Stadium Arcadium (2006)
| Artist: Red Hot Chili Peppers |
| Format: | CD |
Song Listing
| An ambitious double album, Stadium Arcadiumfinds the Red Hot Chili Peppers building on their more mature, latter-day approach, while also acknowledging their lighthearted, youthful sound. The Los Angeles-based funk-rock quartet's third studio outing since John Frusciante returned to the fold, this 2006 release once again reinforces how crucial the guitarist is to the Peppers' aesthetic, with his mix of swirling, psychedelic leads and heavy riffs providing the perfect foil to Flea's bold bass heroics. (Instrumentally, the record also benefits from guest appearances by Mars Volta guitarist Omar Rodriguez, percussionists Paulinho Da Costa and Lenny Castro, and the legendary Billy Preston on clavinet.) Remarkably consistent for a two-disc, 28-song offering, Stadium Arcadium kicks off with "Dani California," an energetic track that hints at a Beatles influence, while showcasing vocalist Anthony Kiedis's neo-rap delivery and the tight rhythmic interplay of Flea and drummer Chad Smith. Other highlights of this collection include the emotive "Wet Sand" and the frenetic "Torture Me," which provide nice counterpoints to loose, limber tunes such as the funk workouts "Hump De Bump" and "C'mon Girl." In many ways a culmination of the Chili Peppers' decades-spanning musical evolution, Stadium Arcadium stands as one of the group's most impressive efforts. |
"...the most ambitious work of its twenty-three-year career. Rolling Stone
"a mature showcase of concentrated power with riotous groove jams, super-sized hooks and transcendent vocal arrangements. Billboard
"#1 must-have album for 2006. Q Magazine
Album Notes and Credits
Notes & Personnel Info |
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Red Hot Chili Peppers: Flea , John Frusciante, Anthony Kiedis, Chad Smith . |
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Personnel: Omar Rodriguez-Lopez (guitar); Richard Dodd (cello); Brad Warnaar (French horn); Michael Bolger (trombone); Billy Preston (tambourine); Lenny Castro, Paulinho Da Costa (percussion). |
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Audio Mixers: Andrew Scheps; Ryan Hewitt. |
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Recording information: Akademie Mathematique Of Philosophical Research; Little Kicker Sound; The Center For The Cultivation Of The Invisible; The Mansion Of Laurel Canyon. |
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Photographers: Michael Muller; Gus Van Sant. |
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An ambitious double album, STADIUM ARCADIUM finds the Red Hot Chili Peppers building on their more mature, latter-day approach, while also acknowledging their lighthearted, youthful sound. The Los Angeles-based funk-rock quartet's third studio outing since John Frusciante returned to the fold, this 2006 release once again reinforces how crucial the guitarist is to the Peppers' aesthetic, with his mix of swirling, psychedelic leads and heavy riffs providing the perfect foil to Flea's bold bass heroics. (Instrumentally, the record also benefits from guest appearances by Mars Volta guitarist Omar Rodriguez, percussionists Paulinho Da Costa and Lenny Castro, and the legendary Billy Preston on clavinet.) |
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Remarkably consistent for a two-disc, 28-song offering, STADIUM ARCADIUM kicks off with "Dani California," an energetic track that hints at a Beatles influence, while showcasing vocalist Anthony Kiedis's neo-rap delivery and the tight rhythmic interplay of Flea and drummer Chad Smith. Other highlights of this collection include the emotive "Wet Sand" and the frenetic "Torture Me," which provide nice counterpoints to loose, limber tunes such as the funk workouts "Hump De Bump" and "C'mon Girl." In many ways a culmination of the Chili Peppers' decades-spanning musical evolution, STADIUM ARCADIUM stands as one of the group's most impressive efforts. |
Producer: Rick Rubin; Rick Rubin |
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Engineer: Chris Holmes; Mark Linette; Dana Nielsen; Andrew Scheps; Ryan Hewitt; Jason Lader |
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Compilation Appearances
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Pretty Woman |
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Beavis & Butthead Do America |
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2007 Grammy Nominees |
Associated Artists and Works
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Clinton, George |
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Clinton, George (Funk) |
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Green Day |
Technical Info
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Release Date : 05/08/2006 |
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Original Release Date : 2006 |
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Catalog ID : 9362499962 |
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Label : Warner Bros. |
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Number of Discs : 2 |
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Studio/Live : Live |
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Mono/Stereo : Stereo |
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SPAR Code : n/a |
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UPC : 00093624999621 |
Professional Reviews
- 4 stars out of 5 -- "[Flea] finally cuts loose again here, reasserting himself as the best non-hip-hop reason to buy a subwoofer."
