John Frusciante is one of the most popular guitarists in rock. He’s often been included on various lists ranking the best guitarists in music history. However, not everyone is super impressed.
Justin Hawkins, vocalist/guitarist for The Darkness, touched on Frusciante’s guitar playing on his podcast, Justin Hawkins Rides Again. His full remarks can be heard below, but Hawkins takes issue with Frusciante’s style of playing.
“Somebody said to me it’s deliberately minimalist,” said Hawkins. “Maybe it’s like that thing where you become a super-accomplished painter and start doing some naive child-like daubings, and that’s your phase. I think that might have been one of the things he was exploring, but it doesn’t stop it from being sh-t.”
Hawkins also says, “My issue with Red Hot Chili Peppers is that I get nothing from John Frusciante’s guitar playing. I feel like if we can call Mark Knopfler an underrated player, I would describe John Frusciante as an overrated player. In fact, I have done that, more than once.” He added, “It’s always like, ‘You’re jealous because he sold more records than you have.’ And it’s like, well, Mark Knopfler has sold a lot more, more, more records than me, and I’m not jealous of him. I love his guitar playing. So that argument doesn’t really hold any water.”
Joining Hawkins on this episode was Pat Finnerty, the host of the podcast What Makes This Song Stink. Finnerty says at one point, “I don’t know why [Frusciante] is so revered. I feel like whoever’s listening to the Red Hot Chili Peppers only listens to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I do think his tone is good.”
