Blood Sugar Sex Magik - Red Hot Chili Peppers

~~~~~ BLOOD SUGAR SEX MAGIK GENIUS ~~~~~

I feel weird about writing this review and am not quite sure yet where it’s gonna take me or whether I’m going to like it as much as my other Chilis reviews. I’m writing from a completely different (interpret: biased) perspective than when I set out to write my “By The Way” review – in a matter of months I have become a firm fan and cannot get enough of this band’s music. Starting out on this ...
...~ Give It Away ~ Blood Sugar Sex Magik ~ Under the Bridge ~ Naked In The Rain ~ Apache Rose Peacock ~ The Greeting Song ~ My Lovely Man ~ Sir Psycho Sexy ~ They’re Red Hot.

~~~~~ EXTREME & EXTRAORDINARY ~~~~~

At the time this came out, I was 16 and while I remember my Mum telling me not to watch the video for “Give It Away” on TV and listening to “Under the Bridge” thinking the chorus was particularly cool, I cannot ... more

~~~~~ BLOOD SUGAR SEX MAGIK GENIUS ~~~~~

I feel weird about writing this review and am not quite sure yet where it’s gonna take me or whether I’m going to like it as much as my other Chilis reviews. I’m writing from a completely different (interpret: biased) perspective than when I set out to write my “By The Way” review – in a matter of months I have become a firm fan and cannot get enough of this band’s music. Starting out on this I am more than a little struck by awe and unsure how I’m going to get across the feel of this album enough to do it proper justice. The other reason is that, while I still find myself loving it, “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” is a different story entirely to the later albums. Different style, different mood, almost as if the band were different people altogether way back when this was produced. And hey, aren’t we all, 10 years and more down the line?

All the same I am determined to review it. Having read many of the reviews currently available on this album, it is not as strongly represented on Ciao as “Californication” (which you have been thankfully spared my interpretation of – be grateful. Be very grateful.) or even “By The Way” and I thought I’d redress the balance a bit.

~~~~~ TESTOSTERONE OVERDRIVE ~~~~~

Having bought it for a very respectable £8.99 from www.channel.com (p&p aside) around a month ago, it’s really only this last weekend that I’ve spent any time listening to this, due to buying quite a few albums at the same time. And the way I have come to love it is similar, yet not quite the same, to the other Red Hot Chili Peppers music. It didn’t just grow on me, it crept into me. On the first listen I had to stop myself from reaching for the ‘skip’ button as it was so far removed from anything I’d have described as my taste in music; on the second there were several songs I found myself getting drawn into head-nodding and finger-tapping reflexes and spontaneous singing even when I didn’t think I knew the lyrics; on the third I was fascinated by the hardness, starkness and sexuality of those said lyrics; by the fourth (which I think is what I’m on now) I am not only hooked, but feel like I’ve broadened my musical horizons.

Total testosterone overdrive is the only way I can convey the overall feel of the album, but hey, that’s not a bad thing – in fact, I reckon it does me good. ;-)~ The album hails from many moons ago in 1991, when the Chilis I am guessing were wilder as well as younger, proudly virile and full of attitude (not that I’m saying they’re not those things now, no personal slurs intended here!). Either this is the reason for the direct and taking-it-to-the-edge political rants and sexual exploration of the songs, or the fact that the band were isolated from the rest of the world while recording the album and were venting their frustrations! (Contemporary line-up – Anthony Kiedis, Flea, John Frusciante, Chad Smith.)

Fitting for such an epic outpouring of love, hate, desire, frustration, virility, anger and fiery fighting talk, the album is incredibly long, one track running seamlessly into another, every change seeming smooth and natural. The track listing in full goes as follows: The Power of Equality ~ If You Have To Ask ~ Breaking the Girl ~ Funky Monks ~ Suck My Kiss ~ I Could Have Lied ~ Mellowship Slinky In B Major ~ The Righteous & the Wicked ~ Give It Away ~ Blood Sugar Sex Magik ~ Under the Bridge ~ Naked In The Rain ~ Apache Rose Peacock ~ The Greeting Song ~ My Lovely Man ~ Sir Psycho Sexy ~ They’re Red Hot.

~~~~~ EXTREME & EXTRAORDINARY ~~~~~

At the time this came out, I was 16 and while I remember my Mum telling me not to watch the video for “Give It Away” on TV and listening to “Under the Bridge” thinking the chorus was particularly cool, I cannot remember there being any other music putting out such a strong, brave, controversial message as this. God I would have loved this album when I was 16, if only I had paid more attention back then! Still – even by today’s standards, this makes me feel rebellious and extroverted and in touch with my darker and wilder side. Knowing me (interpret: shy mouse type), hell that’s some achievement.

Unlike the other albums by the Chilis I have reviewed, this is not so much a rollercoaster of emotions as a stretching to the limits of what was acceptable or not in music, a pushing, an exploring into unknown territory into four different extremes, which seems to be suggested in the symbolism on the album cover showing the four band members with thorn-like black tongues meshing together to create something new and unique, juxtaposed against striking red roses. This, when fused together with their own original brand of rock / funk / rap became something totally new, totally fresh and totally extraordinary…

