Now approaching its seventh birthday, Alex Yau take a look at the first album that he ever fell in love with.
At twelve I was only just getting a better understanding of what music was – you make a lot of changes for high school. I was listening to more and more guitar-based music and a whole new world was opening around me. Plenty of albums caught my attention, but there was only one which I really ever fell totally in love with. That album was By The Way.
This, the second album after the band’s reunion in 1998, was a departure from their previous funk-rock and punk-fused albums. But why did I fall in love with this album in the first place?
The first track on the album – By The Way - is a blistering opener. The thirty-three seconds is a slow build up to what will become a frantic and wild chorus. The bassline is signature Flea — heavy, fast and funky.” Kiedis’ vocal delivery is powerful and strong. Chad Smith’s drumming is fantastic, accompanied by distorted, fast palm-muted strumming and guitar chords that ring in your ear. The song soon takes a much more slower vibe, very much the same as the introduction but this is only a rest from the break. The start of the break is very much Flea’s providing what he’s best at (powerful basslines) but the overall it’s a slower but equally frantic part of the song
Universally Speaking shows off a a much poppier side of the Chilis. The chords are beautiful, as are the lyrics “I saw your face, elegant and tired, caught up from the chase, still I so admire.” Flea provides a more melodic bassline to this song. Breaking into the chorus is a loud strum on Frusciante’s guitar, and the passion can be heard in Kiedis’ voice, then accompanied by Fruiscante which show that the both of them really compliment each other. A sweet arpeggiated keyboard which is definately something new the Chili’s tried at the time is then added. Fruiscante definately comes to life in this song doing with his trademark melodic guitar solo’s.
This is the Place is a very emotional piece. Written about former Chili’s guitarist, Hillel Slovak, Keidis really pours his heart out in this. The lyrical content in this song is moving and shows how forward the band have moved lyrically, “This is the place where all the devils plead/the case to take from you what they need.” The backing in the verse is filled with palm muted guitars with the occasional sttrummed chord. The chorus is strong with a hypnotic bassline; Fruiscante’s playing is melodic as ever.
Dosed is a deep song. It starts off with a high delayed guitar accompanied by a deep guitar fill. The chorus is just gorgeous with both Fruiscante and Kiedis singing back to each other. A combination of both Fruiscante’s chordal and melodic work, it shows that the man is a master of more than one technique on the guitar. The solo at the end echoes Kiedis’ singing — a perfect end to such a fantastic song. Lyrically moving and powerful, it is another great track to such a great album.
Don’t Forget Me is a much more moodier song to the band’s previous material. The bass is one of my most memorable and favourite lines. It is dark and really gets set into your mind. The guitar in this is one of my favourites in this entire album. I’m a sucker for delay, and this is filled with it, showing that tremolo picking and delay are fantastic together. The guitar after the chorus is beautifully melodic. For anyone who said that the Frusciante’s guitar work isn’t as good in this album, just listen to the guitar in the song and you will think differently.
The Zephyr Song has such a nice guitar fill at the start. A moderately sped song, it again shows how far the Chili Peppers have come since previous efforts. A much more happier song than the previous few, the lyrics are romantic — “Fly away on my Zephyr, I feel it more than ever, and in this perfect weather, We’ll find a place together”. The link from the chorus to the verse is just fantastic. Frusciante’s solo isn’t his best, but is still great.
Can’t Stop starts off with a slow snare fill accompanied by a repeated riff on the guitar. It then goes into one of the most memorable riffs you will ever hear in your life. Keidis’ vocal delivery is short at the lines and very powerful. The bass imitates the already great guitar riff. The chorus makes you want to get up and dance; the clapping in the background is infectious. The break is so distinctly ska — I’m listening to it now and it makes me want to bounce up and down. The solo is a collection of powerful and fierce held notes that ring around your head and get cemented in place.
I Could Die For You is one of the slower songs on the album. A moving and deep song, the lyrics are beautiful and heartwarmingl, “Something in the cards I know is right, don’t wanna live somebody elses life, this is what I want to be and this is what I give to you cos I get it free, she smiles while I do my time.” I love the way Fruiscante strums the guitar in this song, it is gentle and reflects this song perfectly.
The Start To Midnight is a haunting collection of stringed instruments which then break out into a shivering voice that is just likes a ghost. This song actually sends shivers down my spine. The verse is just as dark as the intro and the mood of this song reflects the title perfectly as do the lyrics, “Is it safe inside your head? Songs to serenade the dead.”
The bassline in the fast-paced Throw Away Your Television is fantastic — possibly the catchiest on the album and the deep powerful drums go with it so well. Cabron is a stand out track on the album. Much different to the other tracks, the style of this song is rooted in Spanish which is also given away by the obvious title. The song starts off with a few strums on the acoustic before moving to a much more fast paced verse, both linked together by a fantastic fill played at a quick pace. Kiedis echoe’s the song’s title in the choruses. A great part of this song is the fantastic slide solo at the 2:25 mark.
Tear is one of the most down to earth songs you will hear on the album. Again, Kiedis manages to sing about what he really feels in this song. I absolutely love the guitar in this song, it’s slow and heartwarming. The song takes a change from its slow gentle attitude in the verse to a much more exciting and dramatic chorus. The solo is possibly the best clean solo on the album –gentle yet powerful with a few hammer-ons’ and pull offs’. The tremelo-driven break is another excellent part of this song which breaks out into a trumpet solo.
On Mercury is a wild and frantic song. Just like the break in Can’t Stop, Ska influences can clearly be heard in this song from the obvious horn section to the overall style of the song. Keidis’ voice is yet again strong and powerful and Flea and Smith manage to again create a fantastic drum and bass part.
Minor Thing has one of the funkiest parts ever. Kiedis’ vocal delivery is short and sweet. The solo is beautifully hypnotic, It is so powerful, it reaches out and grabs you. The start of Warm Tape starts off with what sounds like a very dreamlike synth pad noise. The chorus, as most of them on By The Way are, is a powerful one. Fruiscante responds to Keidis’ vocals with an imitation of what he sang.
Venice Queen is very atmospheric. Filled with delay and other echoey type effects, the guitar plays an infectious, slow riff. The first part of the song sets the tone of the album quite well — dark and moody, deep in tone. Breaking away from the first half of the verse, the band break into a very fast second half. The guitar is just fantastic. This song is a perfect album finisher with its combination of melodic guitar tones and powerful vocals.
Filled with crazy, frantic songs as well as darker, moody songs, the Chili Peppers show that they could move forward with By The Way. It stands as their apex.
Record Label: Warner Bros.
Release Date: July 9th 2002
Ah, Frusciante. He is the sole reason I bought a Fender Strat. Great band, even if they have gone off the boil a bit recently.
I can’t wait to hear what they release after their hiatus.
Flea goes to college now I think, man, just imagine what it’d be like to be in the same class as the man himself haha