So it turns out the special sauce in the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ success is not the half-rapped vocals of frontman Anthony Kiedis, or Flea’s taut basslines, but the more free-flowing guitar work of John Frusciante. A few years younger than his bandmates, Frusciante has always seemed more interested in pursuing his muse than touring the arenas and was last seen producing guitar-free dance music on a solo drum and bass album named after his dead cat. He has yo-yo-ed in and out of the group since 1989 but always been there for the biggest albums, including Blood Sugar Sex Magik in 1991 and Californication in 1999.
Poor sacked Josh Klinghoffer’s work on the last two releases saw sales figures sink, but Frusciante’s reappearance here, his first time on lead guitar with the band since Stadium Arcadium in 2006, seems such a guarantee of a popularity boost that a global stadium tour is already booked. They’ll play two nights at the Olympic Stadium in late June, their biggest London gigs in 18 years.