- Ranked #2 in Rolling Stone's "The Top 50 Albums Of 2006" -- "[A] confessional and creative triumph."
- "John Frusciante lays down his sledgehammer riffs, Kiedis begins to actually sing the elegiac chorus, the golden harmonies of the bridge kick in, and by the end, you're blindsided by how great it all sounds." -- Grade: B
- Ranked #4 in Q Magazine's "100 Greatest Albums of 2006" -- "[With] funk-rock rhythms, Californian harmonies and bittersweet themes."
(p.47)
- "There are hidden depths here, melodies that become more insistent and subtleties that reveal themselves from where they sit modestly beneath the surface."
(p.106)
- 5 stars out of 5 -- "[Frusciante] has brought a sense of experimentation to a band not renowned for dabbling with the unorthodox. It's testament to his new-found vocabulary that no two songs sound the same."
(p.110)
- 4 stars out of 5 -- "It's the sound of a band on a roll....The unbridled creativity here is a cause for celebration."
Bio
Red Hot Chili PeppersAfter a conflict nearly tore them apart, Red Hot Chili Peppers return with an insanely ambitious double album. Here’s how they managed to turn over a new leaf.
Two years ago, Red Hot Chili Peppers went to Europe to play in front of the largest crowds of their 20-plus-year career. After surviving numerous personnel changes, drug problems, erratic recordings, relationship dramas, and assorted crises that have broken up countless bands, the Peppers had released back-to-back multiplatinum albums -- 1999’s Californication and 2002’s By the Way. Against all odds, they had reached genuine superstar status, and this jaunt saw them headlining three nights at London’s massive Hyde Park. But for Flea -- from day one, the bass-playing yin to singer Anthony Kiedis’ yang -- these looked like the last shows he would ever perform with the group.
"To tell you the truth, I really didn’t think I’d be here right now doing this," he says, sprawled barefoot on the floor of a sun-dappled practice room -- lined with books and classic punk-rock photos and posters -- in his idyllic, rambling Malibu home. "A multitude of things had built up, and it just wasn’t a comfortable time. The band had always been a sanctuary for me -- no matter what was going on in my life, the band was a place where I could just be myself and rock. All of a sudden it didn’t feel like that, and I just thought it was time for me to not do it anymore."
Flea, born Michael Balzary in Australia 43 years ago, is truly the pivot point of the Chili Peppers. With guitarist John Frusciante, he forges the riffs that are the basis of their songs. Alongside drummer Chad Smith, they make up one of rock’s most versatile and powerful rhythm sections, the backbone of the band even at its lowest points. And with his high school friend Kiedis, Flea gives the Chili Peppers a style and soul that has come to symbolize the spirit of latter-day Los Angeles. So while the band has persevered through lineup changes that resemble a game of rock’n’roll musical chairs, Flea's departure would be serious business indeed.
Eventually, that cloud lifted, the Chili Peppers got back to work, and the result is their ninth studio album, Stadium Arcadium -- a 28-song, double-disc set that adds up to some of the best work of their career. Working once again with longtime producer Rick Rubin, the band returned to the Hollywood house where they recorded their 1991 breakthrough, BloodSugarSexMagik, and emerged with a record that mixes old-school Chili Peppers funk with mature melodicism -- plus a supersize dose of Frusciante's flamethrower guitar. From the Zeppelin-esque crunch of "Readymade" to the delicate slink of "Hey," it’s a powerhouse statement of purpose, an album that Flea describes as "the sum of everything that we are as a band."
The making of Stadium Arcadium was as notable as the outcome. During the almost yearlong recording process, this notoriously fractious gang of four were able to put aside their differences, their competitiveness, and cohere better than ever. "This time," says Kiedis, "those egos -- and when I say 'those egos,' I mean all of us -- were feeling decent and confident, respectful, as excited about the other guys' stuff as we were about our own. If someone came in with a great chord change for a song or a great rhythm or a great groove, by the time it was finished, everybody had jizzed all over it, and it had become a real community piece of property."
