Review Summary: Chili Peppers should just give up.
With musical experience generally brings change; good or bad. The best bands out there write music because they love what they are doing, and don’t care as much about trying to impress their fans. Metallica, for example were primarily a thrash metal band during the 1980s. However, their self-titled release marked a huge change in the bands sound. Their music was less loud and heavy, and more bluesy and melodic. This left some fans disappointed, and felt the band was selling out. However, all they were really trying to do was attempt to push their sound one step further, and see what they could come up with. The result? Well, not that great. Chili Peppers too, have attempted to further craft and develop their sound in recent releases. As the band got older, (like with most bands) their music got less heavy, and lost most of its funk roots.
Stadium Arcadium, the bands latest effort has certainly shown signs of musical maturity, but ultimately falls well short of its goals, and is a great disappointment to long time fans like myself.
So, what is so bad about this album?
-- For an album that is just over two hours in length, you would expect a little better, especially from a band like Chili Peppers. Stadium Arcadium sadly fails to support its long duration, due to many mediocre tracks which kill the consistency. A lot of the songs are just a little too poppy and feel-good for my liking, and are also rather short on ideas. "Dani California" is the prime example of this; for the better part of four minutes the song just meanders along in a very directionless fashion, and has nothing that can be remembered by as being interesting or unique. Vocalist Anthony Kiedis is also showing his age; his voice just lacks the touch it had on older albums, and comes across as nasal.
--I don’t know if this is possible, but the drum fills are even more simplistic than usual. While Doctor Chad Smith has never exactly had mind-boggling patterns, they have at least quietly served their purpose. In this album his fills are even more stripped down than usual, and are just sub par at best. It would be nice to see him push himself for once, rather than just acting as a supporter to his fellow band mates. Better drumming would certainly improve this albums sound overall.
--While the band isn’t exactly known for their lyrical ability, they do a possibly even worse job here. Utterly incomprehensible lyrics on several songs, ("Hump De Bump", "Snow (Hey Oh)", "Slow Cheetah", to name a few) force the listener to take these songs with a grain of salt, and severely compromise the listening ability. Here is an excerpt from Hump De Bump, where Anthony moans, in an almost flat voice:
Oh no!
Hump de bump doop bodu
Hump de bump doop bop
Bump de hump doop bodu
--Another major concern of this album is that the ratio of good-to-bad songs is definitely moving in the wrong direction. There are too many very forgettable, bland songs to be found here, and it all goes to prove that this album is severely lacking in focus. "She’s only 18" is a prime example of this, being totally uninspired and generic in the extreme form. The lyrics are once again pathetic, and I can’t help but wonder what the band was thinking when they wrote them. At least it gets points for its admittedly catchy but totally cheesy chorus.
What is good about this album, then?
--It is very catchy, and as a result will attract more people. Many songs possess very uplifting choruses which have the ability of getting stuck in your head.
--For people who like this album, its is over two hours in length, so you will be busy listening to it for quite a long time.
--The bass and guitars are pretty good; nothing too impressive but they get the job done just fine. They are at least better than the vocals and drums.
Should I buy this album?
Ah, the million dollar question. It really just depends on what you are after. If you are a fan of old school Chili’s I recommend you avoid it at all costs, as it will not be for you. If you are in the mood for a bit of fun and just feel like basic pop, mainstream music this will please your taste buds just fine. Finally, if you buy this thinking it is as good as people say it is; just do not have too high expectations, for you may be disappointed.
