Red Hot Chili Peppers - Unlimited Love

 "Unlimited Love" is the 12th album by Calfornian funk rocksters the Red Hot Chili Peppers.  I first got into the Chilis by chance after noticing the album Californication in a random record shop in America in 1999 and picking it up on a whim.  I didn't realise at the time what a significant album it would be in the Chili's history and would be the start of a 23-year period and counting of classing myself as a Chili's fan.  

"Unlimited Love" follows 2016 album "The Getaway".  Personally, I thought that album didn’t get enough praise.  It didn't have the big funk rock epics of days gone by and was more down tempo than other albums. But to me it is still a really solid album.  As we now know it would be the last album Josh Klinghoffer would appear on as lead guitarist, making way for John Frusciante to come back into the fold for the first time since he left the band in 2009, following the Stadium Arcadium tour.  That is really the big headline news for this album and has been talked about so much.  It seems the band were finding it hard to find that creative spark when trying to record the new album with Josh and it seems John was keen to get back in, so it seemed to make sense.

Many have criticised the Josh era and it’s not his fault but the Chilis only releasing 2 albums in the past 13 years isn't a great work rate.  I didn't rate 2011's "I'm with you" and thought it was an album which Josh was more finding his footing in the band.  I did go and see the Chili's on that tour too and you could see that Josh skipped a few Frusciante's solos which did highlight just how good a guitarist Fruciante is.  But as I said on "The Getaway" Josh I felt did find his feet and it was a great album.  There has also been a lot of talk about Frusciante saying he won't play any songs that he hadn't contributed too writing. One camp says he should play all Chili songs, but I disagree with this.  He has been involved in at least 6 of the Chili Peppers albums now which are arguably all the best they have done.  And to him playing the others would be like playing covers. Chili's albums aren't short either so there’s enough tough decisions to make creating a tour setlist than having to include songs from the other albums he didn't appear on too.

But anyway, John being back is a very big deal which is why I have talked about it so much.  But what about "Unlimited Love"? How does that match up?  Well, it's a mammoth 17 tracks coming in at 73 minutes and I am in 2 minds about the length.  On one hand it's been so long since the last Chili's record you are just pleased to get value for money and if it was just 30 minutes you would feel a let-down having waited so long. But on the other hand, I feel have an album this long it is harder to make it a cohesive album and can just turn into a collection of songs rather and lose its structure and I feel it does do that at times.

I wouldn't go as far as saying this is a diverse or experimental album by any stretch.  It still has that funk rock Chili's style all over it.  They have their sound and in terms of big rock acts there is not really anyone doing what they are doing at least to their level.  This means if they did change their sound, they would end up doing what other bands are doing and, in the process, losing what people like about them in the first place.

I would say some of this album is a continuation in a way of "The Getaway" in that a lot of the album does have that more relaxed vibe, tracks like "It's Only Natural", "Not the one" and "Veronica" epitomise this.  John obviously plays a big part in the writing again and his solos are on point especially on the likes of their first single on the album "Black Summer".  Interestingly for the first time as far as I'm aware John sings the chorus on "Heavy Wing".  He has done backing vocals loads in the past and at gigs usually gets his own segment and does a cover.  But I think this is the first time he has shared lead vocals with Anthony.  And it works too, to me it's never been debatable that he is a great singer.  This is shown through a lot of his solo stuff where he used to sing a lot before he moved onto doing more electronic music.

Another great track is "Aquatic mouth dance", this is where Flea really shines as the Chilis go into funk rock overdrive with trumpets and all. Like something from Mother's Milk.  But I think my favourite track at the moment has to be "These are the Ways".  This track is so catchy, has a great chorus and riff. But often the unsung hero of the Chilis, drummer Chad Smith, really gets to shine here through is excellent drum fills.  

Overall, this is a great album.  I think making it so long they have fallen into the trap that a few songs that wouldn't have made it on to the album if its shorter and would in turn make it a better album. But then again, some people may have liked those tracks so maybe the best bet was to make a longer album.  Coming back from all his solo electronic escapades it's clear Frusciante is still one of the best guitarists around and it seems his chemistry with the rest of the band is as if he never left.  This is great to see and hear and I hope the Chilis now get in a rhythm of writing music again, so we don't have to wait 6 years for the next album.