Red Hot Chili Peppers: Stadium Arcadium (Warner Bros)

Double albums are usually a bad idea for all sorts of reasons (overambitious, way too long, packed with filler tracks that should never have made it beyond the demo stage).

Double albums are usually a bad idea for all sorts of reasons (overambitious, way too long, packed with filler tracks that should never have made it beyond the demo stage). Double albums by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, however, are a worse idea than most.

Notwithstanding its vast length - 28 tracks - and its 18-month gestation period, Stadium Arcadium contains fewer surprises than the average John Grisham novel. It’s the usual mix ...