John Frusciante & Omar Rodriguez-Lopez

[Photo Credit]

I posted this last week. Originally the songs were .m4a files labeled as .mp3 files. Then they were .m4a files labeled as .m4a files, perhaps causing problems for people that don't run iTunes. These people exist. We are equal opportunity bloggers. After some research we have mastered the file name v. the title on EZArchive and we are pretty sure that we won't be causing these problems again. .mp3s it is, it makes our music more recognizable on Hype Machine as well, so it should be easier for those folks that use Hype Machine for a podcast, etc. to listen to everything that we are offering. Again, our apologies, we are learning. If you haven't checked it out already there is some great stuff with John and Omar on it below. I wouldn't say that if I didn't mean it.

I am feeling a little celebratory after learning of the new role that John will be playing in The Mars Volta. The details aren't quite clear yet, but some places are intimating that it is more than just the solos that we have seen in the past. Even if it is just in the studio, I am pumped. You may or may not know that there is a long history of collaboration between the two...

Where to begin... The first time they collaborated was on Omar's A Manual Dexterity: Soundtrack Volume 1. They recorded this in 2001 following the break-up of Omar's band before The Mars Volta, At The Drive-In. The album wasn't released until 2004. It's companion, A Manual Dexterity: Soundtrack Volume 2 will be released later this year. The two albums are the soundtrack to a film of Omar's that is yet to be titled and yet to be released.

John's next guest spot was on The Mars Volta's overwhelming debut, De-Loused In The Comatorium. He is featured on the seventh track, "Cicatriz ESP." Throughout the album Omar does some interesting things with riffs that he has already played and some of it is most noticeable in the song just prior to "Cicatriz," titled "Eriatarka." At different points he will play previous riffs backwards, and other riffs (from the opener "Son Et Lumiere") will be played at barely audible levels beneath a new riff. You will notice that "Cicatriz" is somewhat cyclical in nature as well. There is a definite ebb and flow to the tempo of the song and it is a great example of the sound of The Mars Volta. This song is a monster at their live show because of the very distinct beginning and the building intensity.

MP3: The Mars Volta - "Cicatriz ESP"

The two would join forces again on John's first of seven solo albums to be released in the following twelve months (early 2004 to February 2005). The first one, oddly enough was the most polished and produced out of the bunch and remains one of my favorite albums from 2004. Titled Shadows Collide With People it featured Omar playing slide guitar on two of the tracks, "Chances" and the instrumental "23 Go In To End."

MP3: John Frusciante - "Chances"
MP3: John Frusciante - "23 Go In To End"

John's next three solo albums did not feature Omar, but, at different points, they did feature Josh Klinghoffer of Bicycle Thiefs (drums & vocals on The Will To Death, Automatic Writing*) and Joe Lally of Fugazi (bass & vocals on Automatic Writing). Omar next appeared on John's Inside of Emptiness, contributing ferocious lead guitar work on "666."

MP3: John Frusciante - "666"

John's next album, A Sphere In The Heart Of Silence ended up being credited to both him and Josh Klinghoffer and added a heavy electronic twist to Frusciante and Klinghoffer's instrumentation. It also reminded fans of John's broad range of influences (including among many others, Nirvana, Captain Beefheart, Devo, Frank Zappa, David Bowie, and Elton John). Elements of electronica were first seen clearly in John's work on his 2001 solo release To Record Only Water For Ten Days, a synth-laden album that bared his child-of-the-80s soul. John's final solo release before returning to the Chili Peppers was the aptly titled Curtains. Omar once again contributed to some of the lead guitar duties, lending his services on "Lever Pulled" and "Anne."

MP3: John Frusciante - "Lever Pulled"
MP3: John Frusciante - "Anne"

In 2005, The Mars Volta released their second full-length album Frances the Mute. To use the phrase "concept album" with The Mars Volta is kind of pointless. It's what they do. Whereas their first album, De-loused In The Comatorium, focused on a man's journey through pain and suffering and an attempted suicide through morphine, the second was loosely based on a journal discovered by TMV's sound tech, Jeremy Ward, shortly before Ward's heroin overdose following the release of De-loused. Never has John's signature sound been more apparent to me then on the first two solos of "L'Via L'Viaquez." I knew it was him, before I knew it was him.

MP3: The Mars Volta - "L'Via L'Viaquez"

This brings us up to the present day and the most recent release from the Chili Peppers, Stadium Arcadium, if you've been listening up until this point, it won't be hard to notice Omar's fierce solo on "Especially In Michigan." I thought that Omar was going to have a few more guest spots on this album considering it's length and the fact that Anthony Kiedis somewhat hyped the idea. At any rate, his solo on "Michigan" is mind-blowing and classic Omar...

MP3: Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Especially In Michigan"

Buy albums:
John Frusciante | The Mars Volta | Red Hot Chili Peppers

*Automatic Writing was released under the band name Ataxia.