Red Hot Chili Peppers

[Zarathustra]

This is a band I pretty much forgot about after the 90s. I had no idea they were still a thriving, prolific, evolving band.

I saw them on cable recently performing songs from their 2011 I'm With You album, with new(-ish) guitarist Klinghoffer (he was the backup guitarist live for the previous tour). This guy is more jam-band oriented, sounding more like Phish at times. The rest of the band was better than ever, doing little jams between songs that was almost jazz fusion. The drummer, in particular, blew me away. But even the singer has improved with age. I can't find the name of this live recording anywhere, but it looks like it's in their basement. Very low tech, like a practice session. But my god, do they jam! I'd never heard a single song off this CD, but I instantly liked every single one.

So I looked them up on Wikipedia, and learned just how much I've been missing over the last decade and a half. After kicking the Jane's Addiction guitarist, Dave Navarro, out of the band (apparently he sucked at writing song), they convinced the original guitarist, Fruscianti, back into the band, and had an extremely fruitful period during 1999-2006, starting with Californication and ending with Stadium Arcadium. I had no idea how much fantastic music was written during this period. SA was supposed to be three separate albums released 6 months apart, but they discarded a dozen songs and released it as a double album. This album is some of their best work. I thought with all that material, much of it had to be mediocre, but no, song after song was great.

After extensive touring, they took a break, but then Flea and Keidis wrote 60-70 songs in ten months during 2009-2010! And some of that become I'm With You. And they've still been honing their skills. Flea even went back to college and studied music theory, which dramatically changed how they write songs. Keidis got a voice coach, emphasizing his singing instead of rapping. Their new style is still recognizable as RHCP, but with a broader range of styles and influences.

Seriously, if you've forgotten about them like I have, do yourself a favor and check out their newer stuff.

[Zarathustra]

Check this out:

Goodbye Hooray

If you watch all the way to the end, it will pay off, I promise.

And this one captures some of their between-songs jams:

Look Around

[Cail]

You're on your own with this one. They were a relatively interesting band up through The Uplift Mofo Party Plan, but I can't think of a single thing they've done since that's been decent.

And yes, I've given their newer stuff a chance. It just does nothing for me.

[michaelm]

Definitely a band I've had a love/hate relationship with. The first album sucked, mostly because they just didn't have interesting songs or guitarist. They then did OK with Hilel Slovak back on guitar and then John Frusciante. The album with Navarro sucked even more than their first album, then they did Californication which was OK, and then nothing particularly interesting after that.

I saw them live in Perth in Australia in 1999 and thought they were a good live band, particularly when they extended or improvised the instrumental parts. There were much better live bands on that day though.

[StevieG]

I pretty much followed their stuff up until around 2000, and like Z, forgot about them. Based on your recommendations, I might give their latest work a go, as I'm craving something new to listen to.

[dlbpharmd]

I've always associated them with the grunge movement, since they became popular around that time, and I freakin' hated grunge. I will say that Flea is a monster on bass.

[michaelm]

I will say that Flea is a monster on bass.

Even better live. I can't believe he can play slap with the bass slung so low - I have to sling it pretty high to be able to do it effectively.

He also runs around like his ass is on fire too, which makes it even more difficult.

[Vraith]

Saw them at a bar, maybe 6 months-ish before "Mother's Milk" came out.
Extremely fun...and quite a lot of extended jam/improv.
But I only liked about 2 songs each from the following 2 discs, so let them slide.
Maybe I'll give a listen to the gap years.

[sgt.null]

Julie likes RHCP more than I do.

but I am a huge Flea fan...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q85JD_IFQ6I

a jam he was involved in.

[Zarathustra]

After listening to pretty much nothing else but RHCP for the last few weeks, I have to say I'm stunned. Especially after learning a dozen or so of their songs on the bass. What surprises me the most that the music is simpler than it sounds. There's a level that these guys are reaching that is greater than the sum of the parts, as if the actual pieces don't even matter. Those are just the excuse to get their fingers/arms/vocal chords moving. And once they're moving, they jump up to that next level that great jam bands always reach. I honestly think they could sit down and write a song on the spot, feeding off of each other and simply feeling a groove. There's something they're tapping into in each song, a corner of the musical cosmos that never seems to run dry. They just keep dipping their hands into it and coming back with Music dripping through their fingers.

