Two old bastards reassess the Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Blood Sugar Sex Magik" (funk, instrumental)

**Janszoon** · 04-20-2009, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Urban Hatemonger

Still shit

Make that 4 old bastards

Succinct review.

Urban Hat€monger ? · 04-20-2009, 06:25 PM

It comes right from the heart man

Antonio · 04-20-2009, 06:37 PM

good review Mr. Dave, especially how you went in depth with each song

mr dave · 04-20-2009, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janszoon

Thanks for writing that kick ass review Mr Dave. I was actually a little surprised that you were so enthusiastic about the album because I was under the impression that you felt the same way about it that I do. Nevertheless it was great to read and works as a great counterbalance to mine.

you and me both

. i was actually quite hesitant to fire up the disc again after so long. my written views on the album 'had' changed over the last few years but i was basing it on what i remembered as compared to what they were in the moment. i kept thinking that after being turned off by Californication that those influences coming up on BSSM would in turn seem far more negative to my ears. in actuality the growth and change towards Californication style pop were still apparent but it wasn't nearly as bad as i had convinced myself over the last few years - it's no black album haha.

overall i'm really happy to have gone back and surprised myself with what i heard. i knew we would be coming from different directions on this album based on your initial views from back in the day but i can't call this album anything less than really good. it IS a departure from their old happy go lucky dirty funk days but very few of those departures seem forced. if anything it's when they try to hold onto their past the most that they sounded the worse.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janszoon

I think you've just hit upon my number one complaint about Blood Sugar Sex Magik: Frusciante. If you read up about the recording sessions for Mother's Milk, you hear a lot about how unhappy Frusciante is with the guitar style on that album because the producer kept forcing him to play heavier. You know what? The producer was right. He played so much better on a tighter leash and the second he had more freedom he started in with this cheeseball classic rock stuff that seems to be a driving force behind much of BSSM. It's weird, I remember reading an interview with Flea when One Hot Minute came out about how Dave Navarro had such a big influence on their sound on that album because he brought in a bunch of classic rock influence that until then they had thought of as super-cheesy, but really it seems like it was Frusciante who did that.

yes an no. if anything i find mother's milk has MORE of a classic rock kind of feel than BSSM, especially on the rhythm side of things. there's very little on MM that sounds like they just recorded a jam, or an unpolished song. there's more metal edge to his tone on MM as well, half the time the guitar sounds forced.

keep in mind frusciante was still very much a kid in those days. i don't think many (if any) of us can really grasp the overwhelming pressure he must have felt. he was like 21 and playing with his idols and touring the world... intense.

while his improvised lead style at the time was still relatively generic and very much drawn from hendrix. his first solo album recorded around the same time shows that he was really into thick lush arrangements of sound. whether it's a matter of him being too shy to bring it up to the band, or the rest of the band being too full of themselves to listen to the kid is really impossible to say. a track like 'breaking the girl' does showcase his overall influence though, it's true that it doesn't sound like a chili peppers tune, and doesn't at all fit with anything they've done prior but it's still a very well crafted song.

personally i find frusciante's rhythm work on this album is where his style really comes through. as for the whole classic rock thing, i remember a similar interview with flea (was it from the magazine that he and navarro were kissing on the cover?). either way, it's not that one is more classic rock than the other so much as hendrix vs led zep.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janszoon

Since a couple people seemed so shocked that I'd describe "The Righteous and the Wicked" as filler I figure I'll address your comments about it specifically. So this listen was the first time you noticed its similarity to "Mellowship Slinky in B Major"? That's kind of surprising to me because it was the first thing that jumped out at me when I listened to it. And I have to disagree with your description of it as a non-jam tune. I have no idea what the writing process what like for the song but it sounds very much like a half-assed jam to me. That, in a nutshell, is what I don't like about it. Can someone explain to me what exactly it is that they like about this song? Because when I listen to it I hear a weak performance from everyone, and I find Chad Smith's drumming especially bland.

yeah i don't know how many times i played along to both songs and never noticed the similarities haha. then again i always had a hard time figuring out what to play in the R&tW break as it was multi-tracked and the tab had high and low lines printed but no easy way to make it sound right by yourself haha.

the reason i don't think it's a half assed tune is the coherency in the vocals, there's no random wordplay, musically it might be a little on the rough side but the chorus is also very well constructed. i really like the long drawn out backing vocals under keidis' delivery of the track's hook. for me this track is not just a highlight of the album but a highlight from the often overlooked socio-political side of the peppers early career.

mr dave · 04-20-2009, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Antonio

good review Mr. Dave, especially how you went in depth with each song

thanks man, i just popped it on last night and started typing. i never noticed those 72 minutes going by when i was growing up and i didn't notice the time going by last night either haha. mind you this time around i did take a smoke break during 'naked in the rain' haha

Antonio · 04-21-2009, 12:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr dave

thanks man, i just popped it on last night and started typing. i never noticed those 72 minutes going by when i was growing up and i didn't notice the time going by last night either haha. mind you this time around i did take a smoke break during 'naked in the rain' haha

yeah, that's how i do my album reviews, which you can see in my album review thread

(shameless self promotion much?)

Molecules · 04-21-2009, 07:45 AM

the Chilis should just stop kidding themselves and re-record 'Skinny Sweaty Man' as the lead single and title track for their next album

Violent & Funky · 04-23-2009, 02:10 AM

Janszoon, have you heard any of the b-sides for BSSM?

mr dave · 04-23-2009, 03:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Molecules

the Chilis should just stop kidding themselves and re-record 'Skinny Sweaty Man' as the lead single and title track for their next album

nah dude, 30 dirty birds.... TOTALLY 30 dirty birds hahaha

Dr_Rez · 04-23-2009, 11:40 PM

I'd have to go with green haven era. Violent and Funky has the idea with the self titled. Kudos man.

04-20-2009, 06:25 PM	#32 (permalink)
Urban Hat€monger ? The Sexual Intellectual Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Somewhere cooler than you Posts: 18,605	It comes right from the heart man __________________ Urb's RYM Stuff Most people sell their soul to the devil, but the devil sells his soul to Nick Cave.

04-21-2009, 07:45 AM	#37 (permalink)
Molecules daddy don't Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: the Wastes Posts: 2,577	the Chilis should just stop kidding themselves and re-record 'Skinny Sweaty Man' as the lead single and title track for their next album __________________ [SIZE="1"]Eff em tumble her

04-23-2009, 11:40 PM	#40 (permalink)
Dr_Rez Registered Jimmy Rustler Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: USA Posts: 5,360	I'd have to go with green haven era. Violent and Funky has the idea with the self titled. Kudos man. __________________ Best chance of losing virginity is in prison crew Always Checks Credentials Crew nba > nfl crew Shave one of my legs to pretend its a girl in my bed crew

04-23-2009, 02:10 AM	#38 (permalink)
Violent & Funky FUNky Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Midland, MI Posts: 2,482	Janszoon, have you heard any of the b-sides for BSSM?