the course of his career. Although he received moderate recognition for his early guitar work, it was not until later in his career that music critics and guitarists alike began to fully recognize it: in October 2003, he was ranked eighteenth in Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". Frusciante attributes this recent recognition to his shift in focus, stating that he chose an approach based on rhythmic patterns inspired by the complexity of material Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen produced. On earlier records, however, much of his output was influenced by various underground punk and new wave musicians.
In general, his sound is also defined by an affinity for vintage guitars. All the guitars that he owns, records, and tours with were made before 1970. Frusciante uses the specific guitar that he finds appropriate for a certain song. All of the guitars he owned before quitting the band were destroyed when his house burned down in 1996. The first guitar he bought after rejoining the Chili Peppers was a 1962 red Fender Jaguar. His most-often used guitar, however, is a 1961 Sunburst Fender Stratocaster that was given to him as a gift from Anthony Kiedis after Frusciante rejoined the Chili Peppers in 1998. He has played this guitar on every album since rejoining the Chili Peppers, and their ensuing tours. He also owns a 1955 Fender Stratocaster, his only Strat with a maple fretboard. Frusciante's most highly appraised instrument is a 1955 Gretsch White Falcon, which he used twice per show for the songs Californication and Otherside. Since 2006, he only uses it for the latter song, saying there was "no room for it", preferring multiple Stratocasters for the Stadium Arcadium tour. Virtually all of Frusciante's acoustic work is played with a 1950s Martin 0–15.
After leaving the Red Hot Chili Peppers, he switched to using a Yamaha SG as his primary guitar for his solo work. "With the Yamaha SG, I could play along with guitar players who were playing, say, Les Pauls, and feel like the sound matched what I was hearing on the record. ... People like Robert Fripp, Mick Ronson, Tony Iommi, and particularly John McGeoch from Siouxsie and the Banshees, who played a Yamaha SG, which is why I bought one in the first place". Frusciante has also noted his increased use of the Roland MC-202 for his electronic music, saying that he was at the point "where I thought as much like a 202ist as I did a guitarist ..." The MC-202 has been his primary melodic instrument in his electronic music.
With the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Frusciante provided backing vocals in a falsetto tenor, a style he started on Blood Sugar Sex Magik. He thoroughly enjoyed his role in the Chili Peppers as backing vocalist, and said that backing vocals are a "real art form". Despite his commitment to the Chili Peppers, he felt that his work with the band should remain separate from his solo projects. When he returned to the Chili Peppers in 1998, Kiedis wanted the band to record "Living in Hell", a song Frusciante had written several years before. Frusciante refused, feeling that the creative freedom he needed for his solo projects would have conflicted with his role in the band.
SOS
John Frusciante Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So felt have I
I collapse this time the breaks-up
Runs out.
Take your face to the god
No one works so hard
To keep you out
Before its your turn to fade out.
Make her into a fan of him
He would die
Just to take fate somewhere it could have been
Had it been otherwise
Tradin' the far for the near
Stand your bodies clean out
Oh what you understand
Some love fakes you
Accept when
we stayed in your home
Its not always the moon
Say it for show
We show your
We say it show
We show your
The lyrics to John Frusciante's song So Would Have I seem to convey a sense of longing and regret, as well as a feeling of being left out or excluded. The first line, "I made her into a minor key of So felt have I," references a musical concept of changing a song's key to convey a different mood or emotion. In this instance, it seems as though the singer has altered their own feelings or perceptions of the situation to match a more melancholic tone.
The next lines, "I collapse this time the breaks-up/Runs out," suggest a moment of collapse or breakdown. Perhaps this refers to a relationship ending or a realization that something has reached its limit. The following lines, "Take your face to the god/No one works so hard/To keep you out/Play your hand/Before it's your turn to fade out," indicate a sense of urgency or pressure to take action before it's too late. The idea of bringing one's face to God may suggest a desire for guidance or salvation in a difficult situation.
