Metascore
63

Generally favorable reviews - based on 36 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 36
  2. Negative: 1 out of 36
Buy Now
Buy on
  1. Sep 12, 2011
    90
    Perhaps for the first time ever on a Chili Peppers record, it is Flea who takes the reigns as the lead instrument here, going Jaco all over this mofo so to speak, which ultimately proves to be this album's saving grace.
  2. 83
    I'm With You is greater than the sum of its many-cogged parts.
  3. Kerrang!
    Sep 8, 2011
    80
    Bar the addition of piano on a few tracks, I'm With You is not so much a fresh start as a wonderful, trouble-free return to the familiar, laid back West Coast rock terrain of their back-to-back classics, Californication and 2002's By The Way. [27 Aug 2011, p.50]
  4. However, despite losing a key member, the Red Hot Chili Peppers come out triumphant with I'm With You.
  5. Aug 31, 2011
    80
    Some may have written them off already, but on the strength of their best album in a decade, I'm with them.
  6. Sep 1, 2011
    70
    Klinghoffer wisely makes no attempt to mimic Frusciante; the new boy on the block's musical talent is obvious in its own right here, and the musical partnership that has formed between the older members of the band and Klinghoffer is evident. Red Hot Chili Peppers are not quite ready to slope off yet.
  7. Aug 30, 2011
    70
    Ultimately, the Red Hot Chili Peppers are served well by that professionalism; they're long past the point of proving themselves, they're now longer here for a party, they're rock & roll lifers, and I'm with You illustrates they can settle into maturity convincingly.
  8. Aug 29, 2011
    70
    Mr. Klinghoffer leaves only a few faint marks, most notably on the contemplative "Brendan's Death Song," which ends with two moving minutes of chaos with Mr. Kiedis wailing and the drummer Chad Smith bashing away. More of this would be welcome on this overly polite album: this band once thrived on such abandon.
  9. Aug 29, 2011
    70
    The peak moments on I'm With You balance swagger and sensitivity.
  10. Aug 29, 2011
    70
    There are spots that are curiously flat, which feels illogical given how much Flea's bass bubbles, Chad Smith's drums skitter and thump, and how captivating Klinghoffer's left-turn fillips can be.
  11. Aug 29, 2011
    70
    As the title implies, I'm with You is a love letter from the band to itself. It's also a token of appreciation to the Chili Pepper fans that have stuck by the band through countless line-up changes and solid reassurance that the band is still vital without John Frusciante.
  12. Aug 29, 2011
    70
    All in all, the album is an above average collection for a band well past their expected use-by date; and with new blood injected into them, a world tour booked, and promises that they'll continue writing on tour, they don't seem to be stopping any time soon. This could be the beginning for a highly successful era of the band.
  13. Aug 18, 2011
    70
    I'm With You is a much more concise record, both thematically and sonically, than 2006's double-disc Stadium Arcadium.
  14. Aug 31, 2011
    69
    All four members have referred to I'm With You as a creative rebirth. That might be a stretch. But judging by the flashes of promise, one might be waiting just around the corner.
  15. Oct 9, 2012
    67
    Throughout, Klinghoffer never takes over like Dave Navarro did with One Hot Minute, but he's not knocking down any doors, either.
  16. Sep 21, 2011
    62
    New axe-slinger or not, I'm With You is a given for this band--at least four songs too long and Rick Rubin's nonchalance leaves everything sounding precisely and consistently the same.
  17. Q Magazine
    Sep 21, 2011
    60
    It's the heart of the matter, and the song that sets the bar. [Oct 2011, p.122]
  18. Mojo
    Sep 8, 2011
    60
    The frat-boy humour is wearing a tad thin. [Oct 2011, p.97]
  19. Aug 31, 2011
    60
    While I may appreciate this album despite some of its fundamental flaws, I'm still not exactly clamoring for another Chili Peppers record. As stated before, I'm With You doesn't suggest a future for the band: instead, it showcases one stuck in the mud, capable of churning its wheels but not moving forward.
  20. Aug 29, 2011
    60
    It's the band's refusal to sound older, or wiser, that's integral to their charm.
