siLLy puPPy There’s one thing that is pretty much universal for those who follow the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS over their multi-decade career and that is the fact that the band is just so much better on the albums that feature guitarist and songwriter John Frusciante. It’s not like Anthony Kiedis, Flea and Chad Smith haven’t done a stellar job at carrying on without him after his many departures but there’s something about the chemistry of these four guys together that has crafted some serious music magic mojo therefore i was more excited than usual to hear that the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS were back and Frusciante was once again joining this team for a new release.

It’s hard to believe this band actually formed as long ago as 1983 and are still cranking out the funk rock tunes some 39 years later although only Kiedis and Flea remain as founding members. It’s been six long years since the band’s last album “The Getaway” which to my ears was a major improvement over the previous “I’m With You” which i would rate one of the weakest RHCP albums of the modern era. Right out of the oven and into the ears of ravenous fans is the band’s 13th album UNLIMITED LOVE which features the band’s classic lineup of Kiedis, Flea, Smith and Frusciante and dishes out 17 new trucks of funky pop rock with all the crazy alternative appeal that made this band one of the world’s most successful musical acts.

UNLIMITED LOVE is a lengthy beast clocking in at a whopping playing time of 73 minutes which is basically a double album in comparison to the old days. With no expenses spared, the album features eight guest musicians and legendary producer Rick Rubin who has worked with scores of successful acts including the Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Public Enemy, Run-DMC, Slayer, System of a Down, Weezer, The Cult and even country stars like Johnny Cash and the Dixie Chicks. The work for UNLIMITED LOVE actually began as far back as 2019 when Frusciante rejoined but due to the pandemic of the last two years was postponed and kicked down the road until a tour could realistically take place. Well 2022 is the time for all that to happen.

It’s goes without saying that the CHILI PEPPERS have long ago found their comfort zone and never deviated save the experimental approaches they offered on “Red Hot Minute” with guitarist Dave Navarro all the way back in 1995 but ever since the massively successful “Californication” from 1999, these guys have been sticking to the same playbook without flinching although the songwriting prowess of John Frusciante is on a whole other level that the other members couldn’t quite achieve without him. UNLIMITED LOVE pretty much picks up where “Stadium Arcadium” left off. Yep, you can expect catchy pop hooks with funky bass grooves and Kiedis alternating between soulful crooning and blitzkrieg rap attacks. This is RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS by the numbers with little to distinguish it from pervious works.

Considered a back to basics sort of album, the band presumably wanted to give hardcore fans what made the band so popular in the first place and in that regard the PEPPERS deliver well. Despite three of these guys turning 60 this year (Frusciante is the youngster here and is only 52), these guys seem to have found the fountain of youth and dish out these tunes as if they were still in their prime so in that regard UNLIMITED LOVE truly delivers the goods for anyone expecting another round of Frusciante era CHILI PEPPERS however i have to admit that in the year of 2022, the entire style of the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS does sound a bit dated as if they are perpetually stuck in that 10-year period from roughly 1996-2006. Nothing wrong with that of course but for a band that once sounded fresh, they do sound a bit incapable of moving on and reinventing themselves in any way but then again they have tried and it didn’t quite work.

For a Frusicante album i have to say that this one is a bit weaker compared to the classics of the past. The band was much more on fire with albums like “Mother’s Milk” and “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” and although they mellowed a bit on the other Frusciante albums “Californication,” “By The Way” and “Stadium Arcadium,” i have to say that the songwriting was much better on those albums where there where every track stood apart proudly and boldly from the rest. UNLIMITED LOVE doesn’t feature any weak songs by any means but there are no doozies either that immediately deliver that instant ear worm that makes you want to keep playing it over and over again. This one is very much the PEPPERS by the numbers and because of that seems like the lengthy playing time is unwarranted although there are really no throwaway tracks either.

As with many long established successful acts the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS have cranked out a new album as an excuse to tour and then play all the classics which the fans really want to hear. I doubt anyone will find this to be their favorite album by the band and considering Frusicante is back on the scene, may even find it a bit disappointing. The album sounds as if it’s simply recycling past ideas and all those clever guitar licks, bass antics and off-kilter vocal delivers have been put on snooze. This is pretty standard funk rock and although there will be no doubt who is performing these tunes, it does feel like one of those albums that features leftover tracks from past works. Overall this one just isn’t jiving with my pop hook sensibilities as there’s nothing on here that really excels in the way the band used to. Not a bad album but if this is the best these guys can do even with Frusicante on the team then i do believe that the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS have run out of steam.

Unitron You can't go wrong with any of the Chili Peppers' first five albums, but I've always been of the opinion that Mother's Milk is the best of them. It just sounds like a band at their peak, in several ways. It's relentlessly energetic, there's a consistent focus on funky jams, and it's the ultimate party metal album.

