September 24, 1991 - Blood Sugar Sex Magik

We have a double release day! Two years after "Mother's Milk" and on the same day as the legendary "Nevermind", another very famous album was released when Red Hot Chili Peppers released their fifth album "Blood Sugar Sex Magik" on September 24, 1991. This album would end up reaching #3 on the charts and it propelled the Chili Peppers from funk rock band to international rock superstars. It also happens to be the first time RHCP have kept the same line-up for two albums in a row, but the style has shifted from their heavier, funkier past to a more commercially accessible and melodic style of music and was produced by the famous Rick Rubin. Let's check out the latest from Red Hot Chili Peppers!

The album kicks off with "The Power Of Equality" and John Frusciante plays a light and catchy guitar riff while Flea keeps the pace with a cool bass riff as usual. Anthony Kiedis says "hey batter batter" several times before a big "SWING" signals a shift to a fast sung, almost rapping verse. Aside from the more accessible guitar this music is still pretty old school RHCP and Flea and Kiedis both sound good. Things flow right into the chorus where Kiedis sings slower but still sounds good singing overtop some more involved and cool guitar by Frusciante. After another verse and chorus Flea switches a distorted bass that sounds pretty cool and plays a sweet short bass solo! Flea is an awesome bassist and I love that they throw him some solo time before playing another couple verses and choruses to finish things off. Up next is "If You Have To Ask" and Frusciante plays another pretty light guitar riff that sounds a little funky, Chad Smith plays a solos drum beat and Flea plays some low bass as Kiedis begins to sing a low verse overtop. His low voice is not as energetic as usual but he still sounds alright leading this interesting verse. Flea sings the name of the song to start the chorus and he does so in a very high almost girl-y tone before Kiedis comes in to nicely sing the next few lines. It's a strange chorus but in a good way; I like Kiedis's vocals and Flea continues to play some great bass. After another verse and chorus they slowly segue into a guitar solo and Frusciante plays slowly, but epicly as he delivers a long, slow solo that pretty much takes us to the end of the song. Track 3 is one of the very succesful singles off this album, a slower and sappier song called "Breaking The Girl". Frusciante plays acoustic guitar in this one, but he is giving it to that acoustic as things sound pretty good despite the mood being softer. Flea plays a tamer bass riff and Kiedis begins to sing a smooth verse. Despite all his crazy vocals, Kiedis is actually a good singer when he wants to be and this is one of the songs where he established himself as a solid lead vocalist. Smith's drums pick up midway through the verse as he sneaks in some nice drum fills and we also hear some Mellotron(!) that is definitely unexpected from RHCP but they use it nicely to just add another touch to the soft music. The verse flows right into the chorus as the drums and Mellotron continue and Kiedis nicely sings low and high in this chorus as they maintain a light but pretty cool atmosphere. After another verse and chorus they move into a new part that has every member of the band playing some kind of percussion instrument and it actually sounds pretty cool I think! More good surprises from RHCP in my opinion and they segue nicely back into the main riff for a final chorus and then jam things out until eventually the song fades to a close. The next song is "Funky Monks" and true to it's title this song has a slow, funky beat to it as Smith and Flea combine for a great rhythm section and Frusciante leads the way with a nice funky guitar riff. Kiedis is back to singing in his more playful and normal voice as he sings along to the rhythm in the verse and he hits a pretty high note to start off the chorus before continuing to rap slowly along. I like that they still have some nods to their past despite most of the songs being much more commercial and this definitely sounds like it could've been a Hillel Slovak-era song. After another verse and chorus Frusciante whips out a pretty sweet guitar solo where he actually does a bit of shredding and showing off and it sounds great! They play a final verse and chorus and then the music just continues to jam out the funky main riff for a while longer until the song finally ends. Track 5 would end up being one of RHCP's most famous songs, the infectiously catchy "Suck My Kiss". Kiedis opens the song by saying "well I'm sailin' yeah" as Flea and Frusciante come in with some heavy bass and guitar that is bouncing and sounds pretty sweet. It's a very catchy main riff and Kiedis raps quickly overtop and although his lyrics can be difficult to hear sometimes he is doing a great job spitting out some fast vocals. The chorus is very catchy as well as Kiedis continues to lead the way, Flea continues to play some great bass, Smith's drums are hitting hard and sounding good and Frusciante adds some nice guitar to complete this catchy chorus that nicely ends with Kiedis singing "your mouth was made to suck my kiss" before they kick into the main riff again. Another verse and chorus later it's solo time and Frusicante delivers a pretty epic solo that perfectly fits the upbeat mood of the song and towards the end has some pretty fast guitar that sounds pretty good. The