At this point in their career you already know what The Red Hot Chili Peppers sound like. Under the Bridge, Scar Tissue and Californication practically own the adult alternative rock label, while uptempo rap/funk numbers like Give It Away and Around the World are just as groovy now as they were two decades ago. This is both a great benefit and a detriment to California's most enduring musical ambassadors. If you already like the Peppers then you're pretty much guaranteed to enjoy "The Getaway." The caveat to that is if you're tired of hearing the melodic quasi punk songs the band has perfected over their last five albums then you probably won't like this one since it is pretty much more of the same.
I say "more of the same" as both criticism and praise. I've been a fan of this band for the majority of my life, but after a week of release I already feel like I've pretty much gotten everything from "The Getaway" that is there to obtain. It's definitely an improvement over 2011's "I'm With You", which I enjoyed a great deal for more sentimental reasons than musical ones. In 2011 new member Josh Klinghoffer felt like he was still testing the waters of how much he could and couldn't do musically with the band. In 2016 he sounds like a fully integrated guitarist/vocalist now that the shadow of former Peppers guitarist, John Frusciante is gone.
The most important contributions to "The Getaway" come from producer Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton (Gnarls Barkley, The Gorillaz, The Black Keys) and mixer Nigel Godrich (Radiohead). Given his ability to craft funky radio hits such as Crazy and Feel Good Inc., Burton is a perfect choice to replace longtime Peppers producer Rick Rubin who has stepped down after 20 years and six albums with the band. Burton and Godrich work psychedelic wonders here to give the songs an atmospheric quality as well as the space they need to breathe.
The middle album trio of Goodbye Angels, Sick Love and Go Robot display the significance a change of personnel has gifted the band. What really makes these songs so great is the ease in which they demonstrate the musical virtuosity of bassist Flea and drummer Chad Smith. For once in the their career, none of the core funk songs on an album feature a guitar solo that burns a hole through the mix. Don't get me wrong, I love the emotive guitar outros on songs like Dani California and Wet Sand, but after "Stadium Arcadium", 2006's behemoth of a double album, it's nice to hear the exceptionally gifted rhythm section fully take over.
The other standout tracks on the album are the closers Encore, The Hunter and Dreams of a Samurai. These songs take a backseat to the funk philosophy of the former three and sail the album off into more mellow territory. Vocalist/lyricist Anthony Kiedis mines some real emotional depth out of the pop hooks here. On Encore he sings, "Walk away from mom and dad to find the love you never had", which echoes a similar line in Scar Tissue where he croons, "Wave good-bye to Ma and Pa 'cause with the birds I'll share."
The lyrical theme of father/son relationships (Breaking the Girl, Savior) that has always preoccupied Kiedis is emphasized on The Hunter with the seemingly backwards line, "Even though you raised me I will never be your father." Dreams of a Samurai serves as the perfect lyrical end point here since Kiedis takes every topic that has deeply influenced him in the past (love, sex, drug abuse, spirituality) and boils it all down to the final verse, "See the world go by/the changes that we entertain/I don't recall it all/remember I have gone insane."
Ultimately, "The Getaway" sits at an odd place in the Peppers discography. The album isn't as inspired creatively in the same vein as classics "Blood Sugar Sex Magik" and "Californication", it isn't as emotionally delicate as "By The Way" and it isn't as wild as early underground punk/funk jams like "Freaky Styley" and "Mother's Milk." It is, however, a solid step forward for a band that still has something to say after 11 albums and that alone is reason enough to garner a recommendation from me.
What is your favorite Chili Peppers album?
