Dave Navarro – Trust No One (2001)

by Record Facts

Trust No One is the debut solo album by Jane’s Addiction and former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Dave Navarro, released on June 19, 2001 on Capitol.

In the midst of leaving the Red Hot Chili Peppers and reuniting with Jane’s Addiction for a tour, Dave Navarro planned on releasing a handful of new material under the name Spread. Rather than progressing forward with the Spread material, he found himself addicted to heroin and isolated from his friends and family.

On the verge of self-destruction, Navarro realized that he needed to clean up his life. To begin his healing process, he wrote and recorded new material, confronting the feelings and vices that almost brought his life to an end during a failed suicide attempt. Trust No One is an intimate look into Navarro‘s macabre past, and unveils his fear of relationships and the complex feelings of abandonment, distrust, and loneliness that have remained with him since witnessing the murders of his mother and aunt at a young age. From the opening bars of “Rexall,” the album’s first single, to the closing lullaby-like “Slow Motion Sickness,” Navarro‘s smoky tenor voice sounds refreshingly natural and polished. Instead of writing material to showcase his guitar skills, he has concocted an album of fresh and cohesive songs, featuring lush harmonies, driving percussion, and even a generous amount of electronic programming. In addition to handling vocal and guitar work and writing all of the words and music on the album, Navarro also played bass and keyboards and co-produced it.

Almost as if to prove himself to his peers as well as his fans, Navarro has crafted a solo debut that lacks any calculated recipe for success. Instead, it exercises his true musicianship, often showing a likeness to other multi-instrumentalist/songwriters like Lenny Kravitz and Pete Yorn. Joining Navarro for the trip is an impressive roster of guest artists, including Matt Chamberlain (Tori Amos, Fiona Apple), Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Danny Saber (Black Grape, David Bowie), and Brendan O’Brien; by playing various instruments and mixing the tracks, these musicians give Trust No One a sound reminiscent of Stone Temple Pilots on songs like “Hungry,” “Mourning Son,” and “Slow Motion Sickness.”

Another one of the album’s highlights is a cover of “Venus in Furs,” the Velvet Underground song that influenced Navarro so much that he would often play parts of it during interludes at Jane’s Addiction shows. Marking the triumph of overcoming his personal tragedies, Dave Navarro has put together a solid and impressive solo debut that shares his questions about love, life, and relationships, while leaving the listener as anxious to find the answers as he is.

The style and theme of the album are very dark, revolving around events taking place in Navarro’s life at the time. Many songs talk about the growing loneliness of the rock star lifestyle and the messy divorce he had experienced.

The album’s title may also have originated with the murder of his mother when Navarro was a teenager. “I shut my eyes to how precious life is,” he said, “and instead I grew to believe that nobody could be trusted.”

Drummer Matt Chamberlain plays on all songs bar “Very Little Daylight” and parts of “Sunny Day”, with drums by Roy Mayorga of Stone Sour, and “Not for Nothing”, with drums by Navarro’s Jane’s Addiction bandmate Stephen Perkins.

“Everything” contains a sample of “The Sporting Life” by Diamanda Galás and John Paul Jones, from the album of the same name.

The opening “Rexall” was the first single, complemented by a music video directed by Honey. It was named after a drugstore in Los Angeles where his parents met. The video for the second single, “Hungry”, starred Carmen Electra and was directed by Chris Robinson. Both tracks found moderate success upon release; however, the video for “Rexall” was pulled from airplay after the September 11 attacks, due to its depictions of towers falling in a city.

Tracklist

1. “Rexall” – 3:58
2. “Hungry” – 3:33
3. “Sunny Day” – 4:46
4. “Mourning Son” – 4:03
5. “Everything” – 4:31
6. “Not for Nothing” – 5:28
7. “Avoiding the Angel” – 4:26
8 .”Very Little Daylight” – 4:11
9 .”Venus in Furs” (Lou Reed) – 4:29
10 .”Slow Motion Sickness” – 5:29

All songs written by Dave Navarro, except where noted.

Musicians

Dave Navarro – lead vocals, acoustic and guitars, bass, synthesizer, keyboards, sampling
Matt Chamberlain – drums on “Rexall”, “Hungry”, “Sunny Day” (verses and chorus), “Mourning Son”, “Everything”, “Not for Nothing”, “Avoiding the Angel”, “Very Little Daylight” and “Slow Motion Sickness”
Rich Costey – programming, production, additional guitar on “Rexall” and “Hungry”, synth programming on “Sunny Day”, chorus guitar on “Everything”, vibraphone on “Very Little Daylight”
Mike Elizondo – bass on “Rexall”
Roy Mayorga – drums on “Sunny Day” (bridge and outro) and “Very Little Daylight”, percussion on “Venus In Furs” and “Sunny Day”
Holly Palmer – vocals on “Hungry”
DJ Numark – additional production and drum programming on “Sunny Day”
Jon Brion – intro voice and slide bass on “Mourning Son”, additional guitar and ring modulator guitar on “Very Little Daylight”
Pinky Villandry – backing vocals on “Mourning Son”
Ben Hall-Roberts – strings on “Everything”
Twiggy Ramirez – bass on “Everything”
Stephen Perkins – drums on “Not for Nothing”
Monet Mazur – background scream on “Not for Nothing”
Danny Saber – additional production, programming, bass on “Venus in Furs”
Brendan O’Brien – bass and keyboards on “Slow Motion Sickness”

Production

Produced by Rich Costey and Dave Navarro
“Rexall” co-produced by Rich Costey and Andrew Slater
Andrew Slater – executive producer
Brendan O’Brien – mixer on “Hungry”, “Mourning Son”, “Everything”, “Not for Nothing”, “Avoiding the Angel”, “Slow Motion Sickness”
Rich Costey – mixer on “Rexall”, “Sunny Day”, “Very Little Daylight”, “Venus in Furs”
Jimmy Boyle – engineer and production
Jon Brion – intro voice and slide bass on “Mourning Son”, additional guitar and ring modulator guitar on “Very Little Daylight”
Pinky Villandry – backing vocals on “Mourning Son”
Ben Hall-Roberts – strings on “Everything”
Twiggy Ramirez – bass on “Everything”
Stephen Perkins – drums on “Not for Nothing”
Monet Mazur – background scream on “Not for Nothing”
Danny Saber – additional production, programming, bass on “Venus in Furs”
Brendan O’Brien – bass and keyboards on “Slow Motion Sickness”
Dale Lawton – assistant engineer (Mad Hatter)
Geoff Walcha – assistant engineer (Sunset Sound)
Ryan Williams – assistant engineer (Southern Tracks)
Dave Ahlert – assistant engineer (Media Vortex)
Steve Mixdorf – assistant engineer (NRG)
Mark Plati, Dave Schiffman, Danny Saber – additional engineering
Mastered by Eddy Schreyer and Gene Grimaldi at Oasis Mastering

Notes
Released: June 19, 2001
Studio: Mad Hatter Studios, Sunset Sound Recorders, NRG Recording Studios (Los Angeles, California)
Media Vortex (Burbank, California)
Southern Tracks (Atlanta, Georgia)
Genre: Alternative rock
Length: 44:54

Label – Capitol Records