solo leads perfectly back into the main riff and after a final verse and chorus they end the song quickly, polishing off this no-brainer of a single that was still pretty hard rock! Up next is "I Could Have Lied" and it's much slower and softer than the last track as Frusciante opens it by himself on acoustic guitar, playing a riff that sounds pretty sad. Kiedis sings very softly overtop and once again shows that when he's not being a partying frontman Anthony actually has a nice singing voice as well. Smith and Flea do eventually join in but the rhythm section is very light and simple on this one. Frusciante's acoustic becomes a little louder in the chorus as Kiedis continues to nicely serenade us and after another verse and chorus John plays a slow electric guitar solo overtop the main riff. It's nothing too special but it sounds fairly epic and fits the mood of the song well. They play a final verse and regular chorus before Frusciante plays another slow solo overtop as they jam out the chorus a couple more times to finish off this song that was definitely slower but still decent. We're back to a more upbeat rock style on track 7 with "Mellowship Slinky In B Major" and after a bit of a heavy opening they break into the main riff with Frusciante playing some light but cool guitar and Flea keeping the pace with some excellent bass; it's normally the guitar that takes the spotlight while the bass is in the background but I love when

Flea gets a chance to take center stage because he is such a great bassist. Kiedis sings in his more usual laid back tone, almost rapping this funky verse that is a bit of a throwback to their earlier stuff. The music nicely flows right into the chorus as Kiedis switches to a singing voice and then they hit reset by returning to the heavy opening part. After another verse and chorus there's no solo, but there is a short funky instrumental part that has Flea showing off his talents nicely on bass. They play a final verse and chorus before ending the song as it began with one last heavy part. The next song is called "The Righteous & The Wicked" and Flea lays down a catchy bass riff before Frusciante comes in with some heavily distorted guitars that sound pretty metal! Once they start the verse John switches to a lighter, more typical guitar tone that still sounds good but in a completely different way and it's interesting that the two wildly different guitar parts both fit nicely overtop the same rhythm section. Kiedis leads the way with another nice almost rapping verse and the heavier guitar returns as they move into the chorus. Flea actually sings a few lines of backing vocals in the chorus while Kiedis raps overtop of him and although he's not the best singer I do like the two vocalists at once. They segue nicely back to the verse and after another chorus Flea and Frusciante sync up for the solo as they both harmoniously play a cool and heavy part. A final verse and chorus predictably finishes this one off and at the end of the song you hear someone say "crank it" and then count in the next song, another massively popular single titled "Give It Away". And crank it you should as this song is an undeniably catchy headbanger with Smith playing some loud and epic drums, Frusciante leading the way with some catchy guitar and of course Flea keeping the bouncing pace on bass. Kiedis sings very quickly in this song and I love his rapid fire delivery as he sings with an attitude and swagger that is just perfect for this funk-rock style. The chorus has Kiedis repeating the name of the song a lot, but somehow it doesn't get old as Anthony sounds great rolling each "giveitaway" quickly off his tongue. They continue to loudly and nicely jam through another verse and chorus before Frusciante plays a short guitar solo that is slow and pretty distorted. Another verse and chorus later it's time for solo #2 and once again John's guitar is distorted and he plays a shorter, but also faster solo than before that sounds pretty cool. They play a final verse and chorus and Kiedis continues to sing the name of the song as things seem to be coming to a close, but the song goes on for another minute with Frusciante adding some more cool guitar to the mix and Smith finally ending the song on a nice epic drum fill. Up next is the title track "Blood Sugar Sex Magik" and Smith starts it off by himself with a nice drum beat before Frusciante plays a slow guitar riff to match. Flea's bass arrives for the start of the verse as Kiedis sings in a very low voice. Anthony switches to his more typical vocal style in the chorus as he nicely sings overtop a solid rock guitar riff. They slow it down for another verse and after another chorus Frusciante plays short guitar part that isn't a solo but fits the mood nicely. It flows right into another chorus and after another short guitar part they jam out the chorus a few more times while John plays some cool guitar overtop. The next song "Under The Bridge" is much slower and sappier than your typical RHCP song, but it would wind up being arguably their most famous song at this point. Frusciante opens the song by himself with some slow but pretty cool guitar and Kiedis comes in singing in a light and almost sad voice that sounds really nice with John's guitar. Smith eventually adds a light drum beat as John and Anthony continue to carry the song with some nice melodic guitar and some smooth and silky vocals respectively. Flea finally joins in at the chorus