The Getaway (Red Hot Chili Peppers album)

Did You Know?

• The album cover is a painting by Kevin Peterson titled Coalition II; Anthony Kiedis described the bear as Chad, the girl as Josh, the raccoon as Flea, and the raven as himself.
• Unreleased songs from the sessions include "Kaly", "Outer Space", "Drastic", "Nowhere I Am", and "Obscene"; some were later re-recorded by Josh Klinghoffer under the pseudonym Pluralone.
• "Was Never There" was demoed in 2012 and later re-recorded by Pluralone, featuring Flea and founding drummer Jack Irons.

Background

Production began in 2014 but was delayed for eight months after bassist Flea broke his arm snowboarding. Vocalist Anthony Kiedis said the band wrote 20 to 30 songs and thought the album was ready, but after Flea's injury they rethought everything and were without a producer. Danger Mouse then emerged and told them to leave the existing songs and write new ones in the studio. Kiedis noted that the only way to make it work was to trust Danger Mouse and abandon their old ideas. In a May 2016 radio interview, Chad Smith said the band loved Rick Rubin but wanted a change of producer for inspiration. Josh Klinghoffer later said creative and personal differences with Rubin during the recording of I'm With You led him to choose another producer. Smith also mentioned that "We Turn Red" was one of his favorite songs and that "Go Robot" might be a single. Flea revealed in an interview that "Go Robot" was originally intended as the first single, describing it as a funny, funky, up-tempo jam inspired by Prince's "Controversy". Smith noted that Klinghoffer plays bass on "The Hunter", the only song on the album Flea did not play on, and compared Klinghoffer's playing to Paul McCartney.

Promotion

The band performed an album preview show on May 26, 2016, playing four songs from the album. iHeartRadio aired the show online on June 17, 2016, the album's release date. A music video for "Dark Necessities", directed by Olivia Wilde, was released on June 16, 2016. On May 26, 2016, the band released the title track on their YouTube channel, and on June 9, 2016, released "We Turn Red". Both songs were made available for purchase the following day and as free downloads for those who pre-ordered the album. On June 9, 2016, it was announced that fans in New York City and Los Angeles could enter to win invitations to an exclusive private listening party on June 13, 2016. Fans in Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Thailand, and Mexico also had opportunities to attend private listening parties. The band appeared on the June 14, 2016 episode of The Late Late Show with James Corden for a pre-taped Carpool Karaoke segment. During filming, Kiedis saved a baby's life after a woman handed him her non-breathing child; he performed baby CPR until the ambulance arrived. Sirius XM Radio channel Lithium became Red Hot Chili Peppers Radio from June 15 to June 22, 2016, playing music from the band's career with exclusive commentary and songs from influential artists hand-picked by the band. Chris Rock hosted the limited-run channel.

Tour

The album's supporting tour kicked off in June 2016 with a European festival run, followed by a headlining leg starting that September in Europe and stretching into 2017 across the U.S. and Canada. The live debuts of "Dark Necessities," "Go Robot," "Sick Love," and "This Ticonderoga" all happened in May 2016. The title track "The Getaway" was hinted at during "Give It Away" performances at two February 2016 shows, but it wasn't played in full until May 29, 2016. "We Turn Red" first hit the stage on June 10, 2016, at Pinkpop. "The Longest Wave" followed on June 14, 2016, at a Paris promotional show. "Detroit" debuted on June 29, 2016, at Roskilde Festival. A five-song Live In Paris EP, culled from that June 14 show, dropped exclusively on Deezer on July 1, 2016. "Goodbye Angels" debuted on July 10, 2016. "Dreams of a Samurai" premiered on July 24, 2016, at Japan's Fuji Rock Festival. "Feasting on the Flowers" first appeared in Oslo, Norway on September 8, 2016. "Encore" finally got its live premiere on April 24, 2017, in Jacksonville, Florida, leaving "The Hunter" as the only album track never performed. The tour wrapped on October 18, 2017, after 151 shows over roughly a year and five months. It ranked 32nd on Pollstar's 2016 year-end top worldwide tours, pulling in $46.2 million, and climbed to 18th in 2017 with $73.5 million in gross revenue.

Critical reception

At Metacritic, the album received an average score of 66 out of 100 based on 25 reviews, indicating generally favorable reviews. Nate Chinen of The New York Times gave a positive review, stating that while it does not sound exactly like classic-vintage Chili Peppers, it might sound like how you remember them, and praised Danger Mouse's approach and Josh Klinghoffer's performance. Andy Gill of The Independent gave the album 4 out of 5, noting less filler than usual and highlighting the string-draped song "The Hunter". Simon Harper of Clash magazine gave an 8 out of 10, calling The Getaway a subtle, intimate, and expressive album that focuses on delicate and melodic dynamics. David Stubbs of Classic Rock magazine gave 4 stars out of 5, praising the band's expertise and Danger Mouse's production, describing the album as a tightly woven affair.