Anthony Kiedis- Vocals
Flea- Bass
John Frusciante- Guitar, Backup Pipes
Chad Smith- Drums
It would seem that about half the people love this album and about half the people say that it is bad or should have been cut down. I tend to lean toward the 'love this album' side but i do not love it but rather like it alot. I will attempt to give each of the 28 songs a short summary for those of you who are not sure weather this album will be worthy of buying. I will also to give the fairest score to each of the songs (compared to the rest of the songs on the album) without being too biased, but dont jump on me if you disagree with the score. give or take a point or two.
Jupiter
1. Dani California
The intro sounds alot like Tom Petty's 'Mary Janes Last Dance' but the rest of the song is pretty original. The chorus is just about as heavy as the chili peppers get and the guitar work durin the verse is amazing with its wah style that John gives it. The guitar solo at the end is very good as well. Anthony belts it well and the bassline is steady. Not my first choice for a single but i believe it serves it's purpose well. 7/10
2. Snow
This song would fit perfectally in the 'By the Way' album as it is melodic and has many of the same elements of that album. great chorus, great guitar, and somewhat sensible lyrics save this song from being boring. best thing about this song is the guitar intro which is quite cool. 7.5/10
3. Charlie
This song is probably one of the best songs to sum up the Chili Peppers, much like the song By the Way. the verse is funky and a nice change of pace from snow. Then goes into a melodic chorus with a great guitar behind it, wrapping up with a guitar solo with awsome bass and drum work to back it up. 10/10
4. Stadium Arcadium
Probably the slowest song on here and in my opinion the most boring but it has a few things going for it like the nice mellow feal and slow chorus. Unlike Californication and By the Way, I do not believe this title track would fit well on the radio. great backup vocals and good mellow guitar and bass line but drags on a little too long. 7/10
5. Hump de Bump
Again, a good change of pace from stadium with a well deserved funk groove and probably the funkiest tune on here. nonsensical lyrics and a great funky guitar line start this song off and while not being the deepest song on here, its a great listen. when flea comes in with his great bass fills and later on with his jazz/junk style trumpet you cant help admire the ideas behind the song even if you find it annoying. 8.5/10
6. She's Only 18
Again a fairly funky tune however i dont really find too many stand out things about this song besides its heavy chorus and guitar solo. Solid Bass and drums as usual. 6.5/10
7. Slow Cheetah
The way this song is structured is fairly interesting and would fit right in with By the Way. Nice quiet intro and good chorus backed by steady bassline saves it from being boring and the well placed guitar solo turns it into one of the best songs on the record in my opinion. Near the end it seems to die out but a quiet jam follows the near silence and ends it appropriatly. 9/10
8. Torture Me
Starts out with an awsome and somwhat dark sounding bassline and then the guitar and drums come in for a great jam and a fast paced verse. the chorus slows it down but keeps interesting. I dont care too much for the bridge as it is slow and seems to take away from the momentum but all in all a great song. 9/10
9. Strip My Mind
Again a nice and mellow song with nice chorus and backup vocals from fruscianteas well as good guitar solos between chorus and verse. Somehow the guys seem to keept this Funk song--> mellow song--> Funk Song etc. interesting. 8/10
10. Especially In Michigan
This song is good funk and electronica mix and keeps a strange yet interesting sound through odd backup vocals and a well crafted chorus. John's friend Omar Rodreguez Jumps of The Mars Volta jumps on for a great guitar solo and keeps the ear candy going. 8.5/10
11. Warlocks
Another great mix between funk with the bass and mellow chorus reminicent of Charlie, this is another great song. A guest jumps on for synthisizer and the guitar work during the chorus is awsome. a good bridge that sounds a bit like pink floyd makes the song even more interesting followed by a energetic solo. 8.5/10
12. C'Mon girl
starts out with quick, quiet bass intro and jumps into a quiter verse and then into a very abrupt and somwhat annoying chorus. later on we get into an even more annoying guitar solo and a rediculously stupid laugh at the end. In my opinion, one of the worst songs on here but thats just me. 6/10
13. Wet Sand
Starts out quiet and maintains a mellow vibe and doesnt really have a structure to it, which is good. however once you hear the ending, you will want to skip the first 2/3s of this song almost all the time. the end is a great climactic moment with an awsome guitar solo backed by a piano part and great rythm work. Overall, an awsome listen. 9/10
14. Hey
