Red
Hot Chili Peppers - By the Way
Review by antiGUY
Red
Hot Chili Peppers - By the Way
Label: Warner
Bros.
Rating:
Tracks: By The Way
Universally Speaking
This Is The Place
Dosed
Don't Forget Me
The Zephyr Song
Can't Stop
I Could Die For You
Midnight
Throw Away Your Television
Cabron
Tear
On Mercury
Minor Thing
Warm Tape
Venice Queen
If you were to transport a RHCP fan circa
1985 or 86 to today and play this new CD for them, they wouldn’t even recognize
it as a Chili Peppers CD. Yes the days of the slap-bass happy punky funk
rockers are long gone and have been replaced with a much more melodic,
mainstream driven pop rock band. Whether that is a good or band thing depends
on your taste in music and your interpretation of the age-old question,
“did they evolve or sell out?”
The transformation that began with the
more melodic moments of “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” that became more pronounced
on “Californication” have undergone the full chrysalis with “By The Way”.
The Chili Peppers of old are gone and have been replaced with a more commercially
palatable band.
There is no denying that this is an exception
album filled with well-crafted and melodic songs. If this were the band’s
debut album, you would hear the hype going into overdrive about how these
guys are the next big thing. The only problem here is, this isn’t their
debut but a new direction for a well-established band. Although fan reaction
has been mostly positive there have been some detractors that find it hard
to swallow the more mainstream approach that RHCP took with this album.
I find myself somewhere in the middle. While I love the music presented
here, still in the back of my mind I can’t help but compare to the band’s
early work when they were an underground sensation and the producers of
MTV wouldn’t touch them with a ten-foot poll. Then again, evolution is
the name of the game for any band that wants to have a long-term career.
If they stuck to their original formula is would become rather redundant
after a few albums, so RHCP has taken the smart path and evolved musically
into a more mainstream band.
It’s nothing new to rock, hell, listen
to The Beatles first couple of records and then Abbey Road and The White
album and it’s hard to believe the same band produced the music. While
I wouldn’t go as far as to compare RHCP to the Beatles, the drastic change
from the beginning to where they are now is similar. Then again I’m still
a sucker for the songs on RHCP’s debut and “Freaky Styley” so I have a
hard time digesting this CD as a RHCP album because for all intents and
purposes this is a far different band than the one that produced those
early albums. In the end I’m left with a dilemma of trying to break away
from my preconceived notions of who the Red Hot Chili Peppers are and the
fact that this really is an incredible album. Older fans might face
the same problem but newer fans should welcome “By the Way” with open arms
and wallets. Who knows maybe in time I will be able to fully accept the
transformation that has overcome this band? In the mean time, I’ll have
a lot of hours of enjoyment listing to this disc trying to get to that
place of acceptance.
Posted by FELI AKA RHCP:):
AS I SAID BEFORE RHCP ARE AND ALWAYS BE THE BESTEST,GREATEST BAND IN THE UNIVERSE!!:)I DON'T CARE THAT'S MY OPINION!EVERYBODY HAS TO RESPECT THAT SO DEAL WITH IT!!AND WHOEVER DID THIS REVIEW,WELL YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THE F*CK YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT!!
Posted by Tim:
I love the chili peppers and think that they should keep on making albums. The day that they split up will be a sad day for me and all Chili fans.
Posted by Bob:
It says FAN speak, not lets be nasty to the greatest ever band!!!
Posted by Funky Crimes:
To Blue Cold Sweet Salt you obviously dont know what ur talking about. Jack Irons didnt die. Hillel Slovak did. Frusciante was not back and forth. He left once and came back several years later. U are right in that theyve been through hell. Peppers forever.
Posted by MANEL:
RED HOT RULE.THE BESTS OF THE BESTS.FRUSCIANTE.ANTHONY.FLEA.CHAD
Posted by feli aka rhcp lover:
RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS ARE THE BEST OF THE BEST!!!! I LOVE ANTHONY,CHAD,JOHN,AND FLEA FOREVER!!!!
Posted by feli:
red hot chili peppers are incredibly talented! SCREW EVERY BODY that talks trash about them they don't know what TRUE music is.I LOVE RHCP until the day i die!!!
