690. Blood Sugar Sex Magik - Red Hot Chili Peppers

A couple of my mates worship at the altar of this album, but I've never known it that well. I was concerned that it would simply be more meaningless lyrics and funky basslines - one good, one not so much. I know that Under the Bridge is clearly different, but that always struck me as being the exception that proved the rule.

This was the band's fifth album, and their first with Warner Bros. The previous album, Mother's Milk, had some reasonable success in reaching number 52 in the US, but this album would blow that out of the water, selling 7 million copies to date. Rick Rubin produced the album, with the band living and recording in Harry Houdini's former mansion for the duration of the 30 days it took to record, with the presence of ghosts apprently bringing 'warm vibes' to proceedings. The success of the album took the band by surprise, and the stress of touring took its toll on Frusciante, who left the band due to a combination of the stresses of performing and his drug habit.

The Power of Equality hints at things I would normally not put as central to the RHCP thesis, but clearly they are proper liberals at heart.The opener has all you would expect of the band in terms of being funk driven, and that then flows into the second track - If You Have To Ask. Now, say I read too much into this, but going from talking about equality to implying that you don't need to ask about gettin it on seems slightly contradictory. I mean, I think asking is quite important in this sort of context Mr Kiedis. And then Breaking The Girl, which is just hugely 'meh' - I didn't notice it until writing this review. Funky Monks is at least catchy, but doesn't do enough - it merely advertises some strong falsetto credentials. Suck My Kiss is one of the better known songs off the album - it is more interesting than most, but I just can't imagine listening to it again once this week is over. I Could Have Lied is overly sappy, but does inject a bit of real emotion to the album. Mellowship Slinky in B Major is frankly crap, as is the Righteous & The Wicked. You've got a good bassist and sex-obssessed lead singer - I get it; there's no need to constantly ram the point home with mediocre songs. Give It Away is a decent song, with a catchy chorus and a sharp, funky bassline that doesn't entirely dominate the rest of the song, with Frusciante's guitar riff and tight drumming contributing significantly. The title track has a strange vocal delivery - nothing much else to say there. Under the Bridge is a brilliant piece of music; sitting in the middle of this album it seems to confirm the infinte monkeys-infinite typewriters theory single-handedly. I'm not going to comment on any of the remaining songs - I don't have anything really to say about them over than they exist, and you may like them, but I don't.

Overall, you may have gathered that I didn't enjoy this album much - the songs merged into one, a couple of examples aside. Whilst there is some real talent there, so many songs seem to be created on autopilot, and lack the variety that would really help this album stand out. Under the Bridge is so much better than any other song on the album, and is so different, that it really makes me wish they spent more time working on the slower but purposeful songs. The faster ones are just a decent bassline, and the slow, sappy ones are pale imitations of much better bands.

Chloe's album rating: 5
Chloe's favourite track: 11. Under the Bridge
Olly's album rating: 4 
Olly's favourite track: 11. Under the Bridge

Next week is 912. Punishing Kiss by Ute Lemper. Not a scooby, but early indications suggest it's not sex-obssessed funk rock.