September 12, 1995 - One Hot Minute

On the same day as my last release and a long four years since their last album "Blood Sugar Sex Magik", the Red Hot Chili Peppers released their sixth album "One Hot Minute" on September 12, 1995. Their previous album was a massive international success and it turned RHCP into a global sensation and arguably the biggest rock band at the time. However, guitarist John Frusciante found all this newfound fame annoying and exhausting and he became very upset that he couldn't go anywhere without being recognized. Midway through the tour for "Blood Sugar Sex Magik", Frusciante couldn't take it anymore and quit the band. This is an unfortunate development for the Chili Peppers; Frusciante seemed like the perfect guitarist for them and he played some great stuff on that last album. After a lengthy search for a replacement, RHCP decided on Dave Navarro (formerly of Jane's Addiction) as their new guitarist. Singer Anthony Kiedis, after being sober for five years, relapsed and returned to using both cocaine and heroin and Navarro was a big drug user as well. This meant that the recording process was much slower and this contributed to the long gap between albums. With Frusciante no longer with the band the music shifts to a less melodic and darker style. That's a lot going on! Let's see what the new RHCP is all about!

The album kicks off with one of it's four singles, "Warped" and Kiedis sings in a distorted, droning style that is quite unlike their previous stuff and in my opinion not very exciting. The music is pretty repetitive for the most part and I'm surprised this was the first single off the album. There's a slower, more melodic finish to the song but I thought this was a big step down from the last album and Frusciante is definitely missed. The next song "Aeroplane" was the most popular single and it has a much catchier and radio-friendly chorus. Flea unleashes some wicked bass in the verse and this is definitely more like the RHCP I like and that we've become accustomed to. Kiedis sings nicely overtop in the verse and chorus and Navarro plays some guitar that's basically rhythm guitar while Flea takes the lead with his awesome bass playing. Navarro does play a short guitar solo that sounds pretty good and we hear a bunch of kids chanting "it's my aeroplane" as the song eventually fades out and Chad Smith plays a nice little fill to end it. Track 3 is the longest song in the album at 6:34 and it's called "Deep Kick". Kiedis talks for a bit to start this song and it seems like a long rambling about being adventurous and curious teens. This lasts almost two minutes before they finally snap into a fast-paced, more typical RHCP riff with some cool bass and guitar, and Kiedis starting off the verse with a couple long "ohhhhhhh shit!"s. This fast riff is pretty solid and Navarro plays some pretty good guitar but towards the end they switch to a slower riff and this new verse is an odd one with Kiedis not sounding like his usual self and I'm not a big fan of it. Up next is another single titled "My Friends" and it's an acoustic song with Kiedis singing softly to match the mood. Despite the lack of headbanging, they do a solid job on this song and Navarro plays a couple electric guitar parts that nicely spice things up a bit. Track 5 is "Coffee Shop" and it's a nice funky headbanger driven by some nice bass by Flea. Chad Smith plays some cool percussion as well and the guitar and vocals are solid, but this is a Flea song sl the way. It even ends with a bass solo and boy does Flea deliver with some pretty amazing slapping of the bass. Probably my favourite song so far! The next song is a short one called "Pea" and it's just Flea the whole song! He plays a simple bass riff and sings in a high, bit of a weird voice about how size doesn't matter. It is funny to hear him sing "fuck you asshole, you homophobic redneck DICK". Track 7 is "One Big Mob" and it starts off with a fast-paced funk riff that sounds pretty good, though I'm not a fan of all the backing vocals on this one. After a bit the mood shifts to slow and psychedelic in a very progressive and unusual turn for RHCP. We wallow in this psychedelic riff for a bit and then they hit reset and we start the song from the beginning again. They end the song with a nice guitar solo from Navarro and Smith plays some nice drums as well. Up next is "Walkabout" and it's a groovy and funky song with some cool guitar and bass and Kiedis sings in a low voice that sounds pretty good as well. They don't really stray from this main riff, but it's still a cool little jam. Track 9 is "Tearjerker" and like the name suggests, it's a slow and sappier song. Navarro plays some decent guitar, but this is not what I want from RHCP. The chorus is a little better but this is definitely one of the lesser ones for me. The next song is the title track "One Hot Minute" and it's a groovy song with some nice bass by Flea and some solid guitar as well. Kiedis sings long notes in the verse and then sings a faster chorus. After a couple goes through the song lulls for a little bit in a slow section and then they return for a final chorus before also closing out the song in a pretty unexciting way. Track 11 is "Falling Into Grace" and Flea plays a bass riff that is distorted and weird and sounds pretty interesting to drive things along. This one doesn't sound like a typical RHCP song, but I like the change and Navarro adds some interesting talkbox guitar as well, including a cool solo. Up next is "Shallow Be Thy Game" and it's a much more typical RHCP song with some upbeat guitar, some nice bass and Kiedis singing quickly along. It's a solid song with another cool guitar solo by Navarro. The final song on the album is "Transcending" and it's a lighter song for the first few minutes but still with some solid guitar and bass. They nicely shift midway through to a distorted and much louder version of the riff that sounds pretty good.

That is the end of "One Hot Minute" and I thought it was a decent, but not great album. Dave Navarro plays some interesting and cool stuff on this album, but it's dramatically different than John Frusciante's guitar style and I don't like it as much. It's a huge step down from their last album for sure, but it is still decent, just different. I do like it better than "Freaky Styley", but I don't think it's as good as their self-titled debut so 5th out 6 is where it falls in. Where will Red Hot Chili Peppers go from here? I'll be there to find out!