| Stadium Arcadium sees the Chili Peppers becoming victims of their own success, any band less big would not have been allowed to release this as a double album and it would be all the better for it. I've been a Chilis fan for a long time and while this album is musically strong too many tracks are weak as a whole. It also sees the Chilis take a bit of a backwards step in their musical development which has always been fairly progressive, with each album having a very different sound from previous releases. Stadium Arcadium, however, breaks this trend by sounding like a re-hash of BloodSugarSexMagik spliced with Californication. The drums are fine, the bass is what we've come to expect from Flea and Frusciante's guitar is in places sublime, but as an overall sound you can't help but wonder whether the Chilis have lost some of their soul. |
