Trust No One, released on June 19th, 2001, is a solo album by Dave Navarro. It was produced by Rich Costey, who has been featured on many projects and has worked with numerous artists and bands, such as the Foo Fighters, Audioslave, and Fiona Apple. This was Navarro’s first album done by himself, which consists of 10 tracks, one of them being a cover of The Velvet Underground’s song “Venus In Furs.”
Coming back from a short hiatus after leaving the Red Hot Chili Peppers and recording One Hot Minute in 1998, Navarro put together this project, originally named “Spread,” but ultimately decided to label it under his name. During this time, he went on a quick U.S. tour with members consisting of Dave Kushner of Velvet Revolver, Miiko Wanatabe, and Angel Roche Jr. This era was short-lived, though, because of his disinterest and complications of being a singer. Fortunately, not long after, he and members of his former band, Jane’s Addiction, reunited in 2002 to record and eventually put out a new album titled Strays in 2003 with bassist Chris Chaney.
While most of this album is done with electronic instruments, Navarro does display some of his work acoustically. Unlike his prior music, this album is lyrically driven and contains strong, heavy choruses. The first two songs, “Rexall” and “Hungry” were released as singles. Navarro’s guitar playing doesn’t quite feature until the 3rd song, “Sunny Day.” This song was featured on an EP called Rhimorse, which Navarro put together, but was never commercially released or distributed.
“Mourning Son” is the 4th song, which starts slow and peaceful, but later transitions into a rough piece, where you can hear Navarro play a guitar solo. This track also has the same name as the film he put out in late 2015, about his mother’s tragic passing that took place when he was a young child. “Everything” arrives next and features former Marilyn Manson member, Twiggy Ramirez, on bass. “Not For Nothing” plays next, which includes bandmate and lifelong friend, Stephen Perkins, on drums. Both these songs are heavy and harsh-sounding in comparison to the last featured songs, like “Avoiding the Angel” and “Very Little Daylight.”
On the second-to-last track, he performs “Venus In Furs” by the Velvet Underground. Looking back at the work he’s done with Jane’s Addiction when they released their self-titled debut album, they covered the Velvet Underground’s song “Rock and Roll,” which shows his long-term appreciation and inspiration for their music. Ending the album, “Slow Motion Sickness” is last and brings everything together with a light and acoustic feel.
For the most part, Trust No One has a dark feeling to it and overall, represents the rough times of his past. Dave Navarro does well capturing his emotions lyrically. Looking at the name of the album, I figure that it hints at the betrayal of his mother’s killer, who was her boyfriend at the time. Being a huge fan of Navarro’s work that he puts out, this album doesn’t quite resonate with me personally, as I feel that I admire and am fond of his guitar playing more. Nevertheless, he has a soothing voice, and it fits well with the style of this record. Trust No One is a perfect addition to the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ album One Hot Minute.
