RHCP, GUNS 'N' ROSES AMONGST HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

Guns 'n' Roses, The Beastie Boys and Red Hot Chili Peppers (amongst others) were all inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this weekend, but the build up to the big event did not come without controversy. The high profile inductees were all without a key member for the ceremony, each choosing not to attend for their own reasons. This week G'n'R's infamous frontman Axl Rose wrote an open letter to the hall of fame:


"I strongly request that I not be inducted in absentia and please know that no one is authorized nor may anyone be permitted to accept any induction for me."

Axl Rose has always been a difficult individual with a rocky relationship with both colleagues and fans, but it would seem he wasn't missed. The first mention of his name was met with boos from the impressive crowd.

Higher Ground - RHCP with Slash, Ronnie Wood, George Clinton and Billie Joe Armstrong

The Red Hot Chili Peppers' most dominant creative force over the years also refused to attend. Ex-guitarist John Frusciante, who left the band in 2009 after 2 stints and 5 of their best recieved albums, didn't feel comfortable with the whole affair. His friend and frequent collaborator Josh Klinghoffer replaced him as the band's guitarist in 2010 and last night became the Hall of Fame's youngest ever inductee. Stevie Wonder held the previous title, he was inducted 6 years older than Klinghoffer.


Adam 'MCA' Yauch of the Beastie Boys also pulled out with short notice, meaning a planned Beastie Boys performance had to be cancelled.


The ceremony took place at the Rock and Roll hall of fame & museum in Cleveland, Ohio last night. All the original members of Guns 'n' Roses were in attendance to accept induction, and to knock out some old jams. Ohio's rock fans turned out in their hundreds to hear classic anthems and old stories from the key inductees. RHCP and G'n'R of course both emerged from the sunset strip in the 80's, both with hard rock influences, but ultimately turning down very different musical avenues from there on in. 


It was a tale of two coasts of course, Beastie Boys emerged from New York around the same time. Mike Diamond and Adam horovitz were the 2 members on hand to accept the award, and thanked the city of New York for helping raise, and give them the music they grew up with. Other inductees included Freddie King and  the Scottish Donovan of 'Mellow Yellow' fame.


Despite missing figures the night was ultimately a success. The show ended with Red Hot Chili Peppers' cover of Stevie Wonder's Higher Ground, featuring George Clinton, Billie Joe Armstrong, Ronnie Wood and Slash. I think their better days are past them, but a fantastic look back to the Hollywood 80's was more than welcome. All brilliant artists in their own right, all certain to produce interesting work until they are no longer physically able.

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This Year's Best Prospects

Hello and happy new year everyone! 2012 is looking like a major year for music. To be honest I felt the majority of mainstream releases last year were a little lacklustre. Everyone went mad on Adele around March, Foo Fighters and The Strokes put out something a little different, Coldplay stuck to their guns. I was personally disappointed by RHCP's latest effort, I'm not quite sure if they ever will reach the Blood Sugar / Stadium Arcadium heights.

This year we can expect studio album number 4 from The Killers, who are apparently moving back to the more guitar led sounds of Hot Fuss and Sam's Town, after the rather mellow, electro-tinted Day & Age. I think that sounds like a good move for them. They have been incredible since getting signed but many (myself not included) felt that their last album couldn't quite match the first two.

The Vaccines, who hit the UK scene pretty hard this year with an album recorded before their fame are expected to return in 2012 with a follow up to What did you expect from The Vaccines?

It is also possible Muse's follow up to the Grammy award winning The Resistance will surface toward the end of the year, although in all honesty we can probably expect early 2013 for that. Pictures have been posted by the band from the studio, mainly on front man Matt Bellamy's twitter page.


Usher, Madonna, Green Day and Mumford & Sons are also due back. With the latter of those four I'm eager to see if they can take their sound to a new level. If not, the 'one trick pony' tag could stick for good.

Away from the charts, Tame Impala, who's debut album Innerspeaker I reviewed last week are rumoured to have already finished album #2. Ex-Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante is also back in the lab again after a 3 year break. He has been collaborating with R&B vocalist Truth Hurts amongst presumed others.

Is there an upcoming release you are looking forward to? I'd love to hear your views.

Stay tuned for a good year for music in 2012.

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Red Hot Chili Peppers - I'm With You - My Take

This is going to be a tough one. The Red Hot Chili Peppers are a band close to my heart, I will try not to let this affect an honest review.

Remember the distinctive guitar parts of Under The Bridge? Give It Away? Californication? Snow? John Frusciante, the creator of those amazing riffs has left, and is replaced by long time friend and collaborator Josh Klinghoffer. Being a huge fan of John, his departure made myself and many others (including the remaining members) consider the future of the band and what it can be without him. Anthony and Flea eventually decided 'onwards & upwards' so here we are with 'I'm With You'

The first thing you'll notice is that Josh has chosen his own path, a path which does not see him replicate Frusciante's virtuoso licks and chops, with often raw to the core emotion driven solos. This works well on a few levels, but the problem is when it comes to the soloing itself, it's almost as if he isn't interested. Both The Adventures of Raindance Maggie and Factory of Faith have low key, low on the neck solos with well spaced but not at all interesting note combos. A downside to his otherwise warming textural playing if ever there was one.

Soon enough you arrive at Brendan's Death Song; widely accepted to be one of the top 20 songs the band has made, no mean feat when you consider the quantity of rock chat #1's RHCP have had, more than any other band in fact. It's brilliant, one of the few songs on the record that actually invokes some kind of emotion within an album that sadly is nowhere near as effective as By The Way or Stadium Arcadium.

Chad favours disco-styled beats throughout, which brings an interesting twist on the band’s works. He’s a little less in your face this time around and quite frankly is on absolutely top form with bassist Flea (Who was recently voted #2 bassist of all time in Rolling Stone) With this in mind, it begs the question (to myself) why isn’t the album as engaging and catchy?

The album for me is littered with small flashes of brilliance on sheer plateaus of blandness. Annie Wants A Baby has some fantastic moments, the swaying guitar, and the gently sung ‘sent along the way’ is a truly effective melody. The guitar work here most reminds me of Frusciante, perhaps that’s why it’s my personal favourite.  There are a couple niggling things; For one I find that Anthony isn’t supported strongly enough with background vocals, too often his voice just doesn’t quite cut it when holding the extra syllables. As well as this, the emotion is pretty much there, but the cryptic and often exciting lyrics of albums passed are not as present. Pretty much every message conveyed on the album is written on a billboard for all to see.

 

I think overall I’m With You is a Mother’s Milk of sorts. Josh is asking himself ‘what does this band’s fan base need from me?’ Similarly to John when he replaced Hillel Slovak. The band is effectively new. It’s by no means a failure but it doesn’t quite live up to their high standards. If I may make one more point, it is that the name 'I'm With You' is a very bad choice. It's not at all memorable nor enjoyable to have bouncing around your head. 'Uplift Mofo Party Plan' is more like it.

So, is there a Blood Sugar Sex Magik coming up next?  Thanks for reading, I’d love to hear your views, feel free to share with fellow RHCP fans.

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