ewe2
23-02-2006, 06:01 AM
He’s a freak of nature
But we love him so
He’s a freak of nature
But we let him go -- Sir Psycho Sexy
The Peppers have never had trouble emulating a freak of nature, but this album is no freak, it's definitely a force. Rick Rubin did something magical with the production and more crucially got an unparallelled performance, capturing a freshness and spontaneity in every department. The powerful funk/rap feel comes from Rubin's masterful stripping-down of the Peppers sound of the time, essentially rebuilding it from the bottom up, particularly in Flea's style which is deliberately restrained. John Frusciante has never sounded better, either. The biggest surprise is how coherent this 17 song collection is: it flows well, and although you could call one or two out, in context every song stands up.
The songs explore many themes, injustice, loss, sexual and spiritual self-discovery, the pain of being human. The overwhelming immediacy and life of it is so astonishing 16 years later as I write this. One pub in Melbourne used to play it every day during the day for months and noone got tired of it. Bands everywhere were copping the licks; if I were to draw a map of influences in the '90s this album and the Pixies albums before it would stand at the top of the chart.
Power of Equality rips into an unrelenting rap, letting you off at the irresistably funky-ass If You Have To Ask. The first offset tune is Breaking The Girl next, a stark self-assessment that keeps it real, then back into the groove with Funky Monks and Suck My Kiss, the latter a no-holds-barred sexual anthem. I Could Have Lied takes it down a notch again, another self-reappraisal that is touchingly honest. Mellowship Slinky in B Major wears its Clinton influence on its sleeve with a delightful deceptively simple Flea groove. I love the toy piano on this! The Righteous And The Wicked is power funk pure and simple, Give It Away cranks it in a funk-rap that bops along to an inspired jews-harp and the title track Blood Sugar Sex Magik descends in what I regard as the spiritual father of most Rage Against The Machine's licks but is far more elemental. You've been under a rock if you've never heard Under The Bridge, so I'll move on to the hippy anthem Naked In The Rain and the gorgeously obscene Apache Rose Peacock. The Greeting Song is a mad loopy hop, a perfect base for Fruisciante's idiosyncratic guitar that recalls earlier material, and so too does My Lovely Man an elegy for former guitarist Hillel Slovak. Our last hurrah is Sir Psycho Sexy which gets back to Bootsy and a hilarious level of sexual frankness to boot. They're Red Hot is a wonderfully frenetic Robert Johnson cover that Anthony goofs up and then suddenly we're on the side of the road and it's all over.
You've just been on the ride that is Blood Sugar Sex Magik. An uncanny mix of funk, rap, metal, and grunge, and it will never age. Think of it as a day in the life on Los Angeles turf. Grab your homies and crank it.
But we love him so
He’s a freak of nature
But we let him go -- Sir Psycho Sexy
The Peppers have never had trouble emulating a freak of nature, but this album is no freak, it's definitely a force. Rick Rubin did something magical with the production and more crucially got an unparallelled performance, capturing a freshness and spontaneity in every department. The powerful funk/rap feel comes from Rubin's masterful stripping-down of the Peppers sound of the time, essentially rebuilding it from the bottom up, particularly in Flea's style which is deliberately restrained. John Frusciante has never sounded better, either. The biggest surprise is how coherent this 17 song collection is: it flows well, and although you could call one or two out, in context every song stands up.
The songs explore many themes, injustice, loss, sexual and spiritual self-discovery, the pain of being human. The overwhelming immediacy and life of it is so astonishing 16 years later as I write this. One pub in Melbourne used to play it every day during the day for months and noone got tired of it. Bands everywhere were copping the licks; if I were to draw a map of influences in the '90s this album and the Pixies albums before it would stand at the top of the chart.
Power of Equality rips into an unrelenting rap, letting you off at the irresistably funky-ass If You Have To Ask. The first offset tune is Breaking The Girl next, a stark self-assessment that keeps it real, then back into the groove with Funky Monks and Suck My Kiss, the latter a no-holds-barred sexual anthem. I Could Have Lied takes it down a notch again, another self-reappraisal that is touchingly honest. Mellowship Slinky in B Major wears its Clinton influence on its sleeve with a delightful deceptively simple Flea groove. I love the toy piano on this! The Righteous And The Wicked is power funk pure and simple, Give It Away cranks it in a funk-rap that bops along to an inspired jews-harp and the title track Blood Sugar Sex Magik descends in what I regard as the spiritual father of most Rage Against The Machine's licks but is far more elemental. You've been under a rock if you've never heard Under The Bridge, so I'll move on to the hippy anthem Naked In The Rain and the gorgeously obscene Apache Rose Peacock. The Greeting Song is a mad loopy hop, a perfect base for Fruisciante's idiosyncratic guitar that recalls earlier material, and so too does My Lovely Man an elegy for former guitarist Hillel Slovak. Our last hurrah is Sir Psycho Sexy which gets back to Bootsy and a hilarious level of sexual frankness to boot. They're Red Hot is a wonderfully frenetic Robert Johnson cover that Anthony goofs up and then suddenly we're on the side of the road and it's all over.
You've just been on the ride that is Blood Sugar Sex Magik. An uncanny mix of funk, rap, metal, and grunge, and it will never age. Think of it as a day in the life on Los Angeles turf. Grab your homies and crank it.