~~~~~ BLOOD ~~~~~

The first extreme the album explores is that of pain and violence and I doubt I have ever come across lyrics which do so quite as poignantly yet graphically; oh yeah, here we have the raw, brave roots of the Chilis’ lyrical genius, which later seem to have evolved and softened. In “The Power of Equality” as the album opener, we are immediately confronted with fighting talk about racism and in “The Righteous & The Wicked” are mixed sad and sobering images of the state of our planet due to mankind’s corruption, and sudden outbursts of shocking vocabulary injecting a disturbing anger into the track. Deep, dark bass playing, and much more rapping (and sometimes literally shouting) than in later efforts are present in generous quantities throughout the album as well as in these songs, allowing a tangible anger about the state of the world to seep throughout.

Personal darkness and pain are not withheld either. Most readers will already know the song “Under the Bridge” which is softer, more subtle and altogether beautiful with a more melodic use of guitar and gentler vocals in the verses, yet dark and angst-ridden in the edgy chorus – this I have seen interpreted many times now as representative of personal struggles with addiction; and “My Lovely Man”, which both lyrically and musically is simple, understated and yet brimming with emotion, seems to relate to the band members’ grief over their lost friend and band member Hillel Slovak. These songs I find equally powerful as the previous two. While you may not relate exactly to the themes of the songs, the pain that can come with living in our time would certainly strike a chord with many listeners.

“…Mother Earth / crying into space
Tears on her pretty face”
(The Righteous & the Wicked)

~~~~~ SUGAR ~~~~~

Soft rock and sweet, lighter funk make a welcome change from the heavier songs on the album. Reminding me that much in life is sweet and full of uplifting and redeeming messages of hope, these songs more reflect the sense of fun and funkiness that are also a fundamental part of the band’s projected personality. I probably most enjoy listening to this collection, and “Give It Away” in particular tends to be my weekend driving anthem (interpret: whilst shopping, visiting the parents etc, lol) and also seems the likeliest ancestor for the profound and philosophical lyrics I love so much in the Chilis’ more recent music. I cannot rap and am pretty sure I sound ridiculous but I know all the words and belt it out at top volume in the relative safety of my trusty Astra. I’m sure the motorists that stop beside me at traffic lights think I’m mad, but really, the energy and the engaging guitar hook of that song are utterly infectious!

I am loving “Funky Monks” and “Mellowship Slinky…” more and more, the more I listen to them. With smooth, funky and catchy guitar repeats from the perfect combination of Flea and John Frusciante as the backdrop, relaxed and caramel-smooth vocals from Anthony Kiedis and the most infectious beat I have ever had the misfortune to find myself addictively tapping away to from Chad Smith, I get so lost in the sound and the mood of these tracks I couldn’t tell you even in the remotest way what they are actually about. Perfect Sunday and holiday listening. And finally in this section, we come to “I Could Have Lied” which (predictably) I am falling rapidly in musical love with, yet which is the only song on the album that doesn’t really fit with the others. Sweet-sounding and arguably the gentlest Chilis creation I have ever heard, with endearing acoustic guitar strumming that fittingly tugs at the heart-strings, this is pure soft rock and fits with neither rap nor funk but is nonetheless rather lovely.

“Greedy little people in a sea of distress
Keep your more to receive your less
Unimpressed by material excess
Love is free, love me say hell yes.”
(Give It Away)

~~~~~ SEX ~~~~~

Perhaps even more controversial than the graphically violent and painful images portrayed in the songs I grouped together in the first section are those which make graphic references to sex. I can’t help feeling that such a plain and direct dealing in the truth of sex is a good thing, but I can equally imagine why some might disagree. I really like the courage, the spunk and the verve in these songs and having had quite a ‘sheltered’ start to my understanding of this so-important aspect of adult life, well, it’s been an education at the age of 28 years! Frivolity aside, some of you out there will NOT like this little collection of tracks. If you dislike innuendo, hate sexual swear words, are angered by male chauvinism or think this kind of thing is downright offensive then this probably won’t be your favourite album of all time. For me, I am going through a rebellious kind of phase (interpret: premature midlife crisis) and am finding them empowering, stirring and a way to approach my dark side. (In fact, this is probably the whole reason I love this band’s music right now.)

