Time has mellowed the Red Hot Chili Peppers (RHCP). After 35 years, the L.A. band is eons away from the hypersexual funk-punk epitomized by 1987’s Hillel Slovak–driven The Uplift Mofo Party Plan. However, trading longtime producer Rick Rubin for Danger Mouse brings fresh air to RHCP’s stadium arcadium. The Getaway launches with the blue-balling title track, building to a big chorus that never comes. Sinewy single “Dark Necessities” remains the best cut. “The Hunter” and “Dreams of a Samurai” close the collection on a trippy note, but “Feasting on the Flowers” and “Encore” do dreamy better. Nadir “The Longest Wave” should’ve been titled “The Longest Lullaby.” Too bad there isn’t more like “This Ticonderoga,” a pummeling retro-rocker with a sweetheart of a chorus. Yet after long buckling under the weight of their own clichés (“We Turn Red” crams a greatest hits of RHCP riffs, licks, and melodic moments into one song!), the Chili Peppers take several steps forward.

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