Red Hot Chili Peppers: Stadium Arcadium (WEA/Warner)

The music of Red Hot Chili Peppers has always been a reflection of its home state of California. The macho funk-metal of the band’s early records makes for ideal party listening, a devil-may-care, Parliament-Punkadelic sound that could only come from young Californians high on drugs and adrenaline. After the Peppers lost their baby fat and started facing their demons, meaningful songs started popping up amongst all the testosterone—scarred, hypnotic meditations that exposed the serious vocal gifts of Anthony Kiedis and the subtle melodic interplay between Flea and John Frusciante. Suddenly, Red Hot Chili Peppers were invoking pain, regret and sweet nostalgia with their music—and scoring their biggest hits. With the sparkling double album Stadium Arcadium, the band has come full circle. It’s the most beautiful thing they’ve ever done, and their most entertaining record since 1991’s Blood Sugar Sex Magik. More recent records like By the Way (2002) and Californication (1999) were heavier on sun-streaked balladry, which made forays into classic Chili Peppers funk feel a bit out of place. On Arcadium, the band manages to bring these disparate styles together in a way that sounds completely natural. As a result, the songs are gorgeous and kinetic, communicating wider ranges of moods and emotions in four- to five-minute intervals. The verse of “Tell Me Baby” features a monster groove a la Blood Sugar Sex Magik, replete with Frusicante’s chattering funk picking and Flea’s throbbing slap bass. But when the chorus kicks in, Kiedis’ pleading vocal and Frusicante’s falsetto harmony intertwine like two flowers reaching towards the sunlight. The guitarist has always been RHCP’s unsung genius, and Stadium Arcadium is the showcase he deserves. On top of his lyrical playing, his harmonies burst and blossom all over both discs—an angelic, mournful voice without which these songs would certainly suffer. California seems go hand in hand with rock stardom: rich, inviting and littered with devilish pitfalls. Red Hot Chili Peppers have survived it all, and with Stadium Arcadium, they just may have created the definitive soundtrack to their beautiful, unforgiving birthplace.