Did Red Hot Chili Peppers create music with their new album “I’m with you”, or just another mediocre MTV meat wagon?
The Red Hot Chili Peppers have been making music since the 80’s, and with songs like “Under the Bridge” and the groundbreaking sound they created over the years, there is no doubting the high expectations held by fans concerning their new album.
One thing I enjoyed about “I’m with you” is that it had many of the old elements of RHCP’s music. A fan may be taken aback at first, but all great bands mature with time and RHCP has done so while staying true to their original sound: high energy, rough-around-the-edges funk that flows through RHCP’s veins and into their music.
RHCP picked up a new guitarist, Josh Klinghoffer to join its founding members, Anthony Kiedis (vocals), Michael “Flea” Balzary (bass), and seasoned drummer Chad Smith. Thankfully, Klinghoffer confirms he belongs with RCHP in this album, demonstrating his ability to either tear apart a song with a grinding solo, or carry it with an intricate melody.
The cover is gritty, stinking of filth and drug abuse, which is personified by a fly perched on a pink and white prescription capsule. The first track, “Monarchy of Roses,” begins to play. Wikipedia, a friend I became very well acquainted with during my high school years, claims that this track will be the second single of the album (“The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie” being the first).
The album didn’t capture me at first. Something about Kiedis’ vocals isn’t as powerful as I remember. The instruments seem blended into simple melodies, the kind used for pop songs. However, I highly respect RHCP for their past work, so instead of turning the music off, I turned it up.
As I make my way through the album, I’m happy to find Fleas bass-lines are still as tough as ever. The track “Annie Wants a Baby” catches my attention with the solo bass intro, soon joined by a heavy drumbeat. I’m also happy to say that in this song, Kiedis shows his old pipes aren’t all that rusty after all.
I also started noticing how real Kiedis gets with his lyrics.
“I saw you at the police station and it breaks my heart to say/Your eyes had wandered off to something distant, cold and gray/I guess you didn’t see it coming/Someone’s gotten used to slumming/Dreaming of the golden years.”
The frankness of Kiedis’s lyrics has always been something I enjoyed about RHCP, and I’m glad to see it’s still an element of their music.
RHCP is, and always has been, a great band to listen and jam out to, but to fully appreciate them you have to check out what is being said. The lyrics held in each and every song are what bind much of the emotion to it. Without them, you can never appreciate the song as the artist meant for you to. RHCP lyrics are some of the most authentic that I have ever stumbled upon. Kiedis’s bluntness is renowned, yet he still has such a poetic essence in his music. It’s almost like he is dancing and weeping all at the same time.
Do not be misled by the cynical nature of personal over-expectations. “I’m with you” is not just worth purchasing; it’s worth studying. For you long-time fans, or for those of you who have heard only the radio plays, RHCP always has something to say, and that is more than I can say about the majority of music.
