MANDATORY LISTENING: Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Release Date: September 24, 1991
Label: Warner Records
A Classic Album Review by Zack Holden
Everyone has an album that completely revolutionizes their musical perspective. For me, that album was Blood Sugar Sex Magik. The perfect combination of punk, rock, and funk, pulled from a motley list of influences including Jimi Hendrix, Gang of Four, and Parliament-Funkadelic, harkened back to the classic rock that I grew up on while simultaneously incorporating an intensity previously unbeknownst to me. Frusciante’s powerful guitar. Flea’s popping bass. Anthony Kiedis’s wailing vocals. Chad Smith’s pounding percussion. It all melded so seamlessly together into this barrage of testosterone, euphoria, lust, grief, and pure Red Hot Chili Peppers madness.
I didn’t even listen to the entire album the first time I heard it; I didn’t need to. I was hooked from the moment I heard the intro to “Power of Equality”. Four years later, after having explored much of the Chili Peppers’ lengthy, serpentine discography, I read Scar Tissue, Anthony Kiedis’s memoirs, and arrived at the following two conclusions: 1) It is a miracle that Kiedis remembers any of the escapades that he chronicled in the book, and 2) Blood Sugar Sex Magik is not only one of the defining albums of ‘90s alternative rock, but also one of the greatest of all time. Yes, I am a little biased, and yes, peanut gallery, I have heard Nirvana’s Nevermind. Just bear with me.
Influenced by the disco, drugs, and club scene that surrounded Kiedis as a kid (he was going to LA clubs with his dad when he was only twelve), the Red Hot Chili Peppers self-titled debut album was pure funk completely discordant from the sound that most people attribute to them. This same style continued to their sophomore album, Freaky Styley, and parts of The Uplift Mofo Party Plan, the latter starting to incorporate more punk influence (see: “Backwoods” and “Fight Like a Brave”). With their fourth album, Mother’s Milk, came a major change to the group’s lineup and, in turn, a major change to their sound. With the unfortunate death of guitarist Hillel Slovak and consequent departure of drummer Jack Irons, John Frusciante and Chad Smith entered the group.
From Left to Right: John Frusciante, Flea, Anthony Kiedis, Chad Smith (PC: LA Weekly)
The new loud and rough, yet simultaneously sophisticated, guitar and intricate drumming became two defining elements of the Chili Peppers’ music, and after working out all of the kinks of this new arrangement on the nearly equally impressive Mother’s Milk, they were ready to hit their stride with Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Recorded at the Mansion in Laurel Canyon, the four members holed themselves up for a month with music sensei Rick Rubin and eliminated all distractions (except sex, of course), basically creating the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ equivalent of Thoreau’s Walden. And just like Walden Pond, the Mansion served as the setting for a masterpiece.
It goes without saying that the most well-known song on the album (and Red Hot Chilli Peppers song of all time for that matter) is the iconic “Under the Bridge”. Instantly recognizable from the moment Frusciante hits the first note, the song may have turned into the early nineties bar anthem, but gracefully poignant and expertly written, it essentially serves as the Chili Peppers’ most enduring legacy for good reason. Kiedis wrote the poem “Under the Bridge” to express the loneliness and alienation he felt during one of his sober periods after he entered the studio to find Frusciante and Flea smoking weed together. Kiedis was originally concerned that the song was too dissimilar to the other songs on the album, yet it is the uniqueness of “Under the Bridge” that makes it one of the best on Blood Sugar Sex Magik. The raw emotion in the lyrics and accompanying vocals beautifully conveys the despair and subsequent calm that Kiedis felt as he took solace in the familiar and empathetic streets of Los Angeles, in particular remembering the bridge under which he and Hillel Slovack used to score smack and shoot up (hence the title). “My Lovely Man” is similarly moving, penned by Kiedis as a tribute to Slovack. The song geniusly honors the guitarist with a greatly riff-driven song, pairing mournful, reminiscent lyrics with lengthy, wailing guitar. These two tracks are particularly compelling in that they humanize the Chili Peppers, demonstrating that the guys who became famous for playing live shows wearing literally nothing but socks over a specific part of their anatomy have real thoughts, burdens, and responsibilities, just like everyone else.
In this way, Blood Sugar Sex Magik served as more than just the latest album by a bunch of drug-fueled twenty-somethings singing about getting laid: it was an element of cultural significance.
The rest of Blood Sugar Sex Magik is wonderfully weird rollercoaster that segways from one song to the next with ease. Starting with the politically-charged “Power of Equality”, then onto the acoustic “Breaking the Girl”, later into the underrated love letter “I Could Have Lied”, and eventually approaching the grunge-influenced “The Righteous and the Wicked”, the Chili Peppers execute literally anything and everything with the utmost precision. All four members play off each other effortlessly, with their individual talents managing to shine through in different songs. Flea’s signature bass is an integral part of the funky “Mellowship Slinky in B Major”. Chad Smith’s professional drumming leads “Give It Away”. Anthony Kiedis’s non-traditional vocals are perfect for “Apache Rose Peacock”. John Frusciante’s hall of fame worthy guitar playing hits its apex on “I Could Have Lied”. In this way, Blood Sugar Sex Magik served as more than just the latest album by a bunch of drug-fueled twenty-somethings singing about getting laid: it was an element of cultural significance. With some of the most talented musicians in the world at the helm, Blood Sugar Sex Magik combined diversified genres to create an unparalleled sound more revolutionary than anything coming out of Seattle at the time. Give Blood Sugar Sex Magik a listen, and I guarantee you’ll see that “they’re red hot.”