Album: Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Artist: Red Hot Chili Peppers
Artist: Red Hot Chili Peppers
Born: Fairfax District, Los Angeles
Released: September 1991
Genre: Funk Punk
Nowadays, it's hard to admire the Chili Peppers. Their sound was never really that innovative in the first place, mixing funk and punk rock much like Gang of Four before them, but swapping the political edge for songs about sex. I enjoyed the heavier sound and themes of One Hot Minute, but from Californication onward the Chilis calcified into a rock cliché. They lacked for musical growth. All that said, Blood Sugar Sex Magik sounded to my teenage ears like nothing else, and the record still hasn't lost much of its vitality listening to it now. Like two other west coast bands (Pearl Jam and Nirvana) that released records in 1991, the Chilis benefited from having a charismatic frontman, Anthony Kiedis. His innovation was adding a hip hop-inspired vocal delivery to the mix, while the influence of producer Rick Rubin (founder of Def Jam Records who worked with the likes of Run DMC and the Beastie Boys) was obvious in BSSM's more commercial sound versus the Chili's four previous studio LPs. The hit single that propelled the band to fame in late 1991 was Under The Bridge, featuring John Frusciante's plaintive guitar riff and Kiedis' impassioned vocals about loneliness, his connection with his hometown of LA and the dangers of heroin abuse ("Under the bridge downtown / is where I drew some blood").
I'm not so keen on the band's first single from the album, Give It Away, Flea's bass playing is very impressive but the lyrics are completely ridiculous ("No time for the piggies or the hoosegow / get smart get down with the pow wow"). Suck My Kiss is similarly exuberant but the lyrics don't appear to be about much more than Kiedis asking for a blow job. Sir Psycho Sexy is even more overtly sexual. That said, over the course of the album's 1hr+ length, these more upbeat, on heat, nonsensical tracks do blend well with the slower, more meaningful ones like Breaking The Girl and I Could Have Lied, both of which are about relationship issues. Side 2 is a bit more inconsistent than the first, but songs like My Lovely Man feel a bit more lively and substantial. The Chilis will never get many plaudits for originality or songwriting skills, but in the early 90s they were certainly a unique proposition.
Nowadays, it's hard to admire the Chili Peppers. Their sound was never really that innovative in the first place, mixing funk and punk rock much like Gang of Four before them, but swapping the political edge for songs about sex. I enjoyed the heavier sound and themes of One Hot Minute, but from Californication onward the Chilis calcified into a rock cliché. They lacked for musical growth. All that said, Blood Sugar Sex Magik sounded to my teenage ears like nothing else, and the record still hasn't lost much of its vitality listening to it now. Like two other west coast bands (Pearl Jam and Nirvana) that released records in 1991, the Chilis benefited from having a charismatic frontman, Anthony Kiedis. His innovation was adding a hip hop-inspired vocal delivery to the mix, while the influence of producer Rick Rubin (founder of Def Jam Records who worked with the likes of Run DMC and the Beastie Boys) was obvious in BSSM's more commercial sound versus the Chili's four previous studio LPs. The hit single that propelled the band to fame in late 1991 was Under The Bridge, featuring John Frusciante's plaintive guitar riff and Kiedis' impassioned vocals about loneliness, his connection with his hometown of LA and the dangers of heroin abuse ("Under the bridge downtown / is where I drew some blood").
I'm not so keen on the band's first single from the album, Give It Away, Flea's bass playing is very impressive but the lyrics are completely ridiculous ("No time for the piggies or the hoosegow / get smart get down with the pow wow"). Suck My Kiss is similarly exuberant but the lyrics don't appear to be about much more than Kiedis asking for a blow job. Sir Psycho Sexy is even more overtly sexual. That said, over the course of the album's 1hr+ length, these more upbeat, on heat, nonsensical tracks do blend well with the slower, more meaningful ones like Breaking The Girl and I Could Have Lied, both of which are about relationship issues. Side 2 is a bit more inconsistent than the first, but songs like My Lovely Man feel a bit more lively and substantial. The Chilis will never get many plaudits for originality or songwriting skills, but in the early 90s they were certainly a unique proposition.
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