This is probably my favorate song on here. It starts out with superb drums and bass but Flea isnt doing his usual thing. He plays the bass high up on the fret board and makes it sound a bit more like guitar than bass and it maintains the mellow feel of the song. The Guitar here is probably the best on the record as far solos and rythm goes and the vocals are also amazing both making perfect transitions between verse and chorus. here again, the lyrics make sense and the guitar solos between verse and chorus are great. Words can't really describe what the guitar fills sound like, you just have to listen and be amazed. 10/10
Mars
1. Desecration Smile
Another pretty solid mellow song with a good beat and bass but the live version of this is much better and anthony's voice on this song sounds a little too girly and not himself on this song. Guitar is pretty good but i dont really like the song as a whole. 7/10
2. Tell Me Baby
The Second single starts out quiet but jumps right into funky slap bass and guitar picking and a pretty good yet nonsensical verse. The transition between chorus and verse is fairly good and overall a good choice for second single. 7.5/10
3.Hard To Concentrate
This song is pretty emotional and the lyrics deal with wedding proposals and the like. good palm drumming and mellow bass and guitar keep this song good throughout and the end has a good guitar solo intermixed with the chorus. 8.5/10
4. 21st Century
Starts off nice and funky and keeps the same feel throught the song with the bass and guitar then leaps into a great chorus ( hard to find a bad chorus on here, weather the song is good or not ). the guitar solo at the end is also great because of the baackup guitar played by an unknown somone. 8/10
5. She Looks to Me
Another Mellow Song but again they keep interesting throughout most. again the emotion keeps it together and the chorus is quite good with swell insturmentals. 8/10
6. Readymade
Starts off with a pretty cool bassline and jumps in with a heavy guitar following the same rythm. The rest of this song is pretty standard and the chorus here is nothing spectacular and overall one of my least favorate songs on here. the highlight would be anthony saying 'oooh clean it up johnnnny!' followed by a guitar solo. 6/10
7. If
In the infamous words of Lazlo of KC's 96.5 The Buzz, 'Filler'. Lyrics are a little too blunt and almost gross and the guitar is best thing goin in this song. in general, any song whose first word is 'and' is probably gonna be bad and at only 2 and a half minutes, it never has time to redeem itself. 4/10
8. Make You Feel Better
Intervulled strumming of the guitar and solid bass at the begging stayes throught the verse and leads into a fairly poppy almost blink-182 style chorus but its all good. the energy in this song keeps it going and the backup vocals as usual are good. 7/10
9. Animal Bar
This song is pretty interesting but i think it goes on a little too long. The lyrics seem to deal with pollution maybe and the liquidation effect of the backup vocals is interesting and the guitar solos are well placed and ends the song perfectly. 7/10
10. So Much I
Another energetic track similar to Readymade with a mellower chorus but overall i think this song is a little annoying until the chorus which pretty much turns the whole song around from being one of the worst songs on here. 7/10
11. Storm In A Teacup
A song that old RHCP fans are sure to like. keeps the funky electric guitar and good bass line with a good pre-chorus and distorted chorus. annoying for some but for others a well needed break from the mellow stuff. 7/10
12. We Believe
Another mellow song but with a quieter feel and a bit more of an almost ethereal feel. some dont like it but the chorus is pretty poppy and children backing up the anthony fairly good in my opinion. the end is especially interesting with a fade out 7.5/10
13. Turn It Again
This one starts with a great funk groove with the guitar and bass and the verse is superb.The chorus hear is infectious and probably one of the best on here. Here, unlike many of the other songs, the bridge is short and very good and the nearly 2 minute guitar solo is amazing, even if there is more than one guitar. 9.5/10
14. Death of a Martian
Finally after all this typing and reading we come to this last song and it is a pretty good end. The chorus here is great with bass that somwhat mimics the vocals and the verse and build up to chorus is fairly well done. Near the end, Anthony starts talking rather than singing and he talks about interesing things and the song ends in a intriguing way. 9/10
Even though they may use the same structure for almost all their songs on this album and even though they stretch the songs out using insturments other than a single guitar, bass or drum set, no one can doubt the talent of The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Throughout their career, they have created music that is loveable by many by innovating and sculpting different genres of music and calling it their own. At 2 hours long, this 2 disc pack provides a great veriety of music coming from from 4 (or more) very talented people and weather you like it or not, defines the Chili Pepper sound.
