After 6 years of silence (the band's longest), "Red Hot Chili Peppers" returns with their 12th album "Unlimited Love" on April 1, 2022.
This is the band's first album since the return of John Frusciante, whose last album with the band "Stadium Arcadium" was released in 2006. Frusciante first joined the band in the late 1980s, at a time when they were injured and bleeding, following the death of Hillel Slovak. As a devout fan of the band, Frusciante managed to shape the root Funk of his favorite band into something more melodic that would lead to their big break. John Frusciante has since become an integral part of the band's DNA, although he left it twice, first in 1992 at the height of their commercial breakthrough, after "Blood Sugar Sex Magik". He returned in 1998 and pushed them to new heights, during their most prolific period that began with "Californication", so his return on this current album raises high expectations. Does the guitarist who has been so influential on the sound and style of the band and who has tried to make its music more ambitious and artistic do so a third time?
On this album, the band returns to work with legendary producer Rick Rubin, who has worked with the "Red Hot Chili Peppers" on the masterpiece albums Blood Sugar Sex Magik [1991], Californication [1999], By the Way [2002], Stadium Arcadium [2006].
The band noted that the work on "Unlimited Love" was uplifting and enjoyable. When they started writing the material for the album, they listened to old songs by bands like "The New York Dolls" and "The Kinks" and gradually began to come up with new ideas. They added that they spent hours in the studio, together and separately, to make the best album they could and that they were just grateful for the opportunity to be together in one room.
"Unlimited Love" recreates the natural brotherhood of "Red Hot Chili Peppers". It sounds lively, varied, and liberating, but make no mistake, none of the songs in it sound like the big "hits" that were strongly burned into our minds in the 90s and the beginning of the current millennium. The last time Frusciante recorded the double album "Stadium Arcadium" with the RHCP, in 2006, we got thunderous anthems and memorable hits that conquered mainstream radio. In "Unlimited Love", which comes almost 40 years into the band's career, RHCP no longer has to prove itself, so all they have left to do is just enjoy the music. They still sound like no one but themselves. In fact, they sound just like themselves. The goal of Flea, Anthony Kiedis, Chad Smith, and John Frusciante, is to continue from the point where they left off, act as if it was not too late, and go back to their old magic without effort, and if some "hits" came out of it along the way, that'll be great.
To the credit of the "Red Hot Chili Peppers," it will be said, that all their strengths are still on this album. Starting with Flea's lead and bouncy bass, Chad Smith's precise and powerful drumming, Anthony Kiedis' direct and blunt lyrics that refuse to mature, and of course Rick Rubin's ingenious production and the long and varied list of songs reminiscent of their masterpieces. But above all, there is the added value of John Frusciante, which crushes us time and time again. Listen to his moaning and minimalist guitar on "Not the One", notice how beautifully he combines funk and jazz in "Aquatic Mouth Dance" or incorporates psychedelic motifs and replaces the chords with feedback from his guitar in "The Great Apes", not mentioning his mighty solo there, and you might be able to understand some of his genius.
The first single from the album "Black Summer", was released on February 4, 2022, and it proves the band's motto on this album. Have fun and enjoy doing it together, without stress or commitment.
At the same time as the album's release we got the second more sophisticated single "These Are the Ways", which moves away in its chorus from the funk and gets closer to the post-grunge, but the motto of "Enjoying the Moment" is still preserved here, no matter what style the band plays:
The album features 17 songs spanning over 73 minutes.
Song list:
1. Black Summer
2. Here Ever After
3. Aquatic Mouth Dance
4. Not The One
5. Poster Child
6. The Great Apes
7. It’s Only Natural
8. She’s A Lover
9. These Are The Ways
10. Whatchu Thinkin’
11. Bastards of Light
12. White Braids & Pillow Chair
13. One Way Traffic
14. Veronica
15. Let ‘Em Cry
16. The Heavy Wing
17. Tangelo
For Listening: Spotify, Apple Music