Just in case
anyone in 2006 was wondering where the planet's pre-eminent funk-rock
group were heading next, the Red Hot Chili Peppers released a behemoth
double album with the muscular name Stadium Arcadium – surely a title
impossible to read without hearing it in a meaty, WWF ring announcer's
voice. Half a decade on, and with new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer
replacing John Frusciante, bassist Flea has cited "life and death" (that
perennial favourite) as "a major theme" of their 10th album.
Might the men
famous for the cocks-in-socks photo-shoot have gone all reflective on
us? Not entirely. Opener "Monarchy of Roses" begins with a big squall of
guitar and drums before moving into a merry, chugging disco chorus that
doesn't exactly scream life and death.
There's a welcome surprise, though, in "Brendan's Death Song", written
for their friend Brendan Mullen, an LA punk stalwart who died in 2009.
It begins with acoustic guitar and uncharacteristically tender vocals
from Anthony Kiedis, before building into an enormous, blustering gale
of sound topped by a yelled: "I said a-yeahhhhh, yeahhhh." Heartfelt and
grandiose, it's the album's highlight.
But it would not be a RHCP album without their twin obsessions –
California and sex. Sure enough, Kiedis drops a doozy on "Happiness
Loves Company", a stadium anthem built on self-help mantras, with the
line: "Young lovers keep it pumpin' in the streets of LA." Elsewhere, he
raps such outrageous nonsense that you wonder why someone hasn't
created an online Kiedis-lyric generator. "Did I Let You Know" rhymes
"cheeky" with what sounds like "Mozambique-y", but special mention must
also go to "Ethiopia", on which words are abandoned altogether for some
Teletubbies vowel sounds ("ee-i-oh-i-ee-i-a").
He's no poet, then, but I don't think that will bother any RHCP fan. In
fact it's the band's refusal to sound older, or wiser, that's integral
to their charm. The video for their singalong single "The Adventures of
Rain Dance Maggie" sees Kiedis and co (pushing 50 and as shirt-averse as
ever) leaping about on a Venice Beach rooftop, performing for those
young lovers in the LA streets below; twice the age of most of them but
the strut of their sound is perpetually adolescent.
There's a moment on "Did I Let You Know" when Kiedis shouts: "Ha ha!" as
a guitar solo comes to a triumphant end. That might be a comment on the
sheer musicianship of his bandmates – Flea's bass lines are as
irrepressible as ever – or it might just be the habitual exclamation of a
man with 65m album sales to his name. Either way, it's hard not to feel
a grudging sort of affection at the sound of a bunch of dudes rocking
out, older and, blissfully, none the wiser. |
Personnel:
Flea – bass, backing vocals, piano
Anthony Kiedis – lead vocals
Josh Klinghoffer – guitars, backing vocals, keyboard
Chad Smith – drums, percussion
tracklist:
01. Monarchy Of Roses
02. Factory Of Faith
03. Brendan’s Death Song
04. Ethiopia
05. Annie Wants A Baby
06. Look Around
07. The Adventures Of Rain Dance Maggie
08. Did I Let You Know
09. Goodbye Hooray
10. Happiness Loves Company
11. Police Station
12. Even You Brutus?
13. Meet Me At The Corner
14. Dance, Dance, Dance
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