It seems like the Red Hot Chili Peppers forgot to build really good songs around John Frusciante’s game ★★★☆☆

It was good news for fans of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, when in 2019 guitarist John Frusciante (52) joined the band for the third time after a ten-year absence. With him the Californian rock band, which is heading for its fortieth anniversary, nevertheless made the best records. And you only have to go to the first song Black Summer from the twelfth Peppers album Unlimited Love listen to find out what makes Frusciante’s role so special.

It is his guitar playing that is as flexible as it is pregnant and as inventive as it is direct that immediately dominates. It seems that the other three band members Anthony Kiedis (vocals), Flea (bass) and Chad Smith (drums) with their producer Rick Rubin (again back) listened to him with such admiration during the recordings that they forgot to write really good songs. build his game.

Because that’s what it lacks Unlimited Love a little bit anyway. It is not difficult to point out a handful of numbers among the seventeen new songs (White Braids & Pillow Chair† One Way Traffic† Veronica) that cannot even be saved by Frusciante.

These songs come towards the end of the album. The opening is stronger. Rubin gives guitar, bass and drums plenty of space to create a dry, clear sound together. Kiedis has a good voice, although he sings better than he raps. The jazzy wind arrangement tastes like more Aquatic Mouth Dance and the influence of an early Prince is clearly audible in one of the highlights She’s a Lover† A relatively short song too, because Rubin seems to stretch many songs with a verse to let Frusciante do an extra solo round.

His game definitely deserves that. He saves most of the songs in which Kiedis, a man of almost 60 with lyrics about girls, fades into the background. Frusciante’s voice also often draws beautiful extra vocal lines. In the strongest song The Heavy Wing he even oppresses Kiedis as a singer. This is actually the only time that the contours of a real Peppers hit become visible. One that can make festival meadows bloom. It was the perfect finale of Unlimited Love the album had lasted not seventeen but ten songs. Even then we would have known that the Peppers really can’t do without Frusciante.