Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium
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Free Music Notes for Stadium Arcadium
Free Music Review: I'm with the band on this one...it's a masterpiece.
Hit: 5 Stars
Wow. I see a lot of old fans complaining about the direction "their" Peppers have taken here. Well, if you don't like it go form your own band and write your own "perfect" music!
There are a few common fallacies being repeated here:
1) "This album is soft. Too many ballads. Boo hoo." Huh? Maybe you are not playing it loud enough, but I hear plenty of blistering guitar and slammin beats for my tastes. The bass tone is as good as it has been since BSSM and the drums are bright and present. There are quite a few mid-tempo pieces, but they usually resolve to scorching bridges of pure rock power.
2) "The Peppers have abandoned their roots! Boo hoo." Please. Just because they are not retreading their young punk vibe over and over again it does not mean they have lost their integrity. I personally think punk AND metal sound best when a young band has something to prove. If they keep at it, without maturing, it sounds pretty stale. So I appreciate that they have moved on. I still love the old records and they are not going anywhere. Bottom line, if you want a dangerous punk sound look underground, this band has grown up.
3) "They mailed it in. It's all about Frusciante now. Boo hoo." Nonsense. They bring it all to the table on this record. Yes, John's layered sounds are a huge part of the post-Californication sound, but I personally think this is Flea's best work. He is master of a ridiculous number of styles and still manages to sound like himself. No imitators possible. He practically invents a new style of bass on "Hard to Concentrate". I defy you to tell me you've heard anything like that stuttering little groove played on a bass guitar before (he seems to be pulling modern hip hop grooves into his own brand of upper register playing) and the next tune "21st Century" is a clinic on creative funk bass groove. Flea has reached a perfect balance of his relentless power and a "less is more" approach. If you have seen them play "Subway to Venus" at a billion beats per minute recently you know that neither he nor John have lost their chops, they just make different choices now. They are playing exactly what they think is beautiful and powerful and funky, no more no less. The reason I buy every album they make is because I trust them to make THEIR choices not MINE. I do that in my own band. I like where they are going as much as where they have been. Anthony Keidis has NEVER sounded better. His lyrics are on par with the other albums, equal parts sublime abstract genius and quirky Keidis nonsense delivered in his unique style. Again if you think the lyrics aren't good, then grab a mike and let us hear yours. Keidis is doing his thing well here.
4) "It's still not as good as Blood Sugar! Boo hoo." Of course not, but it is not trying to replace that album. That was 15 freaking years ago folks! That was the perfect album for that time. I was 19 at the time and it absolutely consumed me, but that was a young man's album. This is an album for the same man 15 years later. It may not be for everyone, but it's not the Pepper's problem if you haven't grown up or if you just don't care for the music they like to make.
5) "They only care about singles now! Boo hoo." More nonsense. They are making the best music they can in the style that they like which includes more flavors than almost any other band out there. It is an insult to them or any other band to tell them they are half-assing it. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to put together even a so-so band, so when a band like this goes in to make a double album of "over produced" material it is NOT because they are just trying to sell a few more albums. These guys are already independently wealthy. They are making music, period. If you don't like it...hey...there are more bands out there than ever before...good luck finding one that cares as much about their music as these guys.
Oh...the album... (hee hee)
It is twenty eight songs of pure "grown up" Peppers. If you like the last two albums there is plenty here to digest for the entire summer. If you just like the old "real" Peppers then go dig up your old albums, stay in your cave and dream about the "good old days" when you thought they were "your" band...or you could come out into the sunshine with the REAL living Peppers and enjoy the ride.
"If you don't like this album, then you don't like the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Period." - Flea
Free Music Review: Great Effort
Hit: 5 Stars
Disc 1: Jupiter
1.Dani California- The obvious hit here. Everything, from the beat to the thrilling Frusciante guitar solo, to even the funny music video is great. One of RHCP's best ever.
Score: 10 of 10
2.Snow((Hey Oh))- Going to be the third single off the album, and rightfully so. Despite its mellowness, it is strangely uplifting, and you'll find yourself singing along to the catchy chorus.
Score: 10 of 10
3.Charlie- Very good song. One of the best on the CD. Shows that they can still play funk music well and still have a sense of humor. The lyrics confuse me, but Kiedis has a strange way of writing songs, using many pop culture references.
Score: 10 of 10
4.Stadium Arcadium- Very beautiful song from RHCP. Probably the best ballad (It's hard to tell on many songs whether it's a ballad or not) on the album.
Score: 9 of 10
5.Hump de Bump- Another very funky song here. While there is not much beneath the surface of this song, it is effective.
