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Stadium Arcadium
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Stadium Arcadium | |||||
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| Studio album by Red Hot Chili Peppers | |||||
| Released | May 5, 2006 (Europe) May 9, 2006 (U.S.) |
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| Recorded | March 2005–December 2005, The Mansion, Los Angeles, California | ||||
| Genre | Alternative rock Funk rock |
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| Length | 122:34 | ||||
| Label | Warner Bros. | ||||
| Producer | Rick Rubin | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
| Red Hot Chili Peppers chronology | |||||
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| Singles from Stadium Arcadium | |||||
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Stadium Arcadium is the ninth studio album by alternative rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on May 5, 2006 on Warner Bros. Records. It was a success for the band, selling 442,000 copies in the U.S. in its debut week and debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200.[1] Singles from the album included "Dani California," "Snow ((Hey Oh))," and "Tell Me Baby." The album is notable for being the band's first studio double album; according to frontman Anthony Kiedis, Stadium Arcadium was originally scheduled to be a trilogy of albums each released six months apart, but was eventually condensed into a double album.[2]
Stadium Arcadium was critically acclaimed both for showcasing a more mature lyrical style from that of the Chili Peppers' earlier albums, and for integrating musical styles from all aspects of the band's career.[3][4] The album gained the band seven Grammy Awards in 2007: the most nominations that the band had garnered in their 24-year career. Kiedis attributed the album's success to less abrasive dynamics within the band, saying that the band's "chemistry when it comes to writing is better than ever. There was always a struggle to dominate lyrically. But we are now confident enough in who we are, so everybody feels more comfortable contributing more and more valuable, quality stuff."[5]
Contents |
After the release of their previous album, By the Way, the Red Hot Chili Peppers embarked on a world tour, which lasted from July 2002 to a mid-June 2004 date at London's Hyde Park.[6] The band later appeared at the 2004 Democratic National Convention[7] and at Rock am Ring to tie up their tour in support of By the Way. The band then settled down to begin recording their next album in September 2004 with producer Rick Rubin, with whom they had recorded four albums previously.[8]
The formation and recording of Stadium Arcadium took place at "The Mansion," the former home of Harry Houdini where the Chili Peppers had recorded their 1991 breakthrough Blood Sugar Sex Magik.[9] Given the house's reputation for being "haunted," guitarist John Frusciante recalled that that he felt "there were beings of higher intelligence controlling what I was doing, and I didn’t know how to talk about it or explain it...it was very clear to me that the music was coming from somewhere other than me.[10] However, Kiedis noted that during the recording process of the album "everybody was in a good mood. There was very little tension, very little anxiety, very little weirdness going on and every day we showed up to this funky room in the Valley, and everyone felt more comfortable than ever bringing in their ideas."[11] The band originally wanted to create a "old-fashioned Meet the Beatles-like record," and to keep the number of songs down to about 13, to make "a small, digestible piece of art."[8] They ended up writing 38 new songs with Rubin, recording them all.
Kiedis recalled that the band "wanted to [release all 38 songs] on three separate discs that [would] be released in installments...something about those songs made us really like each one. However, by the time we planned to release the third installment in two years, we’ll be writing new music."[8] This was the impetus for the band to pare those songs down to 28, a process Kiedis described as "heartwrenching."[8] He explained the reasoning behind the decision to name the album "Stadium Arcadium" by saying that it had more "variety and verve compared to its predecessors [and] we each have things we do best and it’s all in there. Everybody played their part and expressed their creativity to the max."[8]
The song "Dani California" is about the death and demise of "Dani," the same character from their hit singles "By the Way" and "Californication." "Dani," according to Kiedis, is a representation of every girl that he has come across in his life. The album's last song "Death of a Martian" was also an ode to Flea's dog Martian, a Mastiff, who died during the album's recording.
In the song "Especially in Michigan", deceased guitarist Hillel Slovak is referenced as Huckleberry Finn. C'mon Huckleberry Finn/Show me how to make her grin/ This is a name Anthony used to call him before he would start a guitar solo.
Similar to Californication, the CD version of Stadium Arcadium was mastered with a heavy use of audio compression.
"Stadium Arcadium" has been met with generally favorable reviews, with Rolling Stone stating it the band's best album yet and rating it 4/5. It's also said on Rolling Stone to be the second best album yet released that year, behind Bob Dylan. Q magazine said it was one of the year's best albums and rated it 5/5 whilst All Music Guide called it over-produced and self-indulgent and thus gave it 3.5/5. Either way, the album has been generally quite well received by critics (with a weighted average vote of 73/100) [12]and fans alike and was a great commercial success, selling over 7 million copies worldwide to date and its first three singles reaching #1 (and staying there for at least 4 weeks) on the US Modern Rock chart.
