Chili Peppers Still Red Hot

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have been making records for 22 years. Most bands after that amount of time are either dead or hate each other. The Chili Peppers came close to both, but now they are back with the release of a whopper 28-track double disc album titled “Stadium Arcadium.”

It seems the Chili Peppers have been holding out on us the past couple decades. “Stadium Arcadium” is a journey through some of the most progressive music the band has recorded. Each of the 28 songs is distinctly the band that fans fell in love with over two decades ago. From the groundbreaking “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” to “Californication,” every chord was clearly necessary to create this monster album.

Retreating to magician Harry Houdini’s former Hollywood Mansion where “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” was recorded, the Chili Peppers spent the past year recording 38 new songs. Originally the band considered releasing three separate albums six months apart. But instead the “thinner” two discus, “Jupiter” and “Mars, were born.

“Dani Californa” sets off the two discs and acts as the first single to hook listeners. It serves it purpose, and then some. A continuation of the character lead singer Anthony Kiedis created on his previous albums “Dani California” expounds upon her life.

The song kicks in with a up tempo beat by drummer Chad Smith before delving into a close to 5 minute expansive song, complete with a blistering solo by guitarist John Frusciante.

One difference from this album from the Chili Peppers past is the freedom felt in the music. It is obvious in the music that this formerly fractious band has reached a plateau in their lives enabling them to focus on the music and not each other.

That free flowing jam session vibe is no more evident than in Frusciante’s performance. Frusciante’s, who survived a heroin addiction and returned to the band in 1998 after quitting for 6 years, signature is all over the album in the form of soul scorching solos.

The album is chocked full of one hit after another. Each song gives a different view of the Chili Peppers who have seemed to grown into their own on these two discs. From the soothing guitar riff that resonates through “Snow (Hey Oh),” to the signature thumping bass guitar from bassist Flea on “21st Century.”

A diverse range of influences from Hendrix, Zeppelin to contemporary funk and blues is peppered throughout. The sound is clearly the amalgamation of the Chili Peppers, but at the same time there are new avenues never before explored here.

A prime example of that is Kiedis’s lyrics and voice. Kiedis has come a long way from the early days of rapping funky rhymes and screaming. Although that is still present, Kiedis has clearly grown into more of a versatile singer.

Be it age, experience or perhaps dumb luck, but Kiedis spans from his jerky raps to smooth falsetto ballads. “If you never tell a lie then you never have to play dumb,” prophesizes Kiedis on “Storm in a Teacup.”

In a calm swooping ballad “She Looks to Me,” Kiedis, the guy who wore nothing but a sock on stage, croons, “God made this lady that stand before me. She needs somebody to hold.”

Biblical and religious references such as, “Unholy Presbyterians,” in “Especially in Michigan,” are also much more predominant with this batch of new songs. But the typical Chili Peppers nonsensical lyrics are still ever present, such as, “Oh… ticky ticky tickita tic tac toe. I know… Everyone’s Eskimo” in “Warlocks.”

It will take a few weeks of solid listening for avid fans to wade through these two discs ripe with material. But it’s well worth it, and sure to be an enjoyable experience, as every song is great.

Whatever the Chili Peppers have been doing these past four years since the release of “By The Way,” has worked because “Stadium Arcadium” looks like a monolith rock album that is sure to stand the test of time.
9/10