Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Stadium Arcadium" (5/5)

There are some kinds of albums that only come out once a generation, and the Chili Peppers’ ninth album, “Stadium Arcadium”, falls into that category. To put it quite simply, “Stadium Arcadium” is a brilliant, solid masterpiece that spans two discs (titled "Jupiter" and "Mars", respectively), 28 songs, and 122 minutes. I've been a Red Hot Chili Peppers fan for years, and I always knew it was only a matter of time before they went and put out one of the greatest albums of all time. You can talk all you want about your brilliant, unknown, underground bands, but it's about time that someone gave mainstream rock & roll a good solid kick in the ass, and “Stadium Arcadium” delivers.

They're pumping out hit single after hit single, and not because they sound like everything else out there, but because they're better than anything else out there. It's as good as "Dark Side of the Moon". It's as good as "Electric Ladyland". It's as good as countless Beatles albums. If anything, it's an improvement on all the great pieces of music that have come before it, and it sets a new standard. The songs range in sound from the funk-punk-rap-heavy metal hybrid that the Chili Peppers pioneered in the 80's, to the psychedelic groove-oriented rock & roll and power-ballads of their more recent albums.

What makes this album stand out is that they take their old sounds to a completely different level, thanks mainly to John Frusciante, who has officially emerged as the greatest guitarist of our time; a musician who explores and experiments with the capabilities of his instrument, rather than just limiting himself to being technically proficient at moving around a fret board. That’s not to say that the other band members aren’t at the top of their fields, because they are as well. Flea has long been one of the most consistently creative bassists in the world and has an instantly recognizable style, Anthony Kiedis' vocal abilities have gradually improved over his career to the point of him being one of the most soulful singers out there, and Chad Smith is a world renowned drummer in his own right, but “Stadium Arcadium” is John Frusciante's show, and he's the star of it.

There are an awful lot of damn good songs on this mammoth album. "Hard to Concentrate", a straight-up marriage proposal put to music, is one of the most beautiful, sincere love songs ever recorded. "Storm in a Teacup" is a throwback to the old-school "Uplift Mofo Party Plan" sound, complete with Kiedis' trademark white-boy aggro-rapping, as well as some of the heaviest guitar riffs on the album. "Charlie" will go on to be a classic drug anthem and is probably the best representative of the Chili Peppers new direction. Starting off with a simple Blood Sugar Sex Magik-style funk-rock beat before exploding into it's anthemic chorus and swirling cosmic guitar solos, the title track and "Desecration Smile" are breathtaking Pink Floyd-style psychedelic epics. Finally, "She's Only 18" is straight-up Hendrix-style rock'n'roll, and features one of the most memorable, anthemic rock'n'roll choruses in recent history; "Knock the world right off it's feet and straight to it's head" – That’s exactly what “Stadium Arcadium” is going to do.

The album as a whole sounds like it could be a greatest hits collection, and at least 20 of the 28 songs are instant classics that could skyrocket to the top of any singles chart, most notably all of the above mentioned songs, as well as "Hump De Bump", “Snow (Hey Oh)”, "Tell Me Baby", and, of course, the first single, "Dani California", just to name a few. Make no mistake about it, this one isn’t going anywhere for a while. It's going to be huge hit, and we're going to be hearing these songs all over radio stations for years to come. It's a classic for our generation, and arguably the first truly great and groundbreaking rock & roll album of the millennium.

Now, a review wouldn’t be a review without some constructive criticism. I've always been totally against the idea of a double album. From the Beatles' "White Album" to Pink Floyd's "the Wall", from the Pumpkins' "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" to Nine Inch Nails' "the Fragile", double albums have been bloated, pretentious projects with a lack of quality control that leads to them never quite living up to their ambition. “Stadium Arcadium” is indeed bloated and somewhat pretentious, and it probably could have been cut down to one disc without sacrificing it's brilliance, although you can’t really complain about that, seeing as how the Peppers apparently already had to go through the "heart wrenching" process of trimming this thing down to two discs as opposed to a triple-disc set, which had originally been the plan. Nonetheless, they have put an awful lot of effort into creating a damn good album, and have secured their status as the greatest rock & roll band currently recording music.

Favorite Track - Charlie



Reviewed By: Rich