All songs written by Red Hot Chili Peppers
- "Dani California" – 4:42
- "Snow ((Hey Oh))" – 5:35
- "Charlie" – 4:37
- "Stadium Arcadium" – 5:15
- "Hump de Bump" – 3:33
- "She's Only 18" – 3:25
- "Slow Cheetah" – 5:19
- "Torture Me" – 3:44
- "Strip My Mind" – 4:19
- "Especially in Michigan" – 4:00
- "Warlocks" – 3:24
- "C'mon Girl" – 3:48
- "Wet Sand" – 5:09
- "Hey" – 5:39
- "Desecration Smile" – 5:02
- "Tell Me Baby" – 4:07
- "Hard to Concentrate" – 4:02
- "21st Century" – 4:22
- "She Looks to Me" – 4:06
- "Readymade" – 4:31
- "If" – 2:52
- "Make You Feel Better" – 3:51
- "Animal Bar" – 5:25
- "So Much I" – 3:44
- "Storm in a Teacup" – 3:45
- "We Believe" – 3:36
- "Turn It Again" – 6:08
- "Death of a Martian" – 4:24
| Song | Length | Release(s) |
|---|---|---|
| "Million Miles of Water" | 4:06 | B-side of "Dani California" |
| "Whatever We Want" | 4:48 | |
| "Lately" | 2:55 | |
| "A Certain Someone" | 2:25 | B-side of "Tell Me Baby" |
| "Mercy Mercy" | 4:01 | |
| "Funny Face" | 4:46 | B-side of "Snow ((Hey Oh))" |
| "I'll Be Your Domino" | 3:57 | |
| "Joe" | 3:54 | B-side of "Desecration Smile" and "Hump de Bump" |
| "Save This Lady" | 4:17 |
The late soul musician Billy Preston played the clavinet on "Warlocks," and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez of The Mars Volta performed the guitar solo for "Especially In Michigan." Both Flea and Frusciante previously worked with Rodriguez-Lopez on The Mars Volta albums De-loused in the Comatorium and Frances the Mute.
- Anthony Kiedis – lead vocals
- John Frusciante – guitar, backing vocals
- Flea – bass, backing vocals
- Chad Smith – drums
- Billy Preston – clavinet on "Warlocks"
- Omar Rodriguez-Lopez – guitar solo on "Especially in Michigan"
- Emily Kokal – chorus vocals on "Desecration Smile"
- Brad Warnaar – french horn on "Stadium Arcadium"
- Richard Dodd – cello on "She Looks to Me"
- Natalie Baber, Mylissa Hoffman, Alexis Izenstark, Spencer Izenstark, Dylan Lerner, Kyle Lerner, Gabrielle Mosbe, Monique Mosbe, Sophia Mosbe, Isabella Shmelev, Landen Starman, Wyatt Starkman – chorus vocals on "We Believe"
- Michael Bolger – trombone on "Turn It Again"
- Paulinho Da Costa and Lenny Castro – additional percussion
- Rick Rubin – producer
- Gus Van Sant – photography
- Shane Jackson – assistant photography
| Chart (2006) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia | 1 |
| Canada | 1 |
| European albums | 1 |
| France | 1 |
| Germany | 1 |
| Italy | 1 |
| Japan | 1 |
| UK | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 1 |
| Worldwide chart | 1 |
| Year | Song | Chart positions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Hot 100 [13] |
US Modern Rock |
US Main- stream Rock |
UK Top 40 [14] |
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| 2006 | "Dani California" | 6 | 1(14) | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2006 | "Tell Me Baby" | 50 | 1(4) | 8 | 16 | ||
| 2006 | "Snow ((Hey Oh))" | 22 | 1(5) | 3 | 16 | ||
| 2007 | "Desecration Smile" | - | - | - | 27 | ||
| 2007 | "Hump de Bump" | - | 8 | 27 | 41 | ||
- ^ Hasty, Katie (2006-05-17). Chili Peppers Post 'Stadium' At No. 1. Billboard. billboard.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-07.
- ^ Red Hot Chili Peppers back at the double.
- ^ Hiatt, Brian (2006-05-03). Stadium Arcadium. Rolling Stone. rs.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-07.
- ^ Endelman, Michael (2006-05-05). Stadium Arcadium. Entertainment Weekly. ew.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-07.
- ^ Cohen, Jonathan (2006-01-19). Peppers Double The Pleasure With 'Stadium Arcadium'. Billboard. billboard.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-07.
- ^ Red Hot Chili Peppers Set World Record at London Hyde Park. RHCPnews.com (2004-07-14). Retrieved on 2007-07-21.
- ^ Chili Peppers Spice Up Convention. RHCPnews.com (2004-07-30). Retrieved on 2007-07-21.
- ^ a b c d e Ramly, Adly. "Stadium Arcadium", Malay Mail, mmail.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-07.
- ^ Tousignant, Isa (2006-05-18). Stadium Arcadium. Ottawa XPress. Retrieved on 2007-08-07.
- ^ Ascott, Phil. "Total Guitar, July 2006 interview", Total Guitar, Invisible-Movement.net, 2006-07. Retrieved on 2007-08-07.
- ^ Harris, Chris. "Red Hot Chili Peppers' Stadium Arcadium Has Some 'Retardedly Painful Funk'", MTV News, VH1, 2006-01-18. Retrieved on 2007-08-07.
- ^ Stadium Arcadium metascore. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2007-12-12.
- ^ Red Hot Chili Peppers single chart history. Billboard. Retrieved on 2007-04-20.
- ^ [www.everyhit.com UK Top 40 Search]. Everyhit.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-10.
- 15 minute video interview with John Frusciante which includes thoughts on the new album.
- Red Hot Chili Peppers Fan Site
| Preceded by 10,000 Days by Tool |
Billboard 200 Number 1 Album May 27, 2006 – June 9, 2006 |
Succeeded by Taking the Long Way by Dixie Chicks |
| Preceded by Reach Out: The Motown Record by Human Nature |
Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album May 22, 2006 – June 5, 2006 |
Succeeded by Best of Chris Isaak by Chris Isaak |