as Kiedis gets a little louder singing "I don't ever wanna feel like I did that day" and all the lyrics of this song are actually about Kiedis doing heroin under a bridge somewhere in L.A. Flea sticks around as they play another nice slow verse and after another chorus things start to pick up a bit as Smith's loud drum fill signals a shift. We hear a chorus of people singing in the background as Kiedis sings a new verse and the choir of people sound pretty epic along with the louder music and everything sounds pretty emotional. This loud part comes to an end and Kiedis and Smith both stop playing as Flea and Frusciante finish the song off with a pretty cool little outro to this instant classic. Track 12 is called "Naked In The Rain" and we're back to the rockin' style of music as Flea lays down another cool bass riff and Frusciante plays some offbeat and cool guitar. Kiedis sings nicely overtop as they play a couple verses before Kiedis finally belts out the name of the song and they move to the chorus. Kiedis sings a short chorus that's very similar to the verse, so it's an easy segue as they move back to the verse. Another verse and chorus later it's solo time, but it's for Flea! He plays an amazing bass solo that sounds just fantastic and he adds such an awesome piece to every song with his top-notch bass playing. They play a couple choruses after the bass solo, and then it's John's turn! He plays a pretty sweet guitar solo as well and it takes us right to the end of another pretty solid song. Up next is the oddly named "Apache Rose Peacock" and Frusciante leads the way with a catchy guitar riff and Flea and Smith form a cool rhythm section to match and Kiedis sings quickly overtop. The verse flows nicely into the chorus as Kiedis sings slower and softer and Frusciante switches to a lighter guitar riff and this song is very smooth in it's sound and it's transitions. Another verse and chorus later they move into a new part that has some uninspiring "dadadada" singing but also has Flea playing some nice trumpet! The singing is short-lived thankfully, and also thankfully the trumpet remains for the rest of the song. I think it sounds good and adds another cool effect as they play a final verse and a couple choruses before nicely ending the song with a bit of a heavier riff. Track 14 is "The Greeting Song" and Frusciante plays a cool fast guitar riff and Flea and Smith fall in with some fast stuff of their own. Kiedis sings quickly along to match the pace in the verse but things slow down in the short chorus, then it's back to the fast-paced main riff. After another verse and chorus Flea sets the stage nicely for a short guitar solo that also has Smith playing some solid drum fills. They finish off this shorter song with a couple choruses then it's right into "My Lovely Man" with Frusciante and Flea playing a similarly slow but solid riff as Kiedis holds lots of long notes in this verse. They play a couple verses before switching to the chorus where things are much quieter and Frusciante plays a much lighter guitar. After another verse they play the chorus riff once with no singing, then a regular chorus before it's solo time for Frusciante. He plays a pretty sweet solo in this one and it leads right into a final verse and chorus before Feusciante drops out and the rest of the guys lightly jam out the chorus a few too many times for me until it finally comes to a close. Track 16 is the longest on the album at 8:16 and it's called "Sir Psycho Sexy", a theoretical person Kiedis made up who could get any woman he wanted. Flea laws down a nice dirty bass line and Frusciante plays some cool offbeat guitar while Kiedis sings about this "freak of nature" Sir Psycho Sexy. The lyrics are very sexual and just what you'd expect from a younger RHCP, showing that some of their comedic aspects have survived to this album. In the chorus Flea sings "sir psycho, sir psycho yeah!" and Kiedis sings in a nice deep voice for his alter ego's lines in this funny and solid chorus. They jam through a few more verses and choruses before we hear an instrumental break that has some xylophone; an odd choice for RHCP but I think it sounds pretty good! After a few more verses they shift to a softer new riff and this riff continues for several minutes until the song uneventfully comes to and end. The final song on this long album is a short cover titled "They're Red Hot", originally by blues musician Robert Johnson. This short song doesn't sound very blues-y though as it is super sped up with Frusicante playing some quick guitar and Kiedis singing quickly overtop. It's an unusual way to end this album, but I like whatever this is that is somehow light and funny but also pretty fast!

That is the end of "Blood Sugar Sex Magik" and I thought it was a pretty sweet album. It has 17 songs and lasts about 75 minutes, but every song is cool in it's own way and I never thought that it was dragging at any point. Even when Red Hot Chili Peppers decided to slow it down they did a pretty great job, and when they were playing their usual funk rock style they sounded even greater with "Suck My Kiss" and "Give It Away" being two great examples. It's no wonder that this would be the album to really make RHCP since it's so catchy and accessible. I think it's easily their best album, surpassing "Mother's Milk" by a good margin and the Red Hot Chili Peppers are now a mega rock band. How will that effect them going forward? I'll be here to find out!