Red Hot Chili Peppers: Anthony Keidis (vocals); John Frusciante (guitar); Flea (bass guitar, background vocals); Chad Smith (drums, percussion).

Additional personnel include: Omar Rodriguez (guitar); Richard Dodd (cello); Brad Warnaar (French horn); Michael Bolger (trombone); Billy Preston (Clavinet); Paulino De Costa, Lenny Castro (percussion); Emily Kokol (background vocals).

An ambitious double album, STADIUM ARCADIUM finds the Red Hot Chili Peppers building on their more mature, latter-day approach, while also acknowledging their lighthearted, youthful sound. The Los Angeles-based funk-rock quartet's third studio outing since John Frusciante returned to the fold, this 2006 release once again reinforces how crucial the guitarist is to the Peppers' aesthetic, with his mix of swirling, psychedelic leads and heavy riffs providing the perfect foil to Flea's bold bass heroics. (Instrumentally, the record also benefits from guest appearances by Mars Volta guitarist Omar Rodriguez, percussionists Paulinho Da Costa and Lenny Castro, and the legendary Billy Preston on clavinet.)

Remarkably consistent for a two-disc, 28-song offering, STADIUM ARCADIUM kicks off with "Dani California," an energetic track that hints at a Beatles influence, while showcasing vocalist Anthony Kiedis's neo-rap delivery and the tight rhythmic interplay of Flea and drummer Chad Smith. Other highlights of this collection include the emotive "Wet Sand" and the frenetic "Torture Me," which provide nice counterpoints to loose, limber tunes such as the funk workouts "Hump De Bump" and "C'mon Girl." In many ways a culmination of the Chili Peppers' decades-spanning musical evolution, STADIUM ARCADIUM stands as one of the group's most impressive efforts.

What the critics say...

Rolling Stone (pp.225-226) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[Flea] finally cuts loose again here, reasserting himself as the best non-hip-hop reason to buy a subwoofer."
Entertainment Weekly (p.79) - "John Frusciante lays down his sledgehammer riffs, Kiedis begins to actually sing the elegiac chorus, the golden harmonies of the bridge kick in, and by the end, you're blindsided by how great it all sounds." -- Grade: B+
Mojo (p.110) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "It's the sound of a band on a roll....The unbridled creativity here is a cause for celebration."
Kerrang (Magazine) (p.47) - "There are hidden depths here, melodies that become more insistent and subtleties that reveal themselves from where they sit modestly beneath the surface."
Q (Magazine) (p.106) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "[Frusciante] has brought a sense of experimentation to a band not renowned for dabbling with the unorthodox. It's testament to his new-found vocabulary that no two songs sound the same."