  21. Aug 26, 2011
    60
    The arrangements have a tendency to rely on Flea's basslines to compensate for Frusciante's absence, but there's still enough zip and zeal in the stronger tracks to affirm the Chili Peppers' relevance in the modern musical climate.
  22. Aug 26, 2011
    60
    14 songs over an hour's running time is a lot of nonsense to digest. For the Chili Peppers, songwriting is a medium without a message, unless it's just to let your inhibitions go and dance.
  23. Aug 26, 2011
    60
    Nevertheless, I'm With You is a strong record, with Brendan's Death Song and Police Station among the highlights, especially considering the challenge of replacing Frusciante's creativity.
  24. Aug 26, 2011
    60
    Instrumentally, it's one of the stronger efforts from the band, but altogether it doesn't do enough.
  25. Aug 26, 2011
    60
    I'm With You is a solid, decent enough 10th album, but it's far from vital.
  26. Aug 25, 2011
    60
    Business goes on essentially as usual across this collection of muscular funk-rock songs, though it falls short in the ultra-catchy-hooks department.
  27. Uncut
    Aug 19, 2011
    60
    Amid this poor material, the Chili Peppers still manage t deliver a handful of very very good songs. [Sep 2011, p.86]
  28. 50
    The Chili Peppers try to strike that same balance on their latest, I'm With You, which may turn out to be a minor installment in their canon but still accomplishes the impossible.
  29. Sep 7, 2011
    50
    I'm With You is the sound of a band that continues to coast off past achievements.
  30. The very fact long-time collaborator Rick Rubin is at the helm is proof enough that while the production is mostly immaculate, I'm With You is an exercise in how a multi-million selling rock behemoth plays it safe.
  31. Aug 26, 2011
    50
    [The] Los Angeles' funk jesters sound like they're treading water.
  32. Aug 30, 2011
    42
    As the forgettable I'm With You shows, there's a difference between surviving and thriving.
  33. Sep 1, 2011
    40
    I'm With You's hip thrusts and gyrations simply go through the motions, the work of a band with all kinds of capital to blow but no incentive to do anything differently.
  34. Aug 30, 2011
    40
    Nevermind the continual rebooting of their franchise, this should be the time to quietly lay the series to rest and focus on the box-sets. This band simply have nothing more to say.
  35. 40
    It's business as usual, but with diminishing returns, on I'm With You--the result, perhaps, of sticking with the producer Rick Rubin for six albums.
  36. Aug 30, 2011
    37
    The rest of it, though, is stuff that will probably sound just fine beneath NFL highlight reels but fails to gel when the volume is up and California 2011 beckons.
User Score
7.2

Generally favorable reviews- based on 187 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Negative: 13 out of 187
  1. Aug 30, 2011
    10
    One of the more unique RHCP records of late. Kinda a mix of everything they we have heard from them in the past to create something entirelyOne of the more unique RHCP records of late. Kinda a mix of everything they we have heard from them in the past to create something entirely different. Josh does a great job filling in for John and adds something unique to the band. The textured feel of the guitar in I'm With You is something new and awesome at the same time. Fans that only enjoyed that last three records may feel alienated, but I love this new direction. Hope to hear more songs from them soon. Full Review »
  2. Jun 26, 2012
    10
    i was scared after john departure of the RHCP and the amazing stadium arcadium.at the beginning i listened the entire album and didn'ti was scared after john departure of the RHCP and the amazing stadium arcadium.at the beginning i listened the entire album and didn't surprised me or make me feel that peppers spirit and melodic sound of californication and by the way but the more i played it the more i like the new sound and start to appreciate josh Full Review »
  3. Sep 5, 2011
    3
    One of my favorite bands and a band I can always expect to put out a great album, has unfortunately put out it's worst album to date. RainOne of my favorite bands and a band I can always expect to put out a great album, has unfortunately put out it's worst album to date. Rain Dance Maggie was a solid single and had me geeked for the release, however, this was really the only song on the album that had any substance for me. I won't blame Josh replacing John as the defacto reason, but there is a very different vibe and texture to this album that does not quite fit with what is normally expected from RHCP's. I'm definitely not with this album...big bummer in music this year. Full Review »