Like a lot of Red Hot Chili Peppers fans, we picked up Frusciante's '95 solo CD Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt. And like a lot of Peppers fans, we listened to it about ... once.

Made while Frusciante was in the post-Peppers depths of narcotic addiction, that home-recorded disc and its '97 followup, Smile From the Streets You Hold, were entropic, self-indulgent affairs.

Since then, however, Frusciante is back off the junk and in the Peppers. And by comparison, his subsequent works -- 2001's To Record Only Water for Ten Days and the new Shadows Collide With People -- have been fairly listenable. Especially this one.

These 18 cuts add up to nearly 65 minutes of idiosyncratic Wilsonesque Cali-pop, intercut with experimental guitar soundscapery. And much of it showcases the burgeoning songcraft and vocal range that have turned Frusciante into the Peppers' secret weapon of late.

To be sure, these freewheeling cuts aren't nearly as concerned with hooks and choruses as your average Peppers tune. But they're still intriguing and competent enough to entice the average Chili Peppers fan to listen to this disc more than once.

Track Listing
1. Carvel
2. Omission
3. Regret
4. Ricky
5. Second Walk
6. Everyperson
7. - 00 Ghost 27
8. Wednesday's Song
9. This Cold
10. Failure 33 Object
11. Song To Sing When I'm Lonely
12. Time Goes Back
13. In Relief
14. Water
15. Cut Out
16. Chances
17. 23 Go Into End
18. The Slaughter