I dare not quote too graphic a lyric here but let’s say this: there are some lyrics in “Apache Rose Peacock” and “Sir Psycho Sexy” that made me disbelieve what I’d heard upon my first proper listen, and made my hair stand on end, not to mention them provoking the cheekiest grin I’ve sported in ages. Full-on parental advisory we are talking here. However, what’s nice is that in this exploration of sexual desire and feelings, there are some magnificent moments that highlight the beauty of intimacy as well. So romance is intertwined with lust in the truest way, capturing the magic of both, with the music reflecting this, from sweet, rather extraordinary chord changes and percussion building up feeling in “Breaking the Girl” through to the vibrant and (gosh, dare I say) throbbing pulse of the bass in “Suck My Kiss”, “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” and “Apache Rose Peacock”. Gee, when did it get so hot in here? (interpret: will Lancashire_Angel ever be an angel again?)

“Everywoman / Has a piece of Aphrodite
Copulate to create
A state of sexual light”
(Blood Sugar Sex Magik)

~~~~~ MAGIK ~~~~~~

The three extremes explored so far come together in true Red Hot Chili Peppers style to become more than the sum of their parts and to create real musical magic. From the extremely weird and yet strangely fascinating little skiffle-style ditty “They’re Red Hot”, to the sublime and beautiful lyrics and musical contrasts between verse and chorus in “Under the Bridge”, to the profundity and anthem-quality mad moment that is “Give It Away”, to the almost secret resplendence of the exhilarating “I Could Have Lied”, this album casts a spell.

It has the power to make us think outside the box, and gives us the power to stand up for our beliefs. It has the emotion to strike a chord, and gives us the emotion to empathise with ourselves, others and the world we live in. It has the magic to enrage, and it has the magic to uplift, to inspire, to change.

“A mountain never seems to have / The need to speak
A look that shares so many seek
The sweetest feeling…”
(I Could Have Lied)

~~~~~ GENIUS ~~~~~

More so than any other Red Hot Chili Peppers album it has been my utter delight and pleasure to take to heart up to now, this album has a stroke of genius as well as a true spark of originality, and more flash-and-bang than a thunderstorm. Now I know what all the fuss was about when this album in the charts and I can’t help thinking if my life would have been any different had I acquired it back then. I wonder if my shyness would have lasted as long, whether my confidence would have been high enough to make big changes much sooner, whether I would ever have strayed from being true to myself. I can only wonder, but this is one of those albums that can make a music lover feel completely different to the way they felt before they listened. That’s what it did to me. And even though it’s older (yet younger) and completely different from (yet stylistically the whole root of) the newer Chilis stuff that caused me to love their music, it has definitely rooted itself in my list of favourite-ever albums.

~~~~~ SWEET SACRED BLISS (Suck My Kiss) ~~~~~

The only bad points I can personally say about this album are, well, inevitably, there are two or three forgettable tracks, namely “If You Have To Ask”, “Naked In The Rain” and “The Greeting Song” for me; yet not sub-standard enough to ‘skip’, on the contrary this album is far more fun to listen to front to back. And, of course, I do not recommend this album for anyone under the age of consent due to extremely graphic sexual references, utterly disgusting language and hard-hitting violent vocabulary. There is a sticker on the front that says ‘language that some people may find offensive’ and hey, we’re not just talking young people here, some adults may be offended by constant use of the f-word and other sexual swear words. Although I wouldn’t actually call it unnecessary, as it does add to the effect and boost the power of the music. Also, there is much more of Anthony Kiedis' rapping than on later albums. Personally I have found I really like this, but you may prefer his singing!

As long as this does not bother you (and you are old enough to decide for yourself whether it’s appropriate) then let this relentlessly red-hot classic into your life. Somebody on Ciao told me to listen to it after reading my “By The Way” review and the first time I listened, I was doubtful I could warm to it, and hey, not only do I love this band even more intensely than I did before, but it’s pushed my limits, broadened my horizons and contributed to the ever-evolving way I think and try to be. For the better.

 

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