If I were an industry hype whore like at Rolling Stone or Spin I would now start pondering whether By The Way has or will create the same stir as Californication did. However I'm not an industry hype whore, I'm a member of the elitist indie rock media underground and my calculator watch is programmed to record Anthony Kiedis's brain waves, and they're telling me that the Chili Peppers made this album for themselves and for the love of music, not to prove anything. After all, what is there really left to prove at this point? They've survived the 90's, the media, and the drugs, and they are a band again.

There isn't any "rumpin' and a stumpin'" on this album, just a nice sort of harmony. There is really a sense that the Chili Peppers are as strong as a band as they ever have been. Every member is present in a big way on the album and they're all working together well. Frusciante really adds to this album with some great riffs that just lift the songs. There are a couple tracks featuring some nice indulgent guitar solos, but some of the really impressive guitar stuff is on the more rhythm based songs, like Can't Stop. A few new sounds are introduced, some organ, strings, and horns are present but just in trace quantities. I think a lot of the new stuff can be attributed to some of Flea and Frusciante's side/solo project work. They really seem to have become the the creative driving force for the Chili Peppers during the By The Way period.

With 16 songs and over 68 minutes of material, By The Way provides plenty of material to keep any Chili Peppers fan entertained for quite some time. There is no question that the Chili Peppers have evolved a great deal since their beginning, and this latest trip in their evolution is one of their best. Songs like Dosed, Don't forget Me, and Tear will make By The Way one of your favorite Chili Peppers albums.