It’s been ten years since extraordinary Stadium Arcadium, seven years since crazy diamond John Frusciante left the band, and five years since I’m With You came out. These are the three things the listener should have on his mind before diving into the new album of Red Hot Chilli Peppers.
Rick Rubin, their old collaborator, is also gone. DangerMouse replaced him. Even Elton John gave his contribution in a song called Sick Love (that is desperately similar to Bennie and The Jets).
The singer Anthony Kiedis, drummer Chad Smith and bass player Flea are each in their fifties, and their funk roots seem rotten. Do RHCP still have it? It is debatable.
When Kiedis starts with his vocal mannerism eyo-eyo-eyo-eyo, he sounds like a local drunk who is trying to hit on 20 year old girl who just came into town. The rest of the band is a bit more dignified. Red Hot Chilli Peppers sounds like they are singing someone else’s songs because they need to earn money for their own songs. It’s like they are waiting to forget about this record.
DangerMouse did a solid job as a producer. The Getaway is enriched with sounds that trigger orientation reflex. Still, that doesn’t mean the songs are good (because they are not).
There are few successful moments on the record. The Longest Wave is a gorgeous pop-ballade. My problem with it is that it would be better If mainstream pop singer (such as Sam Smith) performed it. The closing track Dreams of Samurai has all the elements that are suppose to converge into an impressive momentum, but the momentum loses its patina.
The first single Dark Necessities is ok, but it is not enough to save the band who gave us so much over the past three decades. With The Getaway, they turned into a band who sounds just like everyone else, which is the last think they ever wanted to be.
On the other hand, Red Hot Chili Peppers have survived deaths, departures, disappointments, artistic discrepancies, harsh critics, etc. They always managed to rise above it and return even more glorious than ever before. The question is inevitable – Can they pull it off again?
