John Frusciante: The guitarist Brian May thought was “dangerous”
Brian May is one of those rare people who is as perhaps as iconic for their look as much as their musical prowess – because, let’s be honest, if you even so much as catch a glimpse of a mane of curly grey hair, you instantly know it’s him. But striking barnets can obviously only do so much when you’re climbing the ladders of the rock stratosphere, because there’s one guitarist who even May considers to eclipse him in the leagues of the six-string.
John Frusciante may not necessarily have such a memorable head of hair, but what he lacks in luscious locks he certainly makes up for in the guitar-playing department. The rocker may hail from a somewhat controversial background, but regardless of whether you personally love or loathe the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the reverence of Frusciante within the innermost rock circles is universal, not least from May himself.
Claiming that “I thought John Frusciante played so dangerously,” when he was recently crowned victorious in a poll of the greatest ever guitar players, May clearly thought the prolific heights of the masterful Queen back catalogue somehow paled in comparison, although his relative modesty on this front is most definitely up for contention.
The fact is that perhaps even more than members of some of the biggest bands in the world, Frusciante has found a perfect niche in delivering a huge rock band sound while equally harnessing his own solo endeavours, with no less than 11 solo albums under his belt alongside his various stints with the Chili Peppers. Only a few specially gifted artists can manage, let alone master, both realms, but the guitarist does so with an almost effortless nonchalance.
This is not to say, of course, that the road to reaching these stratospheric heights has been far from plain-sailing. Blighted by drug addiction issues throughout the 1990s, it took Frusciante an extensive period and a huge amount of rehabilitation to get himself back on top, and it’s perhaps the sense of this sheer tenacity that fellow guitar players like May can recognise in making him a league above the rest.
If nothing else, it proves that age and experience can only do so much in terms of allowing a rock star to sail to the top of the ranks. Frusciante may be at least two decades younger than some of his guitar god counterparts, but this does not mean he is any less talented or prolific in his craft than them, having spent his entire adult life treading the boards with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and then utilising that industry know-how to spurn a successful career all of his own. It’s really no mean feat when you think about it.
To return to the original point, while industry stalwarts like May have gathered their rapture over the years through unmistakable looks and blazing rock star persona power, all it really takes to go far is the raw talent – which Frusciante possesses by the bucketload. May and his other ageing rock god cronies better keep a watch over their shoulders, because if Frusciante really is that dangerous, then there’s no telling what damage he could do next.
