Does anyone remember my somewhat self-indulgent rant against double albums last year on the Foo Fighters "In Your Honour" set, no? Well check that out first and then we'll begin.........The upshot was that I often find the double album to be a disappointment, a sign of a band who've decided that they can do what they want and we, the punters, will buy it anyway - lets face it, how many of you have played disc two of the "In Your Honour" set regularly? Me neither.....

So here we have 2006's offering  to the pantheon of records that suffer from "Double Album Syndrome" that would have made a far more satisfying single CD. My review of this could have been much more scathing, in fact I could have condensed it into five words, "By The Way" times two. Harsh possibly, but let me explain.

I happen to be a long time Chili Peppers fan, since "Catholic School Girls Rule" appeared on Headbangers Ball regularly and "Fight Like A Brave" used to be played on a Friday night at Newcastle's  Mayfair, being as it was too left field for the Saturday night crowd, and whilst I appreciate that the RHCP aren't a punk/funk band anymore. In reality they haven't been since the late eighties brought us "Uplift Mofo Party Plan" and "Mothers Milk". I can't pretend either that I'm happy to see a band that used to be quite subversive seemingly so happy to establish themselves as the rock establishment. I will also quite happily acknowledge that the early Chili Peppers albums actually weren't always any good, sure there was always the odd standout tracks to be found but can anyone honestly claim that any of the Chilis' first three albums were consistently good? Even the band themselves seemed to ignore them on the recent best of...

Anyway onto this set, there's not a bad track to be found here although "Hump de Bump" isn't too great but it's the low watermark here and its still not that bad. What we have here is a band who, since the release of "Californication", have refined their overall rock sound to the point that there's not really anything to engage the listener anymore, there's still the fluid grooves and smooth vocal melodies aplenty here, luckily the band have such an abundance of talent that they can seemingly turn out track after track without really stretching themselves. Rick Rubins production has also reached the point of polishing any remotely rough edges off the music, everything is crystal clear but devoid of spark.

John Frusciante has completed his renaissance since rejoining the band and is now, more than ever, a modern guitar hero. I once, many moons ago studied all of his rhythm/melody guitar on "Under The Bridge" and was amazed to find such complex lines beneath what was on the surface a fairly straightforward song. He exemplifies the current Chilis' ethos with his constantly fluid and melodic work, never stealing the focus from the song, yet at the same time as being seemingly effortless and inventive, ultimately quite forgettable.

So I conclude the review with a bit of a strange predicament, I have enjoyed this record but have I enjoyed it more than "By The Way" or "Californication"? The straight answer is no, hence the "By The Way" times two reference, but its actually not a bad collection of music. However you could quite easily take any twelve tracks from the twenty eight included and you would make a good single CD out of it. Go on, give it a go. Hit random on whatever you play it back on and you'll see what I mean.

Let us know your views on 'Stadium Arcadium'

Track List

Dani California
Snow ((Hey Oh))
Charlie
Stadium Arcadium
Hump de Bump 
She's Only 18
Slow Cheetah
Torture Me
Strip My Mind
Especially in Michigan
Warlocks
C'mon Girl
Wet Sand
Hey
Desecration Smile
Tell Me Baby
Hard to Concentrate
21st Century
She Looks to Me
Readymade
If
Make You Feel Better
Animal Bar
So Much I
Storm in a Teacup
We Believe 
Turn It Again
Death of a Martian

Line Up

Anthony Kiedis - Vocals
John Frusciante - Guitar
Flea - Bass
Chad Smith - Drums