If you don’t like this record, you don’t like the Red Hot Chili Peppers.” Bassist Flea’s take on Stadium Arcadium, the band’s new double album, may sound a bit pompous, but it’s true.
Since the release of their first album in 1984, the white boys have played that funky music, fusing it together with a bit of rock, rap and metal before mellowing out for a more melodic sound on their last two albums. The reprise of all these styles plays like the Chili Peppers’ greatest hits.
“Hump de Bump” channels the sexy power- funk of Magik, while the strumming and distortion of “Storm in a Teacup” brews the Dave Navarro-influenced sounds of One Hot Minute. Other tracks, meanwhile, supply the mellow alterna-balladery of Californication and By the Way.
Stadium is essentially a retrospective/smorgasbord of the Chili Peppers’ past. While each previous album created a new sound, this one only echoes the rest. Still, Flea was right: If you can’t find something to cheer for on Stadium Arcadium, you aren’t a RHCP fan.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers will perform at ipayOne Center on Aug. 22.
