The Empyrean
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| The Empyrean | |||||
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| Studio album by John Frusciante solo | |||||
| Released | January 20, 2009 | ||||
| Recorded | December 2006–March 2008 | ||||
| Genre | Experimental rock, psychedelic rock, post-rock | ||||
| Length | 54:02 62:14 (Japanese release) |
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| Label | Record Collection | ||||
| Producer | John Frusciante | ||||
| John Frusciante solo chronology | |||||
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| John Frusciante chronology | |||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [1] |
| Alternative Press | |
| Antiquiet | [2] |
| Now Magazine | [3] |
| The Observer | [4] |
| Spin | (Positive) [5] |
| Sputnikmusic | [6] |
| Ultimate Guitar | (9/10) [7] |
The Empyrean is the tenth solo album by John Frusciante, released worldwide on January 20, 2009 through Record Collection. Frusciante did not plan on a following tour, as he instead wanted to focus on writing and recording. The Empyrean peaked at number 151 on the US Billboard 200 as well as number seven on the Top Heatseekers.[8] On release it made number 105 on the UK Albums Chart.
Frusciante asserts that the record "was recorded on and off between December 2006 and March 2008," and is a concept album that tells "a single story both musically and lyrically."[9] The Empyrean contains a version of Tim Buckley's "Song to the Siren", from his 1970 album Starsailor. The record also features an array of collaborators and guest musicians, including Frusciante's former band mate Flea, and friends Josh Klinghoffer and former The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr. Due to an error at the duplication plant, the United States CD release date was delayed until January 27.[10] On June 2nd, 2010, a new bonus track, Here, Air, was added to the album, freely available at John's website.
On December 11, 2012, Record Collection re-issued various John Frusciante albums released from 2004 to 2009, including The Empyrean. These re-issued albums are available on 180 gram limited edition vinyl. Each LP also comes with a download card for your choice of MP3 or WAV file.[11] The Empyrean was one of the most sought after John Frusciante LPs from the 2012 catalog reissue. According to John Frusciante's official website, the pre-order of the limited edition vinyl was sold out as of November 24, 2012; therefore, making it the first from the limited catalog reissue to do so. Additional stock of recording would be available in 2013.[12]
A song which was written during The Empyrean sessions, "Scratch", was released as a free download on February 18, 2014 as an introductory track to the full-length record Enclosure released April 8, 2014.
At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 69, based on 8 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews."[13]
Contents
Track listing
All songs written and composed by John Frusciante, unless otherwise noted.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Before the Beginning" | 9:09 |
| 2. | "Song to the Siren" (Tim Buckley, Larry Beckett) | 3:33 |
| 3. | "Unreachable" | 6:10 |
| 4. | "God" | 3:23 |
| 5. | "Dark/Light" | 8:30 |
| 6. | "Heaven" | 4:03 |
| 7. | "Enough of Me" | 4:14 |
| 8. | "Central" | 7:16 |
| 9. | "One More of Me" | 4:06 |
| 10. | "After the Ending" | 3:38 |
| Bonus tracks | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 11. | "Today" (Japanese release only) | 4:38 |
| 12. | "Ah Yom" (US iTunes Store and Japanese release only) | 3:17 |
| 13. | "Here, Air" (free download) | 3:47 |
Personnel
- John Frusciante – lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, piano, synthesizers, Bass VI on "Dark/Light" and "Central", drum machine, backing vocals
- Josh Klinghoffer – drums, percussion, electric piano, organ, piano, synthesizers, backing vocals
- Flea – bass guitar on "Unreachable", "God", "Heaven", "Enough of Me", "Today", and "Ah Yom"
- Johnny Marr – electric guitar on "Enough of Me", electric and acoustic guitar on "Central"
- Donald Taylor and the New Dimension Singers – backing vocals on "Dark/Light"
- Lawrence Young – backing vocals on "Dark/Light"
- Sonus Quartet – strings
- Geoff Gallegof – string arrangement on "God" and "One More of Me"
- Neel Hammond – string arrangement on enough of me
- Vanessa Freebairn-Smith – string arrangement on "Central"
- Production
- Ryan Hewitt – recording engineer
- Adam Samuels – recording engineer
- Steve Hoffman – mastering engineer
- Dave Lee – instrument tech
- Sarah Sitkin – cover art
- Anthony Zamora – production coordination
Charts
| Charts (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Dutch Album Chart | 61[14] |
| Swiss Album Chart | 57[14] |
| UK Albums Chart | 105[15] |
| US Billboard 200 | 151[16] |
References
- ↑ Westergaard, Sean. The Empyrean at AllMusic
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