# The Getaway (Red Hot Chili Peppers album)
**The Getaway** is the eleventh studio album by the American rock band [Red Hot Chili Peppers](https://www.edgepedia.org/red-hot-chili-peppers), released through Warner Bros. on June 17, 2016.[1](https://record.club/releases/albums/red-hot-chili-peppers-the-getaway) It was the band's first album since 1989's *Mothers' Milk* not produced by [Rick Rubin](https://www.edgepedia.org/rick-rubin), who had shaped the group's sound across a quarter-century of records; instead, Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton produced the album, co-wrote five of its tracks, and had the band discard most of its pre-written material, while longtime [Radiohead](https://www.edgepedia.org/radiohead) collaborator Nigel Godrich handled the mixing.[2](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21992-the-getaway/) • [3](https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-getaway/1109250450) It was also the band's second and final album with guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, who had replaced John Frusciante in 2009.[3](https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-getaway/1109250450)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | Eleventh studio album, Warner Bros., June 17, 2016[1](https://record.club/releases/albums/red-hot-chili-peppers-the-getaway) |
| Length | 13 songs, 53 minutes[3](https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-getaway/1109250450) |
| Producer | Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton, with five co-songwriting credits; mixed by Nigel Godrich[2](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21992-the-getaway/) |
| Producer change | First album since 1989's *Mothers' Milk* without Rick Rubin[2](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21992-the-getaway/) |
| Chart debut | Number one in ten countries; number two in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada[1](https://record.club/releases/albums/red-hot-chili-peppers-the-getaway) |
| Singles | "Dark Necessities," "The Getaway," "We Turn Red," "Go Robot," "Sick Love"[4](https://stuffandthatreviews.wordpress.com/2016/07/20/red-hot-chili-peppers-the-getaway-2016-review/) • [3](https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-getaway/1109250450) |
| Guitarist | Josh Klinghoffer's second and final album with the band; Frusciante returned afterward[3](https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-getaway/1109250450) |
## Production change
Rubin's productions had given the Peppers a consistent sonic identity, crisp and immediate, that underpinned their commercial run from the 1990s onward, but critics had also come to associate his blaring, untextured mixes with a creative rut across several albums.[2](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21992-the-getaway/) For *The Getaway* the band turned to Burton, known for his work with the Black Keys and for the mash-up *The Grey Album*, which combined a cappella vocals from Jay Z's *The Black Album* with music from [The Beatles](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-beatles)' *The White Album*.[2](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21992-the-getaway/) • [5](https://www.audiotechnology.net/features/danger-mouse-producer-of-the-decade) Burton's approach, as Pitchfork described it, sought to unite audiences through overlaps and juxtapositions of genres, textures, and negative space, in contrast to Rubin's uniform racket.[2](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21992-the-getaway/)
**Scrapped material.** According to a fan-archived sessions record, the band wrote, demoed, and then scrapped around 25 to 30 songs before meeting with Burton, re-recording a few of the earlier songs for the final album. Songs written after Burton joined include "The Getaway," "Dark Necessities," "We Turn Red," "Feasting on the Flowers," and "The Hunter."[6](https://www.rhcpsessions.com/20142016-the-getaway) Apple Music's editorial notes that Burton insisted the band members throw out the majority of their pre-written music and construct their songs in the studio.[3](https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-getaway/1109250450)
## Sound and songs
The album's 13 tracks run 53 minutes and carry what Apple Music calls a cosmopolitan, genre-crossing gleam, with string arrangements by Daniele Luppi replacing the dry, intimate feel of the Rubin-era records with something more muted and atmospheric.[3](https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-getaway/1109250450) The Independent's Andy Gill, rating the album four out of five, credited Burton with imposing the method that had worked with the Black Keys: co-writing new material and bringing a pop sensibility to the arrangements, from damped guitar picking on the title track to crisp synthesizer funk on "Go Robot" and piano under [Flea](https://www.edgepedia.org/flea-musician)'s slap bass on "Dark Necessities."[7](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-reviews-jake-bugg-on-my-own-red-hot-chilli-peppers-the-getaway-and-more-a7083296.html)
