Me and My Friends #41 - Early Impressions
I had to excuse myself at a dinner party a few weeks ago so I could go to the bathroom and read this NME article, which was released - as these things always are - at the worst possible time for me (they announced John was back in the band as I was on a train to my first day of a new job, and pardon the pun but let's just say that day I found it hard to concentrate).
In amongst all the excitement and surreality of the article (made even weirder by the fact that the fuckin' NME was all of a sudden big fans of the Chili Peppers... they certainly weren't back in 2006) was this passage, relating to a few songs we're all about to hear:
Yet some of its tracks – grungy tub-thumper ‘These Are The Ways’, acoustic ballad ‘Tangelo’ – are like nothing we’ve heard from the Chilis.
One of my favourite parts of an album release cycle is hearing the myriad ways journalists describe songs they've probably only heard once or twice in as short yet descriptive a sentence as possible. (I also remember with a certain fondness the ever-present hoaxes that would appear on message boards, particularly in the lead-up to Stadium Arcadium, in which folks pretended they were lucky enough to hear the album. "Make You Feel Better" is a heart-wrenching, quiet track overlaid with a full string section? Rightio.)
In the NME, "These are the Ways" is described as a grungy tub-thumper, which to me - purely because of how "tub-thumper" sounds, even though this isn't what it means - seems like it'll have a lot of floor-tom action in it. And grungy - is that just a catch-all for distorted guitar?
"Tangelo" is an acoustic ballad. But what does that really mean? "Slow Cheetah" is an acoustic ballad. As are "Road Trippin'" and "I Could Have Lied." But do they all sound the same? Not quite.
It's said that writing about music is like dancing about architecture, which is 100% true, and yet, journalists and fans still need a way to describe what they're hearing, especially if the reader hasn't heard it yet. One person will describe "Under the Bridge" as a melancholic confessional but another will describe it as a Hendrix-esque anthem. Both are right! You can approach a single song in a thousand ways.
I thought it'd be fun to go back through a few magazine articles from recent years (hosted, as always, by the amazing The Chili Source) to see what else has been said about a song before it was released, and if it in any way fits the version we know and love. That description of "Tangelo" up there means nothing to us now, but it will in a month. Now let's go back in time a bit...
I love looking at the "before" part of "historical" moments like this - when the album isn't out yet and there's still all that potential in the air. Like the front page of a newspaper on the morning of a big event. You know what's coming, the context is there, but all the happenings are still waiting like blurred figures in the mist. Reading these, I think you'll find a newfound excitement building for songs you've already heard a thousand times.
But if it's excitement for songs you haven't heard yet... be sure to stick around until the end :-)
I'M WITH YOU
The album’s first single, “The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie,” is a hard-pop spin on classic Chili Peppers funk, with a creeping bass line and a marching-disco rhythm in the chorus reminiscent of the late-Seventies Rolling Stones.
Rolling Stone, June 2011
I think I need to go listen to some late-Seventies Rolling Stones... I recall the disco genre being brought up all the time ahead of I'm With You's release ("Disco Sabbath" anyone?) but that didn't quite eventuate.
The quartet wrote most of another tune that day, a funky, dark thing laced with snaky riffing and later titled “Annie Wants a Baby.”
Rolling Stone, July 2011
How can a riff snake? And is "Annie..." funky? Not sure if that's the word I'd use.
STADIUM ARCADIUM
In “C’mon Girl,” a Flea-Smith heartbeat-disco rhythm blows up into Kiedis’ warrior-metal vocal chorus, then veers into a torrent of Frusciante feedback and harmonics, his homage to Jimi Hendrix’s water-fall-guitar drama on Electric Ladyland.
“Storm in a Teacup” is power-rock hip-hop with what sounds like Little Richard running wild on piano but is, in fact, Frusciante’s pedal-treated guitar.
Rolling Stone, March 2006
These are both on the money, although I can't really square with John's guitar sounding like piano on "Storm..."
There’s a song called Tell Me Baby, which is a very bizarre tune ‘cos it’s this real busy, unconventional kind of funk verse with a very pop chorus.
Mojo, April 2006
This is from Anthony himself, and he's right on the money - though I wouldn't call it bizarre. It sounds like the Chili Peppers playing themselves.
BY THE WAY
There are several tunes that look at the carefree side of romance, such as “Universally Speaking,” which combines a some-what 1950s sound with 1970s psychedelia and features an instantly hummable, feel-good chorus. Similarly, “The Zephyr Song,” containing poppy background vocals, is about flying away on a plane with a lover to escape a confining world.
Billboard, June 2002
Not sure if I get the psychedelia aspect of "Universally Speaking" - this just feels like a complicated way to say it sounds quite upbeat and poppy. And is "poppy background vocals" really all they could think to say about "The Zephyr Song"?
