Album Review: Red Hot Chili Peppers - I'm With You

Posted by Anthony - 7th September 2011

Here is the Red Hot Chili Peppers much anticipated new album following on from 2006's mammoth offering Stadium Arcadium. After a 5 year gap, and with a new guitarist on board, the band have gone straight to the top of the UK album charts.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers were formed in America in 1983 as a funk rock group. There have been many changes to the line-up over the years but founder members Anthony Kiedis on vocals and Michael "Flea" Balzary on electric bass guitar are still in place. The drummer is Chad Smith who has been with them since their 4th album Mother's Milk. It is with the guitar position that things get complicated. Suffice to say the there have been 8 players in the band's history, the latest being Josh Klinghoffer who makes his debut on this new album.

Unfortunately for Klinghoffer he replaces the mighty John Frusciante who left to pursue a solo career. Frusciante is a highly regarded player and has a fanatical following. He has appeared on 5 of the band's previous 9 studio albums. Chilis fans have been keen to find out if Klinghoffer can adequately fill his place, some doubting that anyone can.

The Chilis follow the classic minimalist rock line-up in that they have 1 vocalist and 3 musicians i.e. bass, drums and guitar. This can result in a rather thin sound unless the instrumentalists are top players and know how to work together and flesh out the music, especially when playing live on stage. Think Led Zeppelin as the best example of how this can really be achieved. Have no fear for the Chilis - they know how to put on a great live show with top class sound and an exciting front man in Kiedis.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers are big album sellers. They have now had 5 No.1 albums here and to date have sold over 58 million worldwide. Nevertheless, to the average music listener they remain something of a mystery. Perhaps their alternative style has made them more of a cult act. The many dramas and changes that have afflicted the band will not have helped them, but then again they were never likely to appeal to the mainstream, certainly in their wilder early days.

After all that, what of the new album? It is over 60 minutes long and has 14 tracks so at the very least it is good value for money. Chili fans will want to know if the music is still the same without Frusciante. Well it is and it isn't. Whilst the vintage Chilis funk rock sound is present and correct there is definitely a more sophisticated and commercial sound here. My criticism of the Chilis would be that they tend to lack variety. Just listen to their last 2 albums; a couple of good songs and the rest much the same as each other and not very strong to boot. This has been avoided on I'm With You. The songs are uniformly strong and the pace and sound varies throughout making for a very good listen. Crucially Josh Klinghoffer does a great job - phew!

The single chosen to publicise the album was The Adventures Of Rain Dance Maggie. This was a brilliant choice as it is an excellent song with a strong chorus which is driven along by some superb guitar work. I have no doubt that anyone listening to this would be hooked and tempted to explore the full album.

The album opener is a distortion-fest called Monarchy Of Roses, a real barnstormer with some good use of backing vocals. Thereafter the tracks include funk (Ethiopia), high energy rock (Goodbye Hooray), ballads (Meet Me At The Corner) and something very personal (Brendon's Death Song).

What comes across loud and clear is that the Chilis have a rhythm section that must be the envy of every other band on the planet. Flea is a supreme bass player and his thundering inventiveness can be heard throughout the album. Tracks such as Dance, Dance, Dance and Goodbye Hooray are driven by his shattering bass lines. He works well with drummer Chad Smith, no mean player himself, to lay down the foundation and rhythm for the songs. Blending with them is Klinghoffer who brings skill and shading to his playing. He really is very good and is perhaps responsible for the more commercial sound. Some of his guitar runs are very attractive indeed, good examples being Did I Let You Know and Police Station where he plays keyboards as well as guitar. He doesn't try to hog the limelight and is happy to add his flourishes in the background, only coming forward when it adds to the interpretation.

A special mention for Brendan's Death Song. This was written as a tribute to the Chilis biographer, the late Brendan Mullen. It is an excellent song, the first half being quietly acoustic but then it explodes into life with terrific drums and bass driving it along. Superb.

All in all a great set of songs and arrangements with not a duff track there. In my view one of the Chilis best albums and one which could see them attract many new fans. They are due here soon for a tour and will no doubt be fired up by the deserved success of this album in the UK.