Several songs have identifiable reference points. "Go Robot" is soft-funk inspired by Prince's New Wave era; "Sick Love" shares chords with [Elton John](https://www.edgepedia.org/elton-john)'s "Bennie and the Jets," and John guests on piano; "The Hunter," a string-draped song for Kiedis's son, uses a Portishead lilt; and "Dark Necessities" channels trip-hop.[3](https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-getaway/1109250450) • [7](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-reviews-jake-bugg-on-my-own-red-hot-chilli-peppers-the-getaway-and-more-a7083296.html) Kiedis's lyrics touch on a relationship gone bad and the passing of time, with breakup songs including "Goodbye Angels" and "Dreams of a Samurai."[8](https://musiccritic.com/red-hot-chili-peppers/the-getaway/) • [3](https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-getaway/1109250450)
## Commercial performance and reception
*The Getaway* debuted at number one in ten countries and reached number two in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada.[1](https://record.club/releases/albums/red-hot-chili-peppers-the-getaway) Critical reception was mixed. The review aggregator figure reported by MusicCritic was a score of 60 based on 18 critics, with outlets such as Classic Rock Magazine and AllMusic at 80.[8](https://musiccritic.com/red-hot-chili-peppers/the-getaway/) Pitchfork praised the album as the band's lushest to date but noted Kiedis's lyrical lapses; The Independent called it an album with less filler than usual; other reviewers found it dull or a misstep.[2](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21992-the-getaway/) • [7](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-reviews-jake-bugg-on-my-own-red-hot-chilli-peppers-the-getaway-and-more-a7083296.html) • [9](https://spillmagazine.com/spill-album-review-red-hot-chili-peppers-getaway/)
The band supported the album with a 24-stop North American tour announced in September 2016, running from [San Antonio](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-antonio), Texas on January 5, 2017 to Vancouver on March 18, 2017, with [Trombone Shorty](https://www.edgepedia.org/trombone-shorty) & Orleans Avenue as the opening act and former drummer [Jack Irons](https://www.edgepedia.org/jack-irons) opening the January dates; every ticket included a copy of the album.[10](https://time.com/4506203/red-hot-chili-peppers-tour-2017/)
## Aftermath
After *The Getaway* and its subsequent tour, Klinghoffer was replaced by the returning [John Frusciante](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-frusciante), and the band reunited with Rick Rubin for the 2022 albums *Unlimited Love* and *Return of the Dream Canteen*.[3](https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-getaway/1109250450)
## References
1. [The Getaway (2016) by Red Hot Chili Peppers – Record Club](https://record.club/releases/albums/red-hot-chili-peppers-the-getaway)
2. [Red Hot Chili Peppers: The Getaway Album Review, Pitchfork](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21992-the-getaway/)
3. [The Getaway – Album by Red Hot Chili Peppers, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-getaway/1109250450)
4. [Red Hot Chili Peppers – The Getaway (2016) Review, Stuff and That](https://stuffandthatreviews.wordpress.com/2016/07/20/red-hot-chili-peppers-the-getaway-2016-review/)
5. [Danger Mouse: Producer of the Decade, AudioTechnology](https://www.audiotechnology.net/features/danger-mouse-producer-of-the-decade)
6. [2014–2016 The Getaway — Red Hot Chili Peppers Recording Sessions Archive](https://www.rhcpsessions.com/20142016-the-getaway)
7. [Album reviews: Red Hot Chilli Peppers 'The Getaway', The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-reviews-jake-bugg-on-my-own-red-hot-chilli-peppers-the-getaway-and-more-a7083296.html)
8. [Red Hot Chili Peppers: The Getaway Review, MusicCritic](https://musiccritic.com/red-hot-chili-peppers/the-getaway/)
9. [Spill Album Review: Red Hot Chili Peppers – The Getaway, The Spill Magazine](https://spillmagazine.com/spill-album-review-red-hot-chili-peppers-getaway/)
10. [The Red Hot Chili Peppers Just Released Their 2017 Tour Dates, Time](https://time.com/4506203/red-hot-chili-peppers-tour-2017/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums › Indie and alternative albums › Studio albums of the 2010s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license