Chili Peppers Spice Up Hughes Album

Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante and drummer Chad Smith are helping out former Deep Purple and Black Sabbath singer/bassist Glenn Hughes with his new solo album.

"I've written more songs than ever before on this record," Hughes told Billboard.com of the still-untitled album that will be recorded in January in anticipation of a May release. "[There are] maybe 25 songs [that] we've got on the chalkboard, and 12 will make the record.

"It's funk, rock, soul and pop all mixed together in a big soup. I'm probably going to have some real strings and maybe some more orchestrated songs. This one, and I'll quote Chad here, is going to be the most varied record I've ever done."

Hughes and Smith have been friends for years, and Smith co-produced Hughes' most recent album, Soul Mover. He'll take on the same role with the new CD, which will be recorded at Smith's home in the Hollywood Hills.

"[While] writing new music for this record, Chad and I thought it would be great to have John come in, write and play on a couple of the tunes," says Hughes. "John has written a song specifically for me." Among the tracks likely to appear on the album are "Oil And Water," "Frail," "Black Light," "Stepping On" and "The Valiant Denial." The disc will also feature guitarist J.J. Marsh, who played on Hughes' last several solo releases.

Frusciante and Smith will be busy touring behind the Chili Peppers' forthcoming Stadium Arcadium album, so, perhaps outside of one or two gigs, Hughes will have to find other musicians to take his show on the road. He's looking at the prospect of doing some orchestral shows in Europe.

Hughes is also looking to tour with Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Kenny Aronoff in support of their Fused? album.While Hughes is best known for his heavy metal projects, he briefly went down the techno road by performing on The KLF's 1991 single, "America: What Time Is Love." He's released 16 studio and live albums on his own or in collaboration with other people.