王者之道（By the Way） (2002)

By the Way is the eighth studio album by the American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released July 9, 2002, on Warner Bros. Records. It sold more than 286,000 copies in its first week, and peaked at number two on the Billboard 200. Singles included "By the Way", "The Zephyr Song", "Can't Stop" and "Universally Speaking". Additionally, "Dosed" was released as a promotional single in the US and Canada. The lyrical subject matter vocalist Anthony Kiedis addresses in By the Way is a divergence from previous Red Hot Chili Peppers albums, with Kiedis taking a more candid and reflective approach to his lyrics.

By the Way was lauded by critics as a departure from the band's previous styles, and is recognized for the melodic and subdued emotions given by the Chili Peppers. Guitarist John Frusciante is credited with writing most of the album's melodies, backing vocal arrangements, bass lines, and guitar progressions, therefore changing the direction of the recording dramatically: "his warm, understated guitar work and his doo-wop style vocal harmonies are king this time around." By the Way contained very little of the signature funk-rock fusion the band had become known for playing. Frusciante has stated that writing "By the Way [was] one of the happiest times in my life." The album went on to sell more than eight million copies worldwide. The album has come to be regarded by many as one of the band's finest works.

Background

The writing and formation of By the Way began immediately following the culmination of Californication's world tour, in the spring of 2001. As with Californication, much of the creation took place in the band members' homes and other practice locations, such as a recording studio stage. Kiedis recalled of the situation: "We started finding some magic and some music and some riffs and some rhythms and some jams and some grooves, and we added to it and subtracted from it and pushed it around and put melodies to it." Frusciante and Kiedis would collaborate for days straight, discussing guitar progressions and sharing lyrics. For Kiedis, "writing By the Way ... was a whole different experience from Californication. John was back to himself and brimming with confidence." Prior to recording By the Way, the Red Hot Chili Peppers decided that they would again have Rick Rubin produce the album. Rubin had, in the past, granted the band creative freedom on their recording material; this was something they thought essential for the album to be unique, and could only occur with his return.

Writing and composition

According to the 2010 book, An Oral/Visual History by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Frusciante had originally intended for the album to be very different from how it was eventually completed. He wanted an album of two different types of songs: songs that were more "English-sounding" and melodic, and songs that were more influenced by punk rock. Frusciante's punk inspiration came from listening to music by the Damned and Discharge, among others. Rick Rubin was not familiar with the latter bands and sound and thought that the melodic songs were original and more exciting, causing the band to focus mostly on the melodic material. However, one punk rock-influenced song was recorded during these sessions, "Body of Water", but did not make the final cut and was instead included on "The Zephyr Song" single. Many of the more melodic inspired songs came from Frusciante listening to the Beach Boys and the Beatles, along with doo-wop groups and their harmonies. He listened to Emerson, Lake & Palmer every day during the recording of By the Way. Frusciante also drew inspiration from synth-pop artists, using his guitar to emulate the melodies of Kraftwerk, the Human League, Gary Numan, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, and Depeche Mode. He explained to LA Weekly, "I was finding that people who were programming synthesizers in this early electronic music were playing in a very minimal way, where every single note means something new and every note builds on what the last notes were doing."

These new styles as well as Frusciante being especially prolific during this era came to alienate bassist Flea, who had wanted the band to return to its earlier funk-influenced sound. Frusciante felt the band had already thoroughly explored funk and was more interested in creating something new for the band. According to Kiedis, Flea felt his voice was not being heard, and there was a point where he considered leaving the band. While speaking to Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, Frusciante mentioned that he listened to guitarists such as John McGeoch for his work on the Magazine's and Siouxsie and the Banshees' albums including Juju, Adrian Fisher of Sparks for Kimono My House, Johnny Marr of the Smiths, Vini Reilly of the Durutti Column and Keith Levene of Public Image Limited. He also credits XTC singer/guitarist Andy Partridge in the 2002 issue of Total Guitar for being an influence on his guitar work for the album.