Following the departure of John Frusciante, the verdict has already been made on this lead single before it has even been released by certain sects of the church of Frusciante. All over internet forums and message boards, fans of the band are already pleading Anthony, Flea and Chad to “Bring back John”.

However, two unrealized pros have come from this evolution within the Red Hot Chili Peppers; firstly that John has left the band in the more than capable hands of Josh Klinghoffer, and the second that he now has the time to focus on bringing devoted listeners the follow up to his 2009 solo release ‘The Empyrean’.

Even though the band and press are hailing this forthcoming album as a reinvention, the first single ‘The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie’ has a classic Red Hot Chili Peppers sound, with a simple bass groove similar to a track from the 1987 album, ‘Uplift Mofo Party Plan’ and a chorus reminiscent of Stadium Arcadium entry ‘Snow Hey Oh’. These two ingredients and the comparisons they draw suggests that the band are still on top form, but that would be if they had managed to create a more seamless transition between these two styles of song writing as they had done on previous releases. This track is, in itself, somewhat underwhelming yet shows a small indication of Klinghoffer’s prowess; his technical abilities and love for textured guitar parts finding their way subtly into the back of this track, nestled behind Flea and drummer Chad Smith’s playing.

The track is flawed in the fact that as comments from the band would have you believe, it is a one hour jam condensed into the form of a five minute single. This is perhaps why areas of the track flow beautifully while other areas seem disjointed and forced into the shorter length version.

Even though it would be possible to state that this is in some way an indication of how the album will sound, Flea has gone on record as saying that the track is completely different from anything on the rest of the forthcoming release from the L.A rock outfit, ‘I’m With You’. Therefore, this track should be viewed merely as a firm back bone for the rest of the album to sit upon. All we can hope is that the rest of the album gives Josh Klinghoffer adequate space to show why John Frusciante frequently collaborates with him on solo records and why he has been a touring partner for the Chili Peppers during previous tours. It is entirely possible that he can prove the haters wrong if he is allowed this freedom due to the work he has produced in the past with bands such as Warpaint, Dot Hacker and the Bicycle Thief.