Score: 6 of 10
6.She's Only 18- Once again, a very funky song. This has more to it than Hump de Bump, a better melody and chorus.
Score: 7 of 10
7.Slow Cheetah- Very beautiful and catchy song, metaphorically speaking. Nah, the song is good, though. Shows RHCP's versatility.
Score: 8 of 10
8.Torture Me- Alright! Now this, to me, is the best song on the album. The guitar playing is amazing, and it has the most effective use of a trumpet I've ever heard. Best "fast" song on the album.
Score: 10 of 10
9.Strip My Mind- While no song on this album is "bad", this is one of the worst on the album. I don't know, but I don't think it's necessary. Still better than anything Fall Out Boy could do. Lol.
Score: 5 of 10
10.Especially in Michigan- One of the best songs on the album. It has a great melody, and incorporates many of RHCP's skills. Very cool.
Score: 10 of 10
11.Warlocks- Filler, yes, but "good" filler. Remember, you must look at a double album over the entire sprawl, not song for song.
Score: 6 of 10
12.C'Mon Girl- Cool fast-paced song with a catchy chorus.
Score: 8 of 10
13. Wet Sand- Very beautiful song with a captivating ending.
Score: 8 of 10
14.Hey- Ehh...this is give or take. And I'll take it.
Score: 6 of 10
Disc 2: Mars
1.Desecration Smile- Best song on the second disc. Incorporates everything from RHCP's repatoire. One of RHCP's best.
Score: 10 of 10
2.Tell Me Baby- Awesome song that incorporates funk and mellowness. It is the 2nd single off the album.
Score: 10 of 10
3.Hard to Concentrate- Pretty good song. Don't know how much better to put it.
Score: 6 of 10
4.21st Century- Very cool song, both lyrically and musically.
Score: 8 of 10
5.She Looks to Me- Pretty good with a catchy chorus.
Score: 7 of 10
6.Readymade- Another awesome song. This is Disc 2's Torture Me. Some amazing guitar work present.
Score: 10 of 10
7.If- Worst song on the album. Dull and boring.
Score: 3 of 10
8.Make You Feel Better- Didn't like it upon first listen, but it grew on me. Not the best, but it is still very solid.
Score: 8 of 10
9.Animal Bar- One of the best. Frusciante uses Pink Floyd-like effects and it works off greatly. Awesome.
Score: 10 of 10
10.So Much I- It's pretty good. Nothing special.
Score: 6 of 10
11.Storm in a Teacup- Very good fast-paced song. Very catchy, and it actually feels like a STORM!!!......in a teacup. Yeah.
Score: 9 of 10
12.We Believe- Pretty catchy (That describes like every RHCP song).
Score: 6 of 10
13.Turn It Again- Great song. Very cool with a fast and catchy chorus.
Score: 9 of 10
14.Death of a Martian- Give or take. I like the ending, however.
Score: 6 of 10
Track picks: Dani California
Snow((Hey Oh))
Charlie
Torture Me
Especially in Michigan
Desecration Smile
Tell Me Baby
Readymade
Animal Bar
Verdict: BUY!!
Free Music Review: Stadiumlike mentality translates to musically diverse effort
Hit: 5 Stars
The RHCP put on a free-flowing live show these days, perhaps to keep themselves interested in the process of touring, which, after all these years of hitting the road, can probably be a drag at times. Live, each Chili Peppers member gets his chance to shine: guitarist John Frusciante plays a few of his own solo tracks, under the glare of a white-hot spotlight; drummer Chad Smith, a tall ball of superhuman energy, gets his own percussion solo three-fourths of the way through the concert; and all three rugged and talented musicians, bassist Flea included, partake in an extended jam session that has little to do with what's on "Stadium Arcadium," a tremendous double-disc effort that might be the band's best to date.
As his band mates create musical bliss on stage, Scar Tissue-ridden singer Anthony Kiedis stands back to soak it all in, swaying, dancing and encouraging. I think that, even after all these years in the band and despite everything he's been through, Kiedis is enjoying himself as much as ever: It shows on "Stadium Arcadium." His voice is clear, hearty, bold and confident throughout. Kiedis' rapid-fire vocal delivery is as sharp and biting as when he started in the early 1980s (on CD and live), and on such powerful songs as "Especially in Michigan" and "Tell Me Baby," he adeptly, like a vocal chameleon, changes his sound completely. Musically, "Stadium Arcadium" has a bit of everything. Next to great mid-tempo rockers like "Dani California," "Torture Me" and "She Looks to Me" are danceable, funky rock and roll tracks like "Charlie," "Hump de Bump," "Warlocks" and "Storm in a Teacup." These two CDs are instantly likable because there truly is something for everyone's taste. Even the songs that aren't as immediate have a lasting, tuneful effect in your head, such as the title track on disc one and "21st Century" on disc two.
