Music Review: Red Hot Chili Peppers: Stadium Arcadium

This is a little late in coming. The Peppers’ new album has been on the shelves for well over a month now, but I am only now getting around to talking about it. Why is that?
Lazy?
Disinterested?

Well, it could be that the whole album is 28 songs long!
It has officially been released as a two-disc album, which of course means you have to pay more for it, which could very well translate to being more Chili Peppers than you ever thought you could’ve wanted.

The real reason that its taken me this long to mention it is simply that I didn’t feel ready to say anything about it. Due to the mystical forces of the internet, I did have this album in my iPod before it was released to the public. A few listen-throughs and I knew that this was going to require more attention than I have given other albums.

Most reviews of this album by real critics have largely been glowing. Not only citing a forward-looking, cutting-edge Chili Peppers, but because of its length, calling it a “milestone” and a “tantamount achievement.”

No offense, but most of this seems that someone's trying to blow sunshine up someone's......

I am a huge fan of the Chili Peppers’ more recent works, including Californication and By the Way, and have recently fallen in love with their earlier (and arguably finest) album, BloodSugarSexMagik.
The Chili Peppers blasted onto the scene in the 80's with a unique blend of funk, punk and rock sautted with just a pinch of hard metal. Their more recent works have shown a softer, more melodic side, showcasing frontman Anthony Keidis’ ear for tuneful melodies and heart-felt lyrics.

Stadium Arcadium is the Chili Peppers’ most important effort to marry their two personalities together, coupling songs that recall their early funk-rock years with their more recent style.
Being a real fan of their music, and with so much going on in this album, I had to be sure I gave as fair a review as I could.
Because my readers deserve nothing less. Awww...

The album is separated on two discs titled Venus and Mars. As I mentioned before, this album is the Chili Peppers’ most obvious and blatant attempt to have some sort of marriage between their songwriting styles.
The first single off of the album, Dani California,represents their older style, while potential future singles like Slow Cheetah or Torture Me showcase a milder, more contemplative style.

The lowdown: All of the songs on here are as interesting and intriguing as any the Chili Peppers have ever written.

The problem: With 28 songs, after a while, you just don’t care. Several songs could flash by before you finally come across something that actually catches your ear again.

I can honestly say that as stand-alone tracks, these are finely written, crafted and produced tracks, but I do wish the Chili Peppers had chosen another way of releasing this material. They could have followed System of a Down’s example, and released their material in two separate albums at two different times. (In contrast, both of the Peppers’ albums would be worth listening to.)
After having been in the game for so long, I think it would’ve been better to have a different strategy in seeing this material released. At two solid hours of music, perhaps even the Peppers should know when enough is enough.

Key Tracks: Dani California, Torture Me, Hard to Concentrate, Desecration Smile

The Inevitable Grade: Because of its length, Stadium takes a step down to a C+