Unlimited Love is the twelfth studio album by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, released through Warner Records on April 1, 2022. Produced by Rick Rubin, the album marks the return of guitarist John Frusciante, who left the band in 2009 and rejoined in 2019. A second full studio album, Return of the Dream Canteen, was recorded during the same sessions and was released on October 14, 2022.
The first single, “Black Summer”, was released on February 4, 2022, and became the Chili Peppers‘ fourteenth number-one on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart. “These Are the Ways” followed on March 31, 2022. A world tour began in June 2022.
Unlimited Love received generally positive reviews. It debuted at number one in 16 countries, including the United States, where it was the Chili Peppers‘ first number-one album since Stadium Arcadium (2006).
Following the tour for their eleventh album, The Getaway (2016), the Red Hot Chili Peppers began writing their next album with guitarist Josh Klinghoffer. However, singer Anthony Kiedis and bassist Flea, were unhappy with their progress. They wondered if they could involve their former guitarist John Frusciante, who had recorded several albums with the Chili Peppers but left in 2009 and moved into making electronic music.
Frusciante said: “Flea had put the idea [of rejoining] in my head and I was sitting there with the guitar thinking that I hadn’t written any rock music in so long. Could I still do that?”
On December 15, 2019, the Chili Peppers announced that, after 10 years, Frusciante had rejoined, replacing Klinghoffer. In an interview, Klinghoffer said there was no animosity: “It’s absolutely John’s place to be in that band … I’m happy that he’s back with them.”
Flea said separating from Klinghoffer had been difficult, but that “artistically, in terms of being able to speak the same (musical) language, it was easier working with John. Getting back into a room and starting to play and letting the thing unfold… was really exciting.” After reuniting with Frusciante, at his request, the band played through songs from their first three albums.
The drummer, Chad Smith, said Frusciante “Wanted to reconnect with the band that he fell in love with”, and Kiedis said the exercise was about getting “back to basics” and playing together without expectations.
On February 8, 2020, Frusciante performed with the Chili Peppers for the first time in 13 years, at a memorial service held by the Tony Hawk Foundation for late film producer Andrew Burkle, son of billionaire Ronald Burkle. Shows were scheduled for three festivals that May, but were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tracklist:
- Black Summer
- Here Ever After
- Aquatic Mouth Dance
- Not the One
- Poster Child
- The Great Apes
- It’s Only Natural
- She’s a Lover
- These Are the Ways
- Whatchu Thinkin’
- Bastards of Light
- White Braids & Pillow Chair
- One Way Traffic
- Veronica
- Let ‘Em Cry
- The Heavy Wing
- Tangelo
- Nerve Flip (Japanese CD bonus track)
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Anthony Kiedis: lead vocals
Flea: bass (all tracks), piano (track 4), trumpet (3, 15)
John Frusciante: electric guitar (1–16), backing vocals (1, 3, 5–9, 11–14), co-lead vocals (16), synthesizer (2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 12, 14, 16, 17), Mellotron (5), acoustic guitar (11, 14, 17)
Chad Smith: drums (1, 3–16), percussion (2), tambourine (1, 4), bass (2), shaker (5, 7, 15)
Additional musicians
Cory Henry: organ (5, 15)
Lenny Castro: percussion (5)
Mauro Refosco: percussion (3, 8, 10, 11, 13)
Nate Walcott: trumpet (3)
Josh Johnson: saxophone (3)
Vikram Devasthali: trombone (3)
Mathew Tollings: piano (1, 6)
Aura T-09: backing vocals (4)
Production
Rick Rubin: production
Ryan Hewitt: mixing, recording
Bernie Grundman: vinyl mastering
Vlado Meller: CD and digital mastering
Jeremy Lubsey: CD and digital assistant mastering
Bo Bodnar: engineering
Phillip Broussard Jr.: engineering
Jason Lader: engineering
Ethan Mates: engineering
Dylan Neustadter: engineering
Jonathan Pfarr: assistant engineering
Chaz Sexton: assistant engineering
Chris Warren: band technician
Henry Trejo: band technician
Lawrence Malchose: studio technician
Charlie Bolois: studio technician
Gage Freeman: co-ordinator production
Eric Lynn: co-originator production
Sami Bañuelos: band assistant
Imagery
Clara Balzary: photography
Sarah Zoraya and Aura T-09: design