Everyone talks about the fantastic cover of Stevie Wonder's classic Higher Ground, but that causes it to overshadow the rest of the album. Opener Good Time Boys is probably my favorite, a funky hair metal classic. Subway to Venus takes the old school P-funk vibe of their Freaky Styley album and combines it with the big sound of this album. Nobody Weird Like Me and Punk Rock Classic straight up thrash, and the former perfectly contrasts the explosive and galloping riffs and drums with some touching vocal melodies. The swaggering Sexy Mexican Maid is a particular fantastic song as well.

Just like it opens with a bang, it closes with the massive funk stomp of Johnny, Kick a Hole in the Sky. After a bassline that sounds right out of Among the Living, it's all slapping hooks and catchy Funkadelic-esque chant choruses.

Mother's Milk is one of funk metal's finest, especially on the glam metal influenced side of it, nothing beats this, Extreme, and Mindfunk's debut for total funky party metal.

Unitron Moving away from the post-punk styling of the debut with funk legend George Clinton of Parliament/Funkadelic fame at the producer's helm, Freaky Styley shows the Chili Peppers record the closest to a pure funk album they've ever done.

When I think of an ultimate party album, this is one of the first I think of. This funk goes hard, and with the album cover showing the band jumping and flipping around in front of Michelangelo's The Last Judgement, there's still some punk attitude too. Songs like Jungle Man, American Ghost Dance, the title track, Blackeyed Blonde, The Brothers Cup, punky Catholic School Girls Rule, and Yertle the Turtle are all particular favorites of mine. The Brothers Cup and the title track especially, the former with its swaggering bassline and swinging horns and the latter with a unique aggression for funk.

Freaky Styley isn't the party funk metal album that Mother's Milk is, but it is a party funk album. This is funky bass heaven.

Unitron For the longest time I wasn't even familiar with much of The Red Hot Chili Peppers' pre-alt rock stardom days apart from a few songs. The ballad of Under the Bridge from the band's classic Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magik album catapulted the band into the mainstream and perhaps that drove them further and further away from their super funky origins with each passing album.

I love Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magik, but lately I'd say I prefer most of the band's first four albums. In the 80's, it seems as if each of their albums were pretty different from each other, and their self-titled debut is the strangest of them all. I'd describe it as a funk rock/post-punk hybrid, with the occasional metal riff or unexpected atmospheric rock excursion. They probably were coming from a post-punk background, similar to Faith No More's beginnings. Many post-punk and new wave bands were no strangers to funk, these bands just took it to new levels.

The songwriting isn't quite at its peak like with the next four albums, but there's definitely some of the band's strongest songs within. True Men Don't Kill Coyotes, Buckle Down, Get Up and Jump, the heavy proto-funk metal Green Heaven, and the brisk punky Police Helicopter are my favorites. True Men Don't Kill Coyotes is the closest to post-punk/new wave and would not sound out of place on an early Talking Heads album. Grand Pappy Du Plenty is an atmospheric post-rock finale, and I think it surprisingly fits in as a closer to the raw yet surreal atmosphere that the album creates.

While the pure funk rock of Freaky Styley and glam funk metal Mother's Milk are my favorites from the Chili Peppers, the band's debut is an excellent and interesting start.

martindavey87 The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ 1984 self-titled debut shows us a completely different group to the one that would go on to become one of the biggest acts on the planet. It’s interesting to see how a band could come from such obscure and absurd beginnings, yet, through changing and evolving their sound, have managed to become mainstream superstars.

But alas, here we are; ‘The Red Hot Chili Peppers’.

Completely “out there” is one way to put it. For this album is really a smorgasbord of funky melodies and riffs thrown together in an almost incoherent fashion. Sure, the band would help pioneer what could describe as funk rock, but this right here is mostly a mess of ideas barely strung together by drugs and alcohol.

The album has a very raw production and rather directionless songwriting. However, there’s an abundance of energy, which shows a band who are clearly enjoying what they’re doing. And there’s one or two very (and I do mean very) brief moments that actually shine. ‘Get Up and Jump’, ‘True Men Don’t Kill Coyotes’ and ‘Out in L.A.’ are all relatively decent offerings. Though not overly memorable when compared to later material, there’s still something of merit here that shows a group of capable musicians who just need to tweak and refine their sound.

If you’re coming here expecting huge radio hits then this is not the album for you, and you’re better off sticking with later releases. But ‘The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ is an interesting look to see how the Peppers started out, and if nothing else is worth at least one listen to demonstrate that it’s possible for even the most unlikeliest bands to find commercial success.