Most of this album was recorded post-break up with Kiedis’ long time girlfriend, Yohanna Logan. If you’re looking for clever sexual innuendo and quirky double entendres, you’ve come to the wrong album, in the wrong decade. It is clear he has grown comfortable sharing his vulnerability and is no longer content to hide behind his Sex God persona. Both songs take me back to my intense, though brief, childhood love affair with 1950s rock music.Īnthony Kiedis’ lyrics are more personal than ever. That 1950s and early 1960s doo-wop sound can be heard on many of By the Way‘s songs, but most notably on the girl group-inspired “Universally Speaking” and the Latin-tinged “Cabron”. John Frusciante’s warm, understated guitar work and his doo-wop style vocal harmonies are king this time around. Flea’s bass and Kiedis’ funky rapping style are not the stars of this record. The album offered radio-friendly ballads which showcased a gentler side of the Peppers’ raucous front man Anthony Kiedis, and also had enough funk to keep the die-hards happy.īy the Way, on the other hand, has little in the way of funk - “By the Way,” “Can’t Stop” and “Throw Away Your Television” notwithstanding - and instead, showcases a more sophisticated, lush sound that only today’s Peppers could have conceived. Californication was a multi-platinum hit which earned the Peppers a new generation of fans.
1999’s Californication, the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ first album with a newly clean and rehabbed Frusciante, saw the return of that intangible musical chemistry that some bands just have. John Frusciante had departed abruptly in 1992 and it seemed he took the remaining (surviving?) members’ hearts with him. But, without reservation, it can be said By the Way is certainly the most absorbing rock album of 2002, if not the best.Īfter 1995’s disappointing One Hot Minute, it might have been easy to write off the Peppers. Only time will tell if By the Way will be as influential as 1991’s Blood Sugar Sex Magik or as timeless as some of the other albums to which it is being compared: The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds or the Beatles’ Sgt. Though they have arrived at this place with more than just a hint of triumph, it is also clear they have no intention of resting on their laurels. In fact, it’s nothing short of miraculous that the Peppers are alive, sober, and creatively stronger than ever before. So the Red Hot Chili Peppers turn 40 this year (save guitarist John Frusciante who is 32) and with a veritable laundry list of personal and creative woes over the last 15 years - nervous breakdowns, drug addiction, death, personnel changes, illnesses, and accidents - this is no small accomplishment.
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