In just a few months, the Red Hot Chili Peppers have released the equivalent of two double albums, 34 new songs for a total of 2h 28min of music.
Posted at 6:00 p.m.
After Unlimited Love in April, the Californian quartet does it again with Return of the Dream Canteen. Clearly, Red Hot has taken full advantage of the pandemic.
What you need to know is that the two albums were recorded at the same time, under the care of director Rick Rubin, who was back behind the console after a one-disc hiatus – The Getaway was produced by Danger Mouse in 2016. The recording session also marked the return of child prodigy John Frusciante on guitar, in short, the group had a furious taste for creation. But as not everything is good to say, Anthony Kiedis and his gang did not seem able to sort it out, so much so that we were served the menu as if we were at the Buffet des Continents…
Nonetheless, with Return of the Dream Canteen, it’s the funky side of the Peppers that is highlighted. Flea’s bass is boosted (Tippa My Tongue, Fake as F@ck, Roulette, copperbelly), but it bounces so much that it sometimes lacks weight — the nice, jazzy Afterlife would have benefited from more roundness, same thing for the pretty ballad Shoot Me a Smile or the very blues Carry Me Home.
The album also shows some powerful new rock nods, like Reach Out and Bag of Grins, which present excellent verses with melodies sometimes baroque, sometimes gothic. There is indeed enough good material to make it a very honorable collection of songs, but decidedly not enough substance to stretch the sauce that much.
Rock
Return of the Dream Canteen
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Warner Music