Maps of Music

By the Way (2002)

Where the lyrics of By the Way take you, and where it was really made.

Guitarist John Frusciante wrote most of the melodies, which moved the band away from the funk-rock sound it was known for.

Key places

Recording studio at Chateau Marmont (2002)

Recording site Chateau Marmont — The album's credits name a studio at Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, with cello among the recorded parts. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• By the Way: eighth studio album by the American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Released July 9, 2002 on Warner Bros. Records
• Peaked at number two on the Billboard 200
• Singles: "By the Way", "The Zephyr Song", "Can't Stop", "Universally Speaking"
• "Dosed" released as a promotional single in the US and Canada
• Sold more than eight million copies worldwide
• Vocalist Anthony Kiedis's lyrics are more candid and reflective than on earlier albums

Background

• Writing began immediately after the Californication world tour, in spring 2001
• Much of the creation took place in the members' homes and practice locations, including a recording studio stage
• Rick Rubin produced again, granting the band the creative freedom they considered essential
• Frusciante wrote most of the melodies, backing vocal arrangements, bass lines and guitar progressions
• Frusciante first wanted two kinds of songs: melodic, more "English-sounding" ones and ones influenced by punk rock
• Melodic influences included the Beach Boys, the Beatles, doo-wop groups and Emerson, Lake & Palmer
• Synth-pop artists such as Kraftwerk, the Human League and Depeche Mode also inspired his guitar playing
• Flea wanted the band to return to its funk-influenced sound and felt alienated by the new direction
• According to Kiedis, Flea felt his voice was not being heard, and at one point he considered leaving the band
• Kiedis's lyrics covered love and drugs; he had been sober since December 2000

Cover

• Paintings, photography and art direction are credited to Julian Schnabel and the Red Hot Chili Peppers
• The woman on the cover is Stella Schnabel, Julian Schnabel's daughter and Frusciante's then-girlfriend
• Schnabel received rough mixes of eight songs and got the album's mood from them

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in Los Angeles in 1982 by Anthony Kiedis, Hillel Slovak, Flea, and Jack Irons, classmates at Fairfax High School.
• First performed on December 16, 1982 at the Grandia Room club on Hollywood Boulevard, in front of about 30 people.
• Changed the name to Red Hot Chili Peppers in March 1983.
• Released the self-titled debut album in August 1984, which sold 300,000 copies.

Members

• Current: Flea (bass, backing vocals, trumpet), Anthony Kiedis (lead vocals), Chad Smith (drums, percussion), John Frusciante (guitars, backing vocals, keyboards).
• Former members include Hillel Slovak (guitar, died of a heroin overdose in 1988), Jack Irons (drums), Dave Navarro (guitar, 1993–1998), and Josh Klinghoffer (guitar, 2009–2019).

Career

• Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991) was the first major commercial success; "Under the Bridge" reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100.
• Californication (1999) became the band's biggest commercial success, with over 16 million copies sold worldwide.
• Stadium Arcadium (2006) was the first album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 chart and won Grammy Awards.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on March 31, 2022.
• Over 120 million records sold worldwide.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Critics gave the album a positive reaction, praising its melodic, multilayered and textured styles
• AllMusic's Zac Johnson called the album sophisticated and said the Peppers kept their trademark energy
• Rolling Stone called the album "insanely melodic" and compared it to the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds
• Mojo considered it the strongest Chili Peppers album since Blood Sugar Sex Magik in 1991
• Q gave the album 5 out of 5 stars and called it a fantastic record
• PopMatters' Kimberly Mack called Frusciante an undeniable X factor in the band's sound
• Blender called it an indistinguishable sequel to Californication, "Californication 2"
• The Village Voice's Jaime Lowe called Kiedis's lyrics absolutely baffling
• Entertainment Weekly praised the refinement but criticized the band for playing it safe

Reappraisal

• Rock Hard ranked the album number 375 in its 2005 book The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time
• It has been cited as one of the band's best works

Records

• Debuted at number one in the UK, Switzerland, New Zealand, Austria and Sweden, and number two in France
• Title track peaked at No. 2 on the UK charts and No. 1 on the Billboard rock charts
• Sold 281,948 copies in the US in its first week and 1.8 million worldwide
• Certified gold on October 26, 2002, a few months after release
• Peaked one spot higher on the Billboard 200 than Californication

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Frusciante has said the guitar parts on "Cabron" were influenced by Martin Barre's playing on Jethro Tull's Aqualung.
• Flea and Frusciante repaired their musical relationship partly by practicing Vipassanā meditation together.
• "Venice Queen" was written as an ode to Kiedis's drug rehabilitation therapist, Gloria Scott.
• The label's "A Song a Day" campaign leaked one song per day from June 21 until the album came out.
• Many songs had different working titles before release, such as Soul Train for "By the Way" and Coltraine for "The Zephyr Song".

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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