Some of the cooler tracks on each CD are the soft, poetic, tender-sounding ones: "Strip My Mind" contains a retro, 1970s-sounding vocal throughout that gives it true soul; "Desecration Smile" leads off disc two, and though it's not entirely soft, the opening moments of quiet guitar carry a lot of poignant weight; "Hard to Concentrate," a song dedicated to Flea's new marriage, has both a pretty and haunting sound, perfectly capturing the uncertainties of a new life with a new spouse; "If" has a beautiful folkish sound that is also a bit haunting; finally, "Animal Bar" has spaced-out elements that remind me of the Smashing Pumpkins' sound in the mid 1990s on Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.
My favorite track overall is "Wet Sand." It's a deceiving song because it starts off so quiet and unassuming with gentle guitar strums and easy crooning by Kiedis. Slowly, though, the song builds itself up; drums kick in by Smith, the sound gets louder, and Kiedis' tone takes on more intensity. Pretty soon, he's passionately singing, "I thought about it/And I brought it out/I'm motivated by the lack of doubt/I'm consecrated but I'm not devout/The mother, the father, the daughter." Great stuff, and it gets more interesting on the end of the track as Kiedis' "You don't form in the wet sand" refrain melds with a beautiful keyboard and Frusciante's wailing guitar.
Producer Rick Rubin kept the Peppers in their natural element, but produced the album in a vibrant, concise way; the varied sounds on "Stadium" are crystal clear and undiffused with reverb or excessive guitar. However, when Frusciante's guitar does kick in, it's unstoppable. His solos have never sounded meatier, more fluent, or more prominent than on this effort. Chad on drums is just Chad: simply awesome. Same thing goes for Flea on bass. Like any bloated double album by famous rock stars, "Stadium Arcadium" could have been pared down to its 12 best songs and released as one disc, but where is the fun in that? The truth is, there are few duds on either disc, if any at all, and the Peppers deserved their chance to try a freewheeling set of CDs that would set the world on fire and perhaps sell out stadiums when out on the brutal road.
Free Music Review: A Big "Stadium" For All to Enjoy
Hit: 5 Stars
Attention, people of the future! Do you want to sort through the ruins of early 21st-century music and see why the Red Hot Chili Peppers towered over so many contemporaries? If so, study this massive "Stadium."
Here are the band's pillars, exposed for all to see: Anthony Kiedis's voice, which has improbably evolved from primal rap-rock fratboy obnoxiousness to beautiful Beach-Boy harmoniousness; John Frusciante's stunning guitar virtuosity, which on the strength of this album alone should land him both in the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame and on every drug rehab center poster telling junkies what great things are possible when they kick smack; Flea's funky surf-bass, advancing and receding in perfect time to get every song where it needs to be, and Chad Smith's drumming, as steady and dependable and excellently simple as his name.
Though resting on such solid foundations, this album breaks the rules--not of what's musically possible, mind you, but of what's possible for a band's career trajectory. Bands just aren't supposed to be making their best music 23 years after they started making music. Nor are they supposed to be able to get clean and sober while also getting better and better. And they're especially not supposed to be able to release a double CD without any filler. (Yes, I love "The Wall" and "Exile on Main Street" as much as, if not more than, the next guy. But at 80 minutes and 67 minutes long, respectively, they're about the length of your average bloated single-disc rap CD these days.) But this--this is two full hours of music, folks! 28 tracks. And not a clunker in the lot. (For the record, "Animal Bar" comes closest.)
This is the Chili Peppers' "Exile on Main Street," though--a culmination of, not a departure from, everything that's come before. (Or, more accurately, a second culmination, after the first culmination that was "Blood Sugar Sex Magik.") "Exile" synthesized the Stones' blues and country influences; this is the perfect blend of the Peppers' P-funk and laid-back beach-ready jams.
Strangely (or perhaps not so strangely, given that this is the Red Hot Chili Peppers), they've named the two discs after planets. Stranger still, the names work. "Jupiter" is a large, stately, beautiful, ballad-heavy disc, while "Mars" is generally zippier, funkier, faster. (Personally, I'm more comfortable on heavy Jupiter than on funky Mars, but I actually find the funk here much more breathable than that of the "Subway to Venus"-era, thanks, perhaps, to Kiedis's generally airier vocals.)
