Red Hot Chili Peppers
I'm With You

As my first review, it seemed more constructive to talk about something new rather than review something that had already been covered by others. So, I waited for the release of "I'm With You," the tenth studio album by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, arriving 5 years after their last collection of original work, the double album "Stadium Arcadium." The main novelty of this work is the change of guitarist following the departure of John Frusciante, the main creative spirit of the group since the commercial success of "Californication" (back in 1999), replaced by his friend Josh Klinghoffer.

Obviously, given the path the group has taken in the last decade, it was utopian to hope for a return to the sound of "Blood Sugar Sex Magik," their undisputed masterpiece. But in my opinion, such a hope is not only utopian but also wrong. The Red Hot are now nothing but a pop band, and I think, deep down, that's quite right. They've already given their best to Funk, producing masterpieces like "BSSM" and "Mother's Milk," and before that with great albums like "The Uplift Mofo Party Plan" (and perhaps a step below "Freaky Styley"). You can't expect people who are now over 45 to still sing "I wanna party on your pussy, baby" wearing nothing but a sock on their... intimate part. They might now be driven only by money, fully commercialized, and devoted only to radio hits, but personally, I don't care about all that. In the end, what matters is the music, and this group has composed absolutely valid tracks even in the first decade of this century, even if not comparable to their best times. This new "I'm With You" is no exception if you listen to it with the right expectations and take it purely for what it is: a very good, if not excellent, pop album.

I know the track-by-track review is not loved by many, so if you identify with these many, feel free to skip the next paragraph.

The album opens with "Monarchy Of Roses", probably the next single, chosen for its very radio-friendly nature, which personally does not fully convince me (rating 6 and a half), and "Factory Of Faith", very rhythmic in the verses, which almost echo the past funk, and very catchy in the chorus, with an ending that has very psychedelic guitar that I really like (rating 7 and a half). Followed by the third track, the ballad "Brendan's Death Song" (dedicated to a recently deceased friend of the group), which, although a bit obvious in parts, is still very effective (rating 7 and a half). Then there's "Ethiopia", which Kiedis introduces with vocals (IH AH OH AH IH AH EH) that sadly remind me of the lack of compositional inspiration in the Ding Ding Dang Dong Ding Deng Dang Dong Ding Deng of "Around The World"; fortunately, the piece recovers as it progresses (rating 7 and a half), followed by "Annie Wants A Baby", which opens identically to "This Is The Place" of bythewayiana memory, and which doesn't convince me at all (rating 5). The next piece, "Look Around", is an incredible self-plagiarism: the verses seem to be a strange intersection between "Purple Stain" and "Minor Thing", the clapping in the chorus eerily resembles that of "Can't Stop" and the bridge is absolutely identical to that of "By The Way"; despite all this, paradoxically the song overall isn't bad at all (rating 7). Track number 7 and the first single released "The Adventures Of Raindance Maggie", as blatantly commercial as it is absolutely harmless and pleasant (rating 6 and a half), followed by two of the best tracks from the album, "Did I Let You Know", where finally it's the newcomer on the 6 strings calling the shots (rating 8) and "Goodbye Hooray", where Flea and Chad Smith definitively demonstrate that they still have the class they've always had (with a splendid bass solo and an engaging finale) (rating 8-). Followed by "Happiness Loves Company", based on a piano line (!) as ever disorienting in a Peppers song (even if Flea has declared he has been taking piano lessons recently, and Klinghoffer is an appreciated keyboardist), and which doesn't wholly convince me (rating 6 and a half) and "Police Station", a ballad with atmospheres similar to "Wet Sand" from "Stadium Arcadium" (rating 7). The eleventh track is "Even You Brutus?", a really peculiar experiment and, in my opinion, decidedly successful (rating 7 and a half). The album closes with "Meet Me At The Corner", which in the first 25 seconds is indistinguishable from "Hey" from Stadium Arcadium, and is perhaps overall a bit bland (rating 6), and "Dance Dance Dance", which represents a decidedly unworthy end for what is, all in all, a good album (rating 5, absolutely avoidable).

In conclusion, the album, while not being anything groundbreaking, is very enjoyable and overall brings a breath of fresh air to the group's discography (overall rating a solid 7). As always in the Peppers' history, the rhythm section with Flea and Chad Smith is fantastic, and Kiedis perhaps delivers the best vocal performance in the entire discography of the Californians. Klinghoffer doesn't look out of place at all, and while he is similar to his friend and illustrious predecessor, he has a personal imprint (a more sparse and psychedelic guitar style, although not particularly expressive in the solos, as he himself has admitted with great sincerity, and in my opinion, a truly fascinating voice, as heard in "Did I Let You Know" or in "Omission" by Frusciante), although ultimately Frusciante's absence is quite noticeable, especially on a creative level (one flaw of the album is, in some parts, an excessive "self-recycling", if you'll allow the term).