It's never pretentious, never sounds like they're trying too hard, and always has a balance between rocking and feeling. I can't explain it without sounding like a sappy cliché. It's damn fun. It makes me want to move.

Stadium Arcadium is the closest thing to a masterpiece RHCP is ever going to make. Computer speakers and ear buds can't do it justice. The production is part of the show. But here's a taste:

Especially in Michigan. Keep listening or skip ahead to about 1:42, where it really kicks in. Hump De Bump is funky fun.

I'm With You isn't as epic as SA, but it's more diverse and artful. Victorian Machinery is a leftover from this album, a B side included in the Australian Tour version of the CD. I've never heard another RHCP song like it. Certainly Keidis hasn't ever sung like this before. It's another hard rocker that balances out that edge with soft, melodic bridges.

Ethiopia is probably my favorite off this CD.

The progression from album to album, from Californication to I'm With You seems to plot a clear trajectory. You can hear the evolution, and it makes perfect sense.

[Obi-Wan Nihilo]

The producer of their first album was a major douchebag that destroyed their sound. If you listen to their early demos their early songs are fresh, vital, and quite catchy the way the band originally composed them. That presumes of course that you are receptive to the funk.

RHCP First Demo Tape

I also find it interesting that BSSM sold 13 million copies and spawned a #2 single but no one here likes it even a little.

[Wildling]

I also find it interesting that BSSM sold 13 million copies and spawned a #2 single but no one here likes it even a little.

I do. In fact, it and Mother's Milk before it are my two faves for RHCP.

[Zarathustra]

I really like BSSM. But I already knew about it, so it's not as much a shock to me as learning that they're still producing great music long after I lost track. Also, it's always a surprise to see a very popular band deviate from the formula that made them successful. So that's where my reaction is coming from.

After compressing a few decades worth of songs and growth into a few weeks of listening, I'm surprised how many of these I actually did know, even though I'd forgotten about them. And I'm surprised how many of the radio hits I'd dismissed because I thought of them as sellouts songs, but they're actually quite good.

I never thought of them as a guitar-oriented band. Flea gets so much of the attention, and they've gone through 4 different guitarists, but each guitarist really adds his own flavor to the band, with Frusciante (?) is an overlooked genius. He's certainly a big part of their rise to fame, and a prolific song writer.

I've been watching their videos, too. They're hilarious.

[Obi-Wan Nihilo]

Z., you were exempted from my observation albeit covertly.

[dANdeLION]

I've always associated them with the grunge movement, since they became popular around that time, and I freakin' hated grunge. I will say that Flea is a monster on bass.

Funk is NOT grunge.

RHCP is great.

[sgt.null]

I liked the John Frusciante song covers...

How Deep is Your Love?

Tiny Dancer

[michaelm]

I liked the John Frusciante song covers...

How Deep is Your Love?

Tiny Dancer

When I saw them live both he and Flea did a solo spot on stage. Frusciante sang Elton John's 'Your Song'. I don't remember what Flea did, but I think it was a cover too.

[sgt.null]

I liked the John Frusciante song covers...

How Deep is Your Love?

Tiny Dancer

When I saw them live both he and Flea did a solo spot on stage. Frusciante sang Elton John's 'Your Song'. I don't remember what Flea did, but I think it was a cover too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAiqRlpQl08

[Zarathustra]

After more than three months of listening to a ton of RHCP, I can't stress enough how good Stadium Arcadium is. We've been listening to it every weekend. There is not a bad song on this double CD. Not one. That would be amazing for any album, but we're talking 28 songs. Sure, it took a while for them all to sink in, but that just means the album gets better the more we've listened to it. Each song, even the ones that seem lame at first, have something worthwhile by the end. Many of them go in directions that you couldn't have guessed at the beginning. I'd recommend listening to the first CD until all those are familiar, then going to the next CD.

We've also been taking in a ton of their concerts on Youtube. They are awesome live. The post-2006 shows have the most variety, and there's a year or two (2007-2008?) where they transition from Frusciante to Joss, and both are playing on stage so they can reproduce some of the more complex songs from Stadium Arcadium.

[Cord Hurn]

Yeah, RHCP are a tremendously creative band. I especially like listening to the rhythm section of Chad Smith and Flea. But this band is loaded with talent, and I'd like to see them live someday.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtBbinpK5XI

[Red Hot Chili Peppers: The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie]