Stadium Arcadium: Special Edition [Box] [PA] [Limited]

Performer: Red Hot Chili Peppers
Engineer: Ryan Hewitt; Andrew Scheps; Mark Linett
Producer: Rick Rubin
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Red Hot Chili Peppers: Anthony Kiedis (vocals); John Frusciante (guitar); Flea (bass guitar, background vocals); Chad Smith (drums, percussion). Additional personnel: Omar Rodriguez-Lopez (guitar); Richard Dodd (cello); Brad Warnaar (French horn); Michael Bolger (trombone); Billy Preston (Clavinet); Paulinho DeCosta, Lenny Castro (percussion); Emily Kokal (background vocals). An ambitious double album, STADIUM ARCADIUM finds the Red Hot Chili Peppers building on their more mature, latter-day approach, while also acknowledging their lighthearted, youthful sound. The Los Angeles-based funk-rock quartet's third studio outing since John Frusciante returned to the fold, this 2006 release once again reinforces how crucial the guitarist is to the Peppers' aesthetic, with his mix of swirling, psychedelic leads and heavy riffs providing the perfect foil to Flea's bold bass heroics. (Instrumentally, the record also benefits from guest appearances by Mars Volta guitarist Omar Rodriguez, percussionists Paulinho Da Costa and Lenny Castro, and the legendary Billy Preston on clavinet.) Remarkably consistent for a two-disc, 28-song offering, STADIUM ARCADIUM kicks off with "Dani California," an energetic track that hints at a Beatles influence, while showcasing vocalist Anthony Kiedis's neo-rap delivery and the tight rhythmic interplay of Flea and drummer Chad Smith. Other highlights of this collection include the emotive "Wet Sand" and the frenetic "Torture Me," which provide nice counterpoints to loose, limber tunes such as the funk workouts "Hump De Bump" and "C'mon Girl." In many ways a culmination of the Chili Peppers' decades-spanning musical evolution, STADIUM ARCADIUM stands as one of the group's most impressive efforts.

Rolling Stone (pp.225-226) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[Flea] finally cuts loose again here, reasserting himself as the best non-hip-hop reason to buy a subwoofer." Rolling Stone (p.102) - Ranked #2 in Rolling Stone's "The Top 50 Albums Of 2006" -- "[A] confessional and creative triumph." Entertainment Weekly (p.79) - "John Frusciante lays down his sledgehammer riffs, Kiedis begins to actually sing the elegiac chorus, the golden harmonies of the bridge kick in, and by the end, you're blindsided by how great it all sounds." -- Grade: B+ Q (p.126) - Ranked #4 in Q Magazine's "100 Greatest Albums of 2006" -- "[With] funk-rock rhythms, Californian harmonies and bittersweet themes." Kerrang (Magazine) (p.47) - "There are hidden depths here, melodies that become more insistent and subtleties that reveal themselves from where they sit modestly beneath the surface." Q (Magazine) (p.106) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "[Frusciante] has brought a sense of experimentation to a band not renowned for dabbling with the unorthodox. It's testament to his new-found vocabulary that no two songs sound the same." Mojo (Publisher) (p.110) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "It's the sound of a band on a roll....The unbridled creativity here is a cause for celebration."

Inspiring legions of imitators (especially among the rap-metal crowd), the Red Hot Chili Peppers combined biting rock guitar with funk rhythms and rap-influenced vocals for a thunderous, party-hearty sound. While the California band was popular on the alt-rock circuit in the late-'80s, they broke through to the mainstream and became superstars in the early '90s with a more mature sound that incorporated melodic ballads. Nevertheless, the band's stageshow continued to be just as unpredictable and outrageous as their music.

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