Red Hot Chili Peppers By the Way released

By the Way Red Hot Chili Peppers

Released: July 9, 2002 Peak: 2 US, 15 UK, 11 CN, 14 AU Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 1.95 UK, 11.2 world (includes US and UK) Genre: alternative rock

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. By the Way (6/10/02, 34 BB, 1 AR, 1 MR, 2 UK, 13 DF) GH, RT Universally Speaking (6/1/03, 27 UK) GH This Is the Place Dosed (5/19/03, 13 MR, 22 DF) Don’t Forget Me The Zephyr Song (8/17/02, 49 BB, 16 A40, 1 AA, 14 AR, 6 MR, 11 UK, 28 DF) RT Can’t Stop (12/28/02, 57 BA, 15 AR, 1 MR, 22 UK, 25 DF) RT I Could Die for You Midnight Throw Away Your Television Cabron Tear On Mercury Minor Thing Warm Tape Venice Queen The Players: Anthony Kiedes (vocals) Michael “Flea” Balzay (bass/trumpet/piano/backing vocals) Chad Smith (drums, percussion) John Frusciante (guitar/keyboards/backing vocals)

Rating: 3.998 out of 5.00 (average of 21 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ eighth studio album finds the California foursome exploring the more melodic freeways of harmony and texture, contrasting the gritty, funky side streets of their early days. Luckily, with this more sophisticated sound, the Peppers have not sacrificed any of their trademark energy or passions for life, universal love, and (of course) lust. Although they recorded the spiky Abbey Road EP in 1988, this album actually sounds a lot closer to the Beatles' Abbey Road, with a little of Pet Sounds and elements of Phil Spector's lushest arrangements all distilled through the band's well-traveled funk-pop stylings.” AMG “Harmony vocals and string arrangements have replaced some of the aggressive slap bass that the group was initially recognized for, but fans of both the gentle and the fierce Chili Peppers styles will embrace the title track and first single, By the Way. In fact, this song on its own could almost be a brief history of everything the Red Hot Chili Peppers have recorded: fiery Hollywood funk, gentle harmonies, a little bit of singing about girls, a little bit of hanging out in the streets in the summertime, some rapid-fire raps from Anthony Kiedis, some aggro basslines from Flea — the song plays like a three-and-a-half-minute audio version of Behind the Music.” AMG “Overall, the album leans more toward the melodic end of their oeuvre, but they have grown into this kinder, gentler mode organically, progressively working toward this groove little by little, album by album. What once were snapshots of a spastic punk-funk lifestyle have grown into fully realized short stories of introspection and Californication. Though the pace of the album falters at times (particularly in the verses; the choruses are all pretty spectacular), it is refreshing to see that as the four Chili Peppers continue to grow older and more sure of themselves, their composition and performing skills are maturing along with them.” AMG

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Red Hot Chili Peppers AMG All Music Guide review by Zac Johnson Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/28/2008; last updated 11/16/2023.