As far as individual tracks go, this album generally runs the gamut, ranging from the excellent to the merely very, very good. "Snow" and "C'mon Girl" feature some of Frusciante's very best guitar work ever. "Dani California" strip mines the lode they prospected to great effect on the title tracks for "Californication" and "By the Way"; surprisingly, there's still gold in them thar hills. "Storm in a Teacup" blows away all the haters who might think this band's gone soft in their middle age. So, too, does the pyrotechnic funky snarl of "Turn It Again." The lyrics cover some familiar ground (sex obsession and sobriety) and some new territory, with some oddly affecting notes of humility and spirituality.
It's scary to think about what might come next for the Chili Peppers: can they take it to the proverbial next level? More to the point, after such a humongous and comprehensive work, is there even a next level left to take it to? Will they rocket off to Saturn and Uranus, Neptune and Pluto? Or will coming years find them recording "It's Only P-Funk (But I Like It)" in Stones-esque self-parody? Only you can tell, future-people. (At least, those of you reading this in 2010 or so can tell, not those of you reading this next week.) At this point, I'm not about to bet against the Chili Peppers--they've proven me, and so many others, so wrong before. More to the point, I just don't care right now, because this gi-normous double album should keep me busy and happy for some time to come.
Free Music Review: I'm Wetting My Britches Over Here!!!!
Hit: 5 Stars
I'm not a "fanboy" of the Red Hot Chili Peppers (or any other band, for that matter), but I feel compelled, as a lover of music, to express my thoughts on this latest offering from my favorite middle-aged foursome.
It is rare to find a good album these days. When I say a "good" album, I'm talking about a disc that can spin in my car or home stereo, front to back, without skipping any songs. I'm talking about an album that surprises you each time you listen to it because you forget that "that song" was on there! A good album is fun, exciting, diverse, well-crafted, creative, and explores the full capabilities of the artists who recorded it.
Stadium Arcadium is not just ONE "good" album, it's TWO. I fully expected at least half of this collection to be absolutely useless, musically. I expected to have to use my fast forward button more than usual and to inevitably be forced to burn a mix cd of my "favorite" songs. The only problem with this collection of songs is that I have to take one disc out in order to play the other one!
This is the Red Hot Chili Peppers at their finest in every way. Musically, lyrically, and in every other way, this double album is everything I knew the Chili Peppers COULD do, but never thought they WOULD. They have scratched every itch I had for this project at least once (sometimes, they scratch several times until the itch is nearly gone!). I think that offering this hearty bunch of near-perfect songs to the fans after an already distinguished resume says a lot about this band. They sound like they really ENJOYED putting this project together.
First of all, the musicianship on this album is second to none. I'm not a musician, but I listen to TONS of music and this stuff just sounds like candy! Chad Smith is the perfect drummer for this band. Flea's basslines are so crisp they seem impossible. John Frusciante's guitar work is something that can't be overstated. His ability to create soundscapes and texture and mood in a song is uncanny. Anthony Kiedis' voice has peaked at just the right time and his lyrics seem to flow out of him just as naturally as breathing.
The album seems almost effortless to listen to, with absolutely NO "stinkers" on it and plenty of barn-burners to go around. As for "Jupiter" (the first disc), it is an almost perfect journey through everything you would expect from a band in their prime. They push every button; they bombard with riffs, solos, basslines and grooves that I never knew they still had in 'em. Talking about each individual song would take too long, but sufficeth to say, they're all indispensible to this first disc. If the album had only been one disc, Jupiter would be more than enough!
When Mars attacks with the gem, Desecration Smile and then leads into Tell Me Baby and Hard to Concentrate, THAT'S when I nearly wet my britches. How in the WORLD do we still have great songs left over for this second disc? I would've been staggered if those three songs would have been the only good ones left, but they're not. They're followed by some of the most funked-out, lean-back-and-smile-while-you-play-air-guitar, joygasmic songs I've ever heard. As the final notes of Turn It Again played through my Camry's speakers, I realized the tremendous feat that the Chili Peppers had pulled off: They have made TWO GREAT ALBUMS and sold them for the price of one. They have given an immeasureable gift to all music lovers for years to come. The density, texture, and sonic forest of Stadium Arcadium is something I will enjoy exploring indefinitely. There are more hooks in this album than a bait & tackle expo. It will literally take YEARS to even get to the point where you could possibly be "tired" of this many good songs!
I want to truly thank the Chili Peppers for giving us this piece of their lives and this ripe, juicy fruit of their labor. If they ever read this, I hope they know how much their work is appreciated.