The problem with the kind of success and acclaim that Californication got was that it turned Red Hot Chili Peppers from a daring alternative band into rock royalty. And as all those who made that leap soon found out, the privilege comes with certain demands that they must live up to. This is usually a good thing because it keeps artists on their toes and always in search of what is better and which will sell more. It is also bad because it confines them within certain parameters and makes them lose the youthful daring that made their early work so exciting.
If there is one thing that the Red Hot Chili Peppers can never be accused of, it is that the group is not trying to live up to the standards it sets with Californication. The band’s ninth studio album and first release in four years is the ambitious Stadium Arcadium, a two-volume CD with 28 new songs. It is a well-thought out, epic production that blends rock, pop, rap and dance through some of the best arrangements we have come across in recent years. Frusciante, who some years ago almost died from drug overdose, takes his place among the greatest guitarists of all time with this set. Flea is an adept, very reliable sideman. Smith’s drumming holds everything together, be it in mid-tempo ballads or the energetic rockers. As for Kiedis, he is not only at his most versatile. His multi-textured vocals now show strength and sensitivity amidst so much pain. This guy’s singing will rock even if all he’s doing is a lullaby.
Divided into two discs entitled Jupiter and Mars, the set is led by the instant hit Dani California. I also hear potential hit singles in the infectious Snow (Hey Oh), the reggae-tinged Tell Me Baby and the hook-filled Charlie. But the singles do not really matter. They will just help sell the album. Stadium Arcadium is actually meant to be experienced in its totality. In fact, it reminds me of those double albums on vinyl by the rockers of old. It might be indulgent, not cohesive and incoherent at times but you cannot question its scope and what the artist was able to accomplish is truly remarkable.
The disc Jupiter also has Stadium Arcadium, Hump the Bump, She’s Only 18, Slow Cheetah, Torture Me, Strip My Mind, Especially in Michigan, Warlocks, C’mon Girl, Wet Sand and Hey. Mars has Desecration Smile, Hard to Concentrate, 21st Century, She Looks to Me, Readymade, If, Make You Feel Better, Animal Bar, So Much I, Storm in a Teacup, We Believe, Turn It Again and Death of a Martian.
Dubbed the most anticipated album of the year, Stadium Arcadium is every bit the music event that the media hype says it is. It made No. 1 in the Billboard Magazine top 200 albums list upon release and remains on top after two weeks in the stores. The other albums in the list are Killa Season by Cam’Ron; 10,000 Days by Tool; High School Musical, the original motion picture soundtrack by Various Artists; Soundtrack to Your Life by Ashley Parker Angel; Me and My Gang by Rascal Flatts; Broken Toy Soldiers by The Raconteurs; Now 21 by Various Artists; What’s Left of Me by Nick Lachey and a self-titled new release from Pearl Jam.