Maps of Music

I'm with You (2011)

Where the lyrics of I'm with You take you, and where it was really made.

The title came from a handwritten note: a day before the deadline, Josh Klinghoffer wrote 'I'm with you' on paper, and the band fell for it immediately.

Key places

Recording at EastWest Studios (2011)

Recording site EastWest Studios — The band recorded I'm with You in the same studio where it had made Californication, with Rick Rubin producing the sessions that ran from September 2010 to March 2011. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at Shangri La (2011)

Recording site Shangri-La — Part of the album was recorded at Shangri La, one of the two studios named for the sessions, which ran from September 2010 to March 2011 under producer Rick Rubin. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• I'm with You: tenth studio album by Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Released by Warner Bros. Records on 26 August 2011 in Europe and 29 August 2011 in the United States
• Produced by Rick Rubin
• Debuted at number one in 18 countries, including the United Kingdom
• Reached number two in the United States and Canada
• First studio album after a five-year hiatus
• First album with guitarist Josh Klinghoffer after John Frusciante left in 2009

Background

• The band began a one-year hiatus in August 2007 after the Stadium Arcadium world tour, which stretched past two years
• During the break, Flea studied music theory at the University of Southern California
• Frusciante left the band a second time during the hiatus
• Klinghoffer had performed with the band during the final legs of the Stadium Arcadium tour
• Klinghoffer made his live debut with the band on 29 January 2010 at a MusiCares event honouring Neil Young

Recording

• Recording sessions ran from September 2010 to March 2011
• The album was recorded in the studio where the band made Californication, and at Shangri La
• Rubin said the band had enough material for a second double album but decided against it
• The album was claimed to be the first specially mastered to optimize digital sound quality for iTunes Store buyers

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

• Mixed reviews from music critics
• Metacritic: average score 63 out of 100, based on 35 reviews, indicating 'generally favorable reviews'
• Uncut (John Lewis): 3 out of 5 stars, noting a Frusciante-shaped hole in the album
• Rock Sound (Amy Bangs): 7 out of 10, calling it a successful continuation of the band's trademark sound
• Q (Craig Mclean): 3 out of 5 stars, naming 'Brendan's Death Song' as the best track
• Rolling Stone (Jon Dolan): 3.5 out of 5 stars, praising Klinghoffer's guitar playing as textured and elusive
• ArtistDirect (Rick Florino): 5 out of 5 stars, calling it a masterpiece
• Los Angeles Times: fairly negative review, saying the album lacked a center and felt duct-taped together

Records

• Billboard 200: debuted at number two, selling 228,926 copies in its first week
• UK Albums Chart: debuted at number one with 71,000 units
• Canadian Albums Chart: debuted at number two with 28,000 copies
• Number one in Argentina, Brazil, Japan, South Korea, Germany, and the United Kingdom, among others
• Nominated for Best Rock Album at the 2012 Grammy Awards, losing to Foo Fighters' Wasting Light
• Rolling Stone Reader's Poll: named the 8th best album of 2011
• As of May 2016, 1,700,000 copies sold worldwide, 574,000 in the United States

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Josh Klinghoffer wrote the title on paper a day before the deadline, and the band fell in love with it right away.
• A working title, Dr. Johnny Skinz's Disproportionately Rambunctious Polar Express Machine-Head, was rumored, but Rubin and Kiedis denied it.
• Damien Hirst designed the album cover, which is entirely white except for a fly perched on a capsule.
• The album is the first since 1989's Mother's Milk not to feature a title track.
• Flea's daughter Clara Balzary took most of the first promotional photos of the new lineup, and her photography appears in the album artwork.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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