Finally happened; the moment we’ve all been waiting for — well, at least those of us who are still at all invested in the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS in 2022. ”Unlimited Love”, the first album RHCP have made with guitarist John Frusciante since 2006’s is out this week.
There have been plenty of line up variations in RHCP’s history, and other crucial guitarists — the early-days imprint and tragic loss of Hillel Slovak; and with talented Dave Navarro.
But everyone knows there is a core, iconic RHCP line-up, the one with which they’ve made most of their best music: Anthony Kiedis, Flea, Chad Smith and… John Frusciante, a musician which give the band a unique sound.
Frusciante famously started out as a RHCP fan nearly 10 years younger than the rest of the band, tasked with replacing Slovak and first recording with them for Mother’s Milk. But soon, the teenage devotee became a crucial force in defining RHCP’s biggest albums. He could do melancholic spins on Hendrix-esque playing, supply heavy funk licks, unleash searing solos.
At the peak of his powers within the group, in the run from Californication to Stadium Arcadium, he was the guy who made RHCP songs “interesting,” either through gorgeously understated guitar in otherwise brash songs, or in mutating his instrument beyond recognition, or in translating the big riffs of classic rock heritage into a turn-of-the-century alt-rock language.
No disrespect to Josh Klinghoffer, who did an admirable job during his 2010s stint with the group, but it never felt right. I’m With You and The Getaway seemed like a stagnant intermission, the long waiting room for Frusciante to hopefully, someday, reappear.
Then again, he was absent far longer this time. Frusciante first exited the Chili Peppers in 1992 on the heels of their blockbuster breakthrough Blood Sugar Sex Magik and ultimately spent six years away before rejoining for the similarly inescapable Californication.
His second sojourn away from RCHP essentially doubled that timespan; when he announced he was leaving in 2009, the band had already been on a two-year hiatus following Stadium Arcadium.
So when the band announced Frusciante’s return on Dec. 15, 2019 — almost 10 years to the day since his second departure — it was something of a shock. The gang was finally getting back together.
For many fans — especially those of us who may or may not have used Frusciante, a universally beloved and respected virtuoso, as justification for our ongoing adoration of RHCP — all was right, all was restored.
”Unlimited Love” finds this line up in their purest form, ecstatically jamming, reveling in being in the same room again.
01 – Black Summer
02 – Here Ever After
03 – Aquatic Mouth Dance
04 – Not the One
05 – Poster Child
06 – The Great Apes
07 – It’s Only Natural
08 – She’s a Lover
09 – These Are the Ways
10 – Whatchu Thinkin’
11 – Bastards of Light
12 – White Braids & Pillow Chair
13 – One Way Traffic
14 – Veronica
15 – Let ‘Em Cry
16 – The Heavy Wing
17 – Tangelo
Anthony Kiedis – vocals
Flea – bass guitar
Chad Smith – drums, percussion
John Frusciante – guitars
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Unlimited Love (2022)
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