Review Time - Red Hot Chili Peppers: Blood Sugar Sex Magik

"Blood sugar baby, she's magic!

Sex magic! Sex magic!"

The story so far
The Red Hot Chili Peppers are rock behemoths these days, but they were hardly an overnight success. The band toiled for years with only a small underground following, and after the death of founding member and original guitarist Hillel Slovak, as well as the subsequent departure of their drummer Jack Irons, the band was in a seemingly hopeless situation.

But soldier on they did, and with the addition of John Frusciante on guitar and virtuoso Chad Smith on drums, the band produced one of their best yet with Mother's Milk.

Which brings us to Blood Sugar Sex Magik, the followup, and the one that finally saw them go supernova. The second album with the most famous Chilis lineup is also the first with famous producer and mad bastard Rick Rubin. The band had a lot of trouble with producers in the past, and after the messy production of Mother's Milk, the band were anxious to move on to new pastures, which meant a new label, and more importantly, a new producer who wouldn't fuck up their sound for once.

Rubin had a lot of experience with hip hop acts like Beastie Boys and Run-D.M.C, but also famously produced thrash titans Slayer's seminal Reign in Blood (as well as many of their albums since). He was exactly the kind of open minded producer the Chilis needed for their odd blend of psychadelic-funk-rock-with-a-dash-of-folk-stylings.

They also decided to record in a mansion because, hey, why not. They're crazy hippies, and they were full sure the place was haunted.

Who knows what adventures they got up to...

The Muzak
The first thing that becomes apparent is the music is a lot more relaxed than previous albums (and Mother's Milk in particular.) Gone are the constant pop 'n' slap from Flea, desperately trying to cram in as many notes as phsyically possible for maximum funk. The bass is given room to breathe, making each note count a lot more, and the funk is stronger in Flea than ever before; in fact the entire band is more confident in their songwriting abilities here, with Frusciante trying out more odd effects and knowing when the right time to come in or when to just let the bass and drums do their work.

With this newfound sense of relaxedness though, comes the sense that they might have gotten a bit lazy. The first half of the album is a mixed bag. Opener Power of Equality is good times indeed, measured yet assured, and a catchy ass bass sliding in and out in the chorus. From here though, If you have to ask has the chilis on autopilot, which is worrying when we're only two tracks in. The track is saved by a hilarious falsetto chorus and guitar solo in the vein of hendrix that just reeks of cool. The song is certainly a grower too, and if you're in the mood for some slower funk, it's not too shabby.

Orange beanie and underpants? Hey, who am I to judge.

Funky munks has no excuse though. A genius acoustic intro has frusciante battering the strings enough to give flea a run for his money, but the song falls apart completely pretty quickly after that. The vocals are insanely repetitive, with an annoying echo on most of the lyrics in the verse, and the chorus comes and goes without any real impact at all.

Mellowship Slinky in B-major and Righteous and the wicked are more doses of chilis on auto, but honestly, it's not that bad at all here. The songs are a bit cobbled together sure, but they work pretty damn well all in all, and are enjoyable enough in their own right. Certainly nothing you'd skip over as quickly as Funky munks anyway.

Probably the most controversial point of my review though, is how bloody overrated I find Give it away, as if it's some messiah of funk. It starts off pretty good amittedly, but christ that bass line gets old fast, and that's after only a minute. After 4 and a half I found it better to just tune the song out. The amount of times I've heard this song repeatedly over the years hasn't helped matters either. They change the key now and then, but that's it. Same exact bass riff, same guitar riff. The song goes nowhere.

Right, now that I've pissed off every Chilis fan reading this, lets get back shall we!

You bring the torches and pitchforks,

I'll get some marshmallows.

I've pretty much gotten all the bad out of the way now, because frankly, the rest of it is just fantastic.
Suck my Kiss is what it'd be like if god himself were giving you a soundtrack to your sexy times, and the title track writhes with even more brooding sexual energy that you can shake a stick at, as well of as one of the best choruses they've ever done.

What really impresses here is how far the Chilis have come in their more understated songs. They flirted with it the instrumental Pretty little ditty from Mother's Milk, but here, it's in full force: Breaking the Girl and I Could Have Lied are genuinely heartfelt acoustic songs without an ounce of cheese, and Frusciante practically bleeds from his electric guitar in the latter, in what's probably the most underrated guitar solo in the last twenty years.

We haven't even hit the high point yet mind: My lovely man sees the Chilis blending both styles, the funk and the heartfelt, to pay fitting tribute to Slovak, their friend since childhood. By far the most honest and moving lyrics Kiedis has put to paper, they pay their tributes not by mourning his death, but by celebrating his life, with some good time funk, and simply wishing he could be around so they could have the same fun they always did.

"Rest with me

My lovely brother

For you see

There is no other

Memory so sad and sweet

I'll see you soon

Save me a seat"

Honestly, they could have ended right there, but before you get too sentimental, it's time for the filthiest song ever.
Seriously, Sir Psycho sexy will make you want to have a shower or something.

In a good way.

Not sure if I want to give him a Hug or a restraining order...

It's an odd choice after such sentimentality to be sure, but the Chili's strength lies in making these disparate styles work. Throughout the album raunchy funk sits comfortably next to nostalgic musings of the city they grew up in, and it makes for a very varied and engaging listen, save for a few hiccups in the first half.

Defintely still worth checking out, this oldie has aged very gracefully indeed.

Recommended Tracks
My lovely man, Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Breaking the Girl

The Bearded One is also pretty fly for a white guy.