Posted by Leo:
I hated this the first time i heard it but grew to like over a month or two. I like all their other stuff though
Posted by ITSALLGOOD:
IM A DIE HARD CHILI'S FAN. I HONESTLY LOVE EVERY ALBUM AND PIECE OF MUSIC THEY HAVE EVER CREATED. ID LIKE TO SEE THEM BRING OUT MORE STUFF
Posted by Blue Cold Sweet Salt:
You guyz dont know what youll talking about these guyz went through the thick n thin , Jack Irons death, John back and forth into the band they are REAL musicians MOST of them can play more than one instrument Flea played drums first (not in RHCP) then trumpet now the jazzy pop rock BASS and what more to say about this band except that they beat any other bands for technicallity and thier musicianship so i give it up for the RHCP'z
Thats me out
RHCP Fan
Posted by gill:
weel, the cd was a gift so no money wasted there.its not for us or anyone to decide because youll only base what you say on what you think by looking at the band.to cut a long story short-respected as musicians and doing their own thing like they always have,fairly groovy.fabulous.
Posted by Dave:
The song by the way is actually really similar to the song Zombie Eaters by Faith No More
Other than that this albums alright but not their best
Posted by willow:
i love there music and i had a lotoffunwith there music. thankyou for being here on the world
Posted by gez:
headbanging-monkey get a life rhcp rule!!!their debut was crap coz it weren't the whole band slovak and irons were tied up in another concract. but the rest is great!!!its now more mellow but i still love em!!!
Posted by Then a Dolf hit her !:
du ju leik gud lyrics?
or don't yours care a bit?
just:
slabbel
didabbel
didabdab
bumka bumka
kabum bumka
karelkareldi
karelkareldi
bumka bum
bumka bum
BUMkaBUMkaBUMkaBUM
BUMBUMBUM
not really talking fast!
!BUT NARROW MINDED!
not accepting but banning: WORDS
Posted by Dan Grote:
I just like the fact that people look at me funny when I tell them I'm a big fan of One Hot Minute
Posted by Scott Stapps Ego:
Hmmm, It's a change for sure, I don't really know if it's for better or worse. Although it may seem like a "sellout" album to some people it is still a damn solid pop album. RCHP have always written great softer pop numbers, now they have capitalized on this strength. The result is a very good album.
Posted by faith no more:
i think they should split up and stop making music for the pink brigade.
Posted by cain:
i think the chilli peppers are still a good band but this new album put s them into a completely new category its not bad but it sounds more like default or soem s*** not the chilli peppers they really have changed for the better or worse i dont know but there difinetely not the same band alot weaker would be good term to use
Posted by RealMusicFan:
This CD blindsided me. I was expecting at any time for a hard bass riff and then some sort of crazy lyriced song to come out. But it never did and 16 songs later I was confused. Confused because the CD was awesome, yet not the Chili Peppers. I think if you put at least 2 or 3 harder songs spread out among the mellow stuff, it's their best CD ever because it would break up the action a little. Because any one of these slower songs would've been my favorite song on another CD by itself, but together on the same CD, it's almost repetitive and boring at the end. A band that has had 9 CDs doesn't sellout, it matures musically, this isn't Sugar Gay here, its's RHCPs! So I think in the end we all show some respect and buy the CD that they wanted to make because it is really good.
Posted by AliceCooperette:
I've always been a fan of the Chili Peppers, but this album was a bit surprising, and depressing. It's a really good album, but it lacks the energy of their previous work. I remember a guy once saying that Metallica's Reload album was like the defunct out-takes from the Load album all put on one CD. I didn't quite agree with that comment, but the situation here is similar. - - - - - -
I can't quite seem to get out what I mean to say. It's not that it's a bad album, it's just not what I was expecting to come from them. I've read their interview in Interview magazine, and they say that it was more of a maturation than a purposefull change in style. So I won't hold it against them, but I would have liked to have had at least one song that I could jump around and headbang to.
Posted by Vic Rattlehead:
The Mother's Milk album still freaking rules.
Posted by Dreamy Rover:
I just loved CALIFORNICATION... I couldn't get used to the early sound of RHCP...at best, it was honest but nothing that I could enjoy... though I'm mostly into metal, there was this soft ballad on CALIFORNICATION that I absolutely loved. I think many RHCP fans may not like the 'mellowing' of the Peppers... but still, their new stuff is definitely better than anything which comes out these days. This is good stuff, sir! Recommended.
Posted by SubXavier:
I like RHCP's new stuff better than the old rappy/punky stuff. While they have radically changed their sound, you can still tell that this is the Peppers... I'm glad they decided to neither rehash Californication nor revert to their immature sound.
Posted by andy:
nice comment. I really feel that this cd is progression at its best, but while not to the extent of the beatles, i believe it is still a good RHCP album
Posted by headbangin_monkey:
i think they suck. plain n' simple
