Unlimited Love, the latest LP by alternative rock legends, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and their 12th album overall, is a lot to digest. Even before dropping the needle on the record itself, it’s impossible to not take into account the return of guitarist/vocalist, John Frusciante, back for the second time after initially quitting the band in 1992 and again in 2009, and the return of long-time producer, RickRubin, who was not involved with the band’s previous LP, The Getaway. This particular reuniting of the classic band and production line-up from ’89-’92 and ’99-’06, most notably on Blood Sugar Sex Magik, the band’s best and most successful album, resulted in Unlimited Love which seeks to emulate that classic album so much that it also has the same number of songs (17) and the same approximate runtime (73 minutes). Unfortunately, the new songs are not as good or as strong as those on that nearly-untouchable masterpiece, but perhaps the attempt to work toward that level still resulted in the best-possible songs this older version of the same band can produce at this point.
Unlimited Love is packed with varied tones and tempos featuring RHCP’s traditional sounds and musical elements, including mega-funky bass from Flea, hard-hitting drums from Chad Smith, and layered guitar and vocal wizardry from Anthony Kiedis and Frusciante, a style earlier versions of the band began to make famous nearly 40 years ago, continue to make up the bulk of the new material. A dense album with lots of information and varied emotions throughout, it may be best enjoyed in quarters, based on the side breaks present on the double LP vinyl version of the album, but it works well as a full piece as nearly all of their other albums also do. One could say the album’s length could be an intimidating factor that might detract potential listeners or that the band could have removed three or four songs to make it a bit more digestible, but this has been a common criticism of pretty much everything they’ve done since 1991. There are even vintage reviews of Blood Sugar Sex Magik that argue it would be improved with five fewer songs, but I would be hard pressed to name more than one track from that record I could go without (and they didn’t even include “Soul to Squeeze” among the 17 they chose!) Fast numbers like “Here Ever After” and groovy mid-tempo tracks like “It’s Only Natural,” “She’s a Lover,” and “Poster Child,” the album’s best track, stand out the most, but each song spins the band’s classic sounds into something new.
The album opens with the lead single, “Black Summer,” which is a fine introduction to the collection of songs that follow but isn’t necessarily the most representative of those other songs. With such a wide variety of sounds and styles throughout the record, however, it’s tough to imagine any one track being more representative of the overall sound, so that choice might have come down to the process of elimination. “Aquatic Mouth Dance” stands out for its amazing bass work and lush chorus vocal harmonies, but other elements in the song are more run-of-the-mill, even with the jazzy horns on the bridge which RHCP have occasionally included as far back as 1985. “Not the One” is arguably a tough choice to follow next as it slows the tempo down drastically, and while full of pained beauty akin to a classic like “I Could Have Lied,” this particular slow jam is not the band’s strongest.
“Poster Child” opens side two with a very engaging groove and flow that thematically seems to almost be an update of Reunion’s classic ‘70s hit, “Life Is a Rock (but the radio rolled me),” complete with the long list of references to various artists from throughout rock history. Similar to “Not the One,” the guitar work in “The Great Apes” is amazing, but other elements of the song are less engaging. “It’s Only Natural,” the album’s second ballad, is a better song with more depth and emotional weight than “Not the One,” recalling some of the introspective, mid-tempo songs on Stadium Arcadium, arguably a masterpiece in its own right. Killer guitar work on that track also.
Lyrically, Kiedis continues to explore a variety of topics but has grown stronger with personal and introspective comments and reflections, especially since the many excellent songs on By the Way, released 20 years ago. A few moments dip back into the stuttering rapped vocals of the band’s ‘80s albums, but Kiedis notably avoids referencing many specific places or locations in the lyrics this time around which is sort of a nice break from a device that had kind of become predictable and a bit repetitive.
“These Are the Ways,” leads off the more musically-adventurous third side and is also the album’s third and most recent single. Slower verses give way to a faster chorus and a bridge that leans harder than ever into grunge rock, with sounds that might be more at home on a Nirvana album, both a salute to that significant era in rock history and a bit of a musical flex by the band. “Whatchu Thinkin’” features a groovy, plodding bass and more amazing guitar work from Frusciante where “Bastards of Light” is built around ‘80s synth sounds and nicely-layered acoustic guitars during the chorus and another turn toward grunge during the bridge, making for a nice dynamic blend within the song. “White Braids & Pillow Chair” begins like a standard mid-tempo Chili’s number but has a beautiful vocal arrangement between Kiedis and Frusciante on the chorus and an urgent tempo change during the coda, which also shouts out to the San Franciscan pioneers of psychedelic rock for “leading the way.” Side three ends with “One Way Traffic,” probably the most derivative track on the album, but like the rest of them, it would fit in well next to other songs from the back catalog if it were included in a concert performance.
The albums wraps up with four songs on the fourth side, starting with “Veronica,” a particularly varied track that more so changes between three different songs within it, each with a different sound and speed. “Let ‘Em Cry” continues the band’s tradition of saving or sneaking in some of the strongest tracks closer to the end of the album, this one featuring a fantastic groove between Flea and Frusciante and a better-utilized horn section, somewhat in the flavor of a classic Funkadelic track. “The Heavy Wing” stands out as Frusciante’s strongest vocal moment of the record, recalling the moments in the ‘00s when he was closer to being a co-lead singer with Kiedis rather than a guitarist who does occasional harmony vocals, similar to and around the same time as System of a Down’s Daron Malakian. The closing number, “Tangelo,” brings things down for a quiet conclusion that fits its position well.
Unlimited Love sounds like a mature version of the band that made the famous “California Trilogy” of ’99-’06 the way that version of the band sounded like a maturing version of the group that made Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Each stage of the process has featured more wisdom and experience and less youthful excess over time. What’s notable is how the band can maintain their sound in spite of this growth and work the two into something new rather than be sidelined or road-blocked by an inability to merge them or having them work against each other, not allowing the band to even possibly continue. Calling it a day after 40 years would be nothing to be ashamed about, but true artists and musicians write and perform because they need to just as much as they want to, and it’s a testament to the longevity of this particular band that they are still here and still with us (as they reminded us they were in the title of another recent album), especially after years of turmoil and internal drama, and even if it is a wiser or even slightly diminished version of what it once was, this collection of musicians still creates a beautiful blend of sounds that is unique to them and is immediately recognizable.
If you are a fan of the band’s many other excellent songs
and albums, you are likely to really enjoy at least half of Unlimited Love, if not more. Being a
well-established act like Red Hot Chili Peppers, for listeners who are just
getting familiar with them, this new album is probably not the place to start,
as it is more a culmination of their long career rather than a groundbreaking or
majorly innovative step forward. Having said that, it will still take a lot to
beat it this year in terms of the best new rock albums, at least aside from
Jack White’s new material, and the Chilis are experiencing a warm welcome back as
they embark on the first leg of the big U.S. tour for it.
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