CALIFORNICATION
‘Californication’ has ‘This Velvet Glove’, a woozy ballad...
Kerrang, May 1999
"Woozy"?
Woozy?!
ONE HOT MINUTE
An angular intro gives way to a lumbering Band Of Gypsies feel, the rhythm section building to orgasmic crescendos before exploding beneath a frantic wah solo. Next they veer into a staggering funk groove riddled with Swiss-cheese syncopations. The long track unwinds with a chimey D major section whose pretty, after-the-storm feel recalls the coda of “Layla” before returning to the wicked funk.
Guitar Player, April 1995
They're talking about "One Big Mob/Stretch" and I'm basically lost. It was originally one long song, of course, but I can't tell where the changes are happening here. Is the "Layla"-style coda section "Stretch", or just the bridge of "One Big Mob"?
Over a slinky eight-note bass line, Dave’s immaculately doubled rhythm tracks have an eerie, phase-shifted sound, and the lovely progression drips exotic modal color. But just when you’re lulled by its prettiness, the musicians ricochet into a slower, heavier dreamscape full of shimmering rhythm stabs and melted-watch feedback.
Guitar Player, April 1995
Regarding "Transcending." Now that is a perfect description.
BLOOD SUGAR SEX MAGIK
the almost Led Zeppelin-like hard rocker “The Greeting Song.”
Billboard, September 1991.
Anthony also describes "The Greeting Song" as being Zeppelin-like in Scar Tissue, but to be honest I could never hear it. Isn't it about 35bpm faster than any LZ recorded? The verses sound almost punk influenced to me.
One of the things I love about music (among many many other things) is that it's so subjective, especially when you're trying to talk about it. You might read my responses to those decade-old descriptions and think I'm wrong at times. Yes, you think. "This Velvet Glove" is woozy!
But that's because you've heard all those songs. How about some descriptions of some songs you haven't heard yet?
UNLIMITED LOVE
A friend (who has asked to remain anonymous) is writing a review of Unlimited Love for a well-known publication. Here are his early thoughts on some tracks on the album. Some of these are responses to my questions, some are his first impressions. I'm curious to see if I can recognize these descriptions in a few weeks' time when I hear the album myself! (I suppose these count as spoilers, and of course - take them with a grain of salt.)
General impressions
John's background vocals: "I don't know about him doing 3 part harmonies or whatever, but you definitely know John's there."
Anthony's voice: "Almost identical to The Getaway. Makes the weird voice on Black Summer all the more noticeable: that's as weird as he gets."
"So far more bassline based songs than John songs, which surprises me."
"A good amount of piano and organ on the album."
"I feel like literally every song came from a jam. Doesn't seem like many chord progression based songs."
"You're gonna feel like 'This feels like the album between BTW and SA' or 'This feels like the scrapped album before BTW.'"
"I feel like Anthony took a back seat on this album. And it was just like, Flea and John hugging each other and high fiving every song."
She's A Lover is a definite standout. "Super catchy and the bassline is dope."
The album feels like SA and BTW B-sides. "It feels like they picked up where they left off."
And some specific songs...
"She's a Lover"
"Almost disco."
"These are the Ways"
"Like Love Trilogy but instead of 3 weird funk reggae things, it's New Wave / Punk / Hardcore. Like RHCP doing Green Day at times. Comparable to Mini-Epic / Kill For Your Country in a way."
"Whatchu Thinkin'"
"The weirdest bassline, in a good way... Like Flea was doing a John Cage player piano piece... Like he's imitating the Tetris soundtrack. Weird and different and in my opinion good."
"Bastards of Light"
"More punk moments."
"White Braids & Pillow Chair"
Reprise featuring the words "California..."
"One Way Traffic"
"Like an SA track. Halfway between Storm in a Teacup and Save the Population. The breakdown in this... to their credit, they are trying new things." Features a bass solo from Flea.
"Let 'em Cry"
"Another disco-y song."
"The Heavy Wing"
"It sounds like a drum machine. Hip hop intro, ballad verse with a Jane's Addiction beat, and then John punk chorus. This is insane. These pieces fit... melodically but not stylistically. Back to the hip hop intro as a bridge, then a guitar solo over a new progression. I'm not complaining but this song structurally is perhaps a tad not RHCP-ish.
"Tangelo"
"A Beatles tune in disguise. Like John writing a John Lennon song with AK. Just acoustic guitar, no drums. Ends with 30 seconds of background noise. A ballad not similar to many other RHCP songs." (NB: it seems like the NME was right about those two songs sounding unlike anything the band had done before!)
One short month to go. How's the new era treating you?