RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS
*The Getaway*
(Warner Bros.)
On “Dark Necessities,” crooner Anthony Kiedis hits on a common theme of Red Hot Chili Peppers’ songs, common at least since 1991’s smash hit “Under The Bridge”: the allure of sinister temptations in life. He sings, “dark necessities are part of my design” amid piano and Flea’s funky bassline. However, it’s an underwhelming song on an underwhelming album, at least to RHCP fans who pine for any remaining vestige of the 1980s version of the band that was the very definition of a punk-funk party band on albums such as “Freaky Styley” (1985), “The Uplift Mofo Party Plan” (1987), and “Mother’s Milk” (1989). Middle age has mellowed RHCP since the band’s double album “Stadium Arcadium” (2006), and “The Getaway” follows form with songs that should be classified as adult contemporary listening, at least compared to past seminal offerings aforementioned. This album’s guitarwork--from Josh Klinghoffer--also follows the trend of mere background texture. It seems guitar has been deemphasized since the times of Hillel Slovak and John Frusciante, both scratch-guitar prodigies. (We don’t talk about the Dave Navarro years, 1993-1998). “Goodbye Angles” is one of the few songs with a featured guitar solo, although it’s repetitive and derivative. The guitar riffs of “Detroit” and “This Ticonderoga” are the most rocking on the album, and these song might be the best of this album heard in a stadium or open-air concert, like this year’s Lollapalooza headlining gig. “Sick Love” has a satisfying funky groove of bass and guitar and a sing-songy chorus, channeling a laid-back Cali aesthetic. Production by Danger Mouse is crisp but also sterile, although the style suits the album’s closing ballad, “Dreams Of A Samurai,” which relies on subtle piano and vocals juxtaposed with distorted guitar passages to fill its meandering and bloated six-plus minutes.
5/10