The verse continues with a reference to someone else, "Make her into a fan of him/He would die/Just to take fate somewhere it could have been/Had it been otherwise." This could indicate jealousy or frustration with someone else's success or happiness. The line "Tradin' the far for the near/Stand your bodies clean out" is somewhat ambiguous, but may suggest a willingness to let go of something far away or unattainable in favor of something more realistic or attainable. The final lines "Oh what you understand/Some love fakes you/Accept when/we stayed in your home/It's not always the moon/Say it for show/We show your/We say it show/We show your" are somewhat cryptic, but perhaps suggest a lack of authenticity or genuineness in relationships, and the idea of putting on a show or facade.
Line by Line Meaning
I made her into a minor key of
I portrayed her in a sad and melancholic way
So felt have I
I also feel sad about it
I collapse this time the breaks-up
This time the breakup takes a toll on me and I feel broken
Runs out.
The time for our relationship ended
Take your face to the god
Show yourself to a higher power
No one works so hard
No one puts in as much effort
To keep you out
To exclude you from something
Play your hand
Take control of the situation
Before its your turn to fade out.
Before you lose your opportunity
Make her into a fan of him
Make her like him instead of me
He would die
He is willing to go to extremes
Just to take fate somewhere it could have been
To change the course of destiny
Had it been otherwise
If things were different
Tradin' the far for the near
Giving up something in the distant future for something closer
Stand your bodies clean out
Cleanse yourself of negativity and be upright
Oh what you understand
Everything that you comprehend
Some love fakes you
Some love deceives you
Accept when
Acknowledge when it happens
we stayed in your home
When we were living with you
Its not always the moon
Life is not always perfect
Say it for show
Say it just for the sake of it
We show your
We demonstrate it to you
We say it show
We say it and simultaneously show it
We show your
We show it to you again
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: JOHN FRUSCIANTE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jumpingflea1976
Where are those happy days, they seem so hard to find
I tried to reach for you, but you have closed your mind
Whatever happened to our love?
I wish I understood
It used to be so nice, it used to be so good
So when you're near me, darling can't you hear me
S. O. S.
The love you gave me, nothing else can save me
S. O. S.
When you're gone
How can I even try to go on?
When you're gone
Though I try how can I carry on?
You seem so far away though you are standing near
You made me feel alive, but something died I fear
I really tried to make it out
I wish I understood
What happened to our love, it used to be so good
So when you're near me, darling can't you hear me
S. O. S.
The love you gave me, nothing else can save me
S. O. S.
When you're gone
How can I even try to go on?
When you're gone
Though I try how can I carry on?
@cesardiaz6687
Where are those happy days, they seem so hard to find
I tried to reach for you, but you have closed your mind
Whatever happened to our love
I wish I understood
It used to be so nice, it used to be so good
So when you're near me, darling can't you hear me
SOS
The love you gave me, nothing else can save me
SOS
When you're gone
How can I even try to go on
When you're gone
Though I try how can I carry on
You seemed so far away though you were standing near
You made me feel alive, but something died I fear
I really tried to make it out
I wish I understood
What happened to our love, it used to be so good
So when you're near me, darling can't you hear me
SOS
The love you gave me, nothing else can save me
SOS
When you're gone
How can I even try to go on
When you're gone
Though I try how can I carry on
@ariadnabragoi3213
We need an album with all his covers.
@pablofichaje
https://youtu.be/LNX6eqw9Wy8
@ioncantea365
😮✊
@anaszulfikarfauzi326
Agree 100%
@thefirsthokage9609
Absolutely
@wkk222
Idk why he hasn't. I know he doesn't have to do that, but just for a fun thing to do. We know its not his music, but he does amazing versions.
@nihilistlivesmatter5197
Please please please please, don't let this one die
@amicklich6729
Agreed 100%.
@krzemin143
Dunno why, but almost cried readin that ..
@krzemin143
You have missed "God" at the beginning of your sentence :P