Unlimited Love

Unlimited Love is the twelfth studio album by the American rock band the Red Hot Chili Peppers, released through Warner Records on April 1, 2022. Produced by Rick Rubin, the album marks the return of guitarist John Frusciante, who left the band in 2009 and rejoined in 2019. A second full studio album, Return of the Dream Canteen, was recorded during the same sessions and is scheduled for release on October 14, 2022.
The first single, "Black Summer", was released on February 4, 2022, and became the Chili Peppers' fourteenth number-one on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart. "These Are the Ways" followed on March 31, 2022. A world tour began in June 2022.
Unlimited Love received generally positive reviews. It debuted at number one in 16 countries, including the United States, where it was the Chili Peppers' first number-one album since Stadium Arcadium (2006).
Background
Following the tour for their eleventh album, The Getaway (2016), the Red Hot Chili Peppers began writing their next album with their guitarist Josh Klinghoffer. However, the singer, Anthony Kiedis, and the bassist, Flea, were unhappy with their progress. They wondered if they could involve the guitarist John Frusciante, who had recorded several albums with the Chili Peppers but left in 2009 and moved into making electronic music. Frusciante said: "Flea had put the idea in my head and I was sitting there with the guitar thinking that I hadn't written any rock music in so long. Could I still do that?"
On December 15, 2019, the Chili Peppers announced that, after 10 years, Frusciante had rejoined, replacing Klinghoffer. In an interview, Klinghoffer said there was no animosity: "It's absolutely John's place to be in that band ... I'm happy that he's back with them." Flea said separating from Klinghoffer had been difficult, but that "artistically, in terms of being able to speak the same language, it was easier working with John. Getting back into a room and starting to play and letting the thing unfold… was really exciting." After reuniting with Frusciante, at his request, the band played through songs from their first three albums. The drummer, Chad Smith, said Frusciante "wanted to reconnect with the band that he fell in love with”, and Kiedis said the exercise was about getting "back to basics" and playing together without expectations.
On February 8, 2020, Frusciante performed with the Chili Peppers for the first time in 13 years, at a memorial service held by the Tony Hawk Foundation for late film producer Andrew Burkle, son of billionaire Ronald Burkle. Shows were scheduled for three festivals that May, but were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Production and music
After working with Danger Mouse on The Getaway, the Chili Peppers brought in Rick Rubin, who has produced several of their most successful albums. Rubin said seeing their first rehearsal after Frusciante's return made him cry: "It was so thrilling to see that group of people back together because they made such great music for so long and it really hit me in an emotional way."
Rehearsals were halted in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They resumed in 2021 at Rubin's Shangri-La studio in Malibu, with around 100 new songs to work on. The band recorded almost 50 tracks. Another album recorded during the Unlimited Love sessions, Return of the Dream Canteen, is scheduled for release on October 14, 2022.
Music
Reviewers described the album as funk rock and alternative rock. NME said it shared the "melancholic riffmaking, anthemic choruses and softly-sung melodies" of Frusciante's previous work with the Chili Peppers, but introduced new "grungey" and acoustic elements.