Stadium Arcadium

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As many of you have probably heard, The Red Hot Chili Peppers' latest offering, Stadium Arcadium, was released yesterday after much ado.

The hype was on account of not only the band's stature, but the fact that Stadium is a double-album; a bit of a rarity for a band this successful. You have to go all the way back to 1995, when the Smashing Pumpkins graced us with Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, to find another instance of a band this popular releasing two discs of music at once. And since that turned out pretty well (to say the least), the excitement surrounding the RHCPs' 9th studio album had reached a fever pitch leading up to its release. Bassist Flea called it "the best thing we've ever done."

He's right.

Stadium Arcadium
Like Mellon Collie, there are 28 tracks in all (14 on each disc). The discs are not labeled Disc 1 and Disc 2, for whatever reason, but "Jupiter" and "Mars." Oh, and there's a picture of Saturn on the upper left-hand corner of the case. Go figure.

As a simplistic test of quality, I listened to the entire album yesterday (with just a few scattered breaks here and there) and marked any of the tracks that struck me as particularly good songs upon the first listen (excluding Dani California, which I'd already heard numerous times). After I was finished, I looked over the list I'd made and realized I'd marked 21 of the album's 28 tracks.

More than a few stand out. The first song on "Jupiter," and the first single released for radio airplay (about 2 months ago), Dani California, is chief among them. Other notables include the very next track, Snow ((Hey Oh)), the titular Stadium Arcadium, and the slow-building epic Wet Sand. Oh, and that's just the first disc.

Either one of the album's two discs would be an impressive Peppers-worthy installment in its own right. Together, they represent a creative outburst by a band that has been honing its sound for 23 years. In a time where the Trent Rezners and Bonos of the world are adjusting their styles to accomodate what appear to be steadily weakening vocals, RHCP frontman Anthony Kiedis sounds as strong as ever.

Kiedis' songwriting has come a long way, as well. Hard to Concentrate, the third track on the Mars disc, reads like a marriage proposal. It's hard to believe this is the same man who cavorted on stage wearing only a strategically-placed tube sock, or the man who penned Suck My Kiss on 1991's Blood Sugar Sex Magik.

All in all, this is a must-own for fans of the band, casual or otherwise. It nods in the direction of every phase of their highly accomplished career. Looking back, it couldn't have happened any other way. When you take a world-class band with the time, resources and reputation to do whatever they want, an album like Stadium Arcadium is the inevitable result.



based on Dani California ( which i think is a fantastic song ) i was intrigued enough to go check out the album. i managed to listen through 5 songs then lost interest....:-/



Well, there's certainly no accounting for taste, but either way I don't think listening to 5 out of 28 songs on an album is really giving it a fair shake.

Over the years the Chili Peppers have developed a slower style that has been largely anathema to the ADD generation. A scant few (like Dani California) are suited for massive radio airplay. They are not for those seeking instant gratification (though if you already dig them, you'll get that anyway). My Friends, arguably their best song of all-time, is also one of their slowest.

So, to each their own. It remains a kick-ass record for those willing to stop and smell the Peppers.



I was rather disappointed with By The Way so was hesistant about this release, but i've heard it's merged the sounds from previous albums and now, thanks to Yoda, i'm eager to pick this up. Have to wait for my food money on Fri though ....that or LimeWire
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Originally Posted by Pyro Tramp
I was rather disappointed with By The Way so was hesistant about this release, but i've heard it's merged the sounds from previous albums and now, thanks to Yoda, i'm eager to pick this up. Have to wait for my food money on Fri though ....that or LimeWire
don't waste your money, download it first and see what you're getting yourself into...or for something completely legal ( although i think you have a modem connection so it would be of no use to you ) try this http://www.vip.hr/sp/d_show?idc=2100203&idnews=73047



Yeh, 'fraid still stuck on a poop connection. Giving that link a look anyway though......... wait, it doesn't work. Oh well, hellooooo LimeWire.



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
Limewire is craptacular. You should check out Ares.

I love the RHCP and picked this up today, haven't listened to any songs yet, but will be soon enough.
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Suspect's Reviews



Originally Posted by TheUsualSuspect
Limewire is craptacular.
Yeah, pretty much every Peer 2 Peer deal is craptacular. Download full albums via the magical world of torrent files. It's easy peasy and it only takes 10-15 minutes, tops.

And Stadium Arcadium is really great stuff.



I bought this album, Cause I'm a huge RHCP fan. Have been since the begining and no I dont mean begining like everything after Blood Sugar. I mean all the stuff before that too. This one absolutely blew me away. I've listeined to the first disc alot more than the second but I will move on. Anyway. If you dont have it, it's a good one to have.

Also as a side note. I tottaly have tickets for the Chili Peppers with Mars Volta at the air canada centre in toronto, In september.
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****in' A, man. I got a rash, man
Originally Posted by Lance McCool
Yeah, pretty much every Peer 2 Peer deal is craptacular. Download full albums via the magical world of torrent files. It's easy peasy and it only takes 10-15 minutes, tops.

And Stadium Arcadium is really great stuff.
Or use newsgroups which are even better
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28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds


The loss of John Frusciante is very clear (to me) on this album, which is a bummer because it's rather good. I can only imagine if he had his part in making it, it might have been one of my favourite Chili Peppers album, but I have to settle on it being good. It doesn't have any real "breakout" songs that it really should have.

Some of it had the Stadium feel, while others feel more "old school". Despite that, it doesn't come off as unbalanced. I dig Brendan's Death Song, Ethiopia and I feel The Adventures of rain dance maggie will be their hit song from the album.

Despite the loss of Frusciante, it still has enough funk to be a Peppers album.