The Chilli's 2016 release, The Getaway, explores new sounds involving disco, soft rock, ballads, hard rock and they fuse it all together with the classic Chill Pepper funk that everyone has loved since the early 1980's.
Top Notch Musical Talent
Flea has been widely regarded as one of the very best bass players of our time. Wikipedia indicates that in 2009, Rolling Stone's readers ranked Flea as the second-best bassist of all-time.
It has always been my opinion that the bass line is the most important part of good song writing and composition. In technical music terms, the bass player alone can easily throw the entire band into an inversion which can dramatically change the feel of a musical piece. It is this attention to detail that creates the ultimate, creative forms of bass playing. Flea is one of the great masters of the instrument and his performance on this album is second to none.
Anthony, the lead singer, is known for his reluctance to use vocal effects on his voice. Anthony and his fans have long preferred the natural sound of his voice un-fettered by any sort of reverb, echo, chorus or distortion. Anthony also prides himself on using little to no special effects on his voice when he plays live. This is extremely rare these days where multi-million dollar productions make marginal voices sound great. He certainly carries talent and great confidence in his abilities.
The Tragic Story of the Red Hot Chilli Pepper's Guitar Sounds
Josh Klinghoffer performs on another incredible Chill Peppers album and Wikipedia indicates that Klinghoffer was the youngest person ever inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. While Josh has his own distinct style, he has molded it very well into the Chilli Pepper genre giving a nod to the classic Chilli Pepper Guitar sound created by Hillel Slovak and John Frusciante.
Hillel Slovak founded the band largely in Funk Guitar which is where they credit most of their peculiar sound. Tragically, in his mid twenties Slovak died of a heroine overdose. At the time, John Frusciante was studying Slovak's work and impressed band members with his detailed knowledge of the Chilli Pepper Funk sound. After induction into the band, Frusciante was guided in the ways of Chilli Funk and Frusciante ended up creating some of the most memorable songs of my life.
Frusciante was a light that shined so brightly, but often burned out also due to a very serious struggle with heroine himself. I have read the stories, I have watched the documentaries and it is very hard NOT to shed a tear for someone who is so incredibly talented but yet still manages to throw their entire life and career down the drain for drugs.
A reoccurring theme throughout their music is all about this struggle that most of the band has suffered with hard drugs. The stories are so bad, I do not feel right repeating anything about them here. You just have to look this stuff up for yourself but keep in mind... The life of a really serious heroine addict is very dark, very depressing and most of all, very sad.
Frusciante will forever go down as one of my top 10, all-time, favorite guitar players yet he has absolutely broken my heart with his drug abuse. According to Wikipedia, Frusciante is still a close friend and a mentor to Klinghoffer.
Listen For Yourself
You can listen to free samples or buy a copy of The Getaway from Amazon.
Or you can enjoy a couple of Official Music Videos from the Get Away on You Tube.
