Magikal (Blood Sugar Sex Magik - Red Hot Chili Peppers)

Member Name: neinel

Product:	Blood Sugar Sex Magik - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Date:	18/12/00 (72 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Chili Peppers at their best, a landmark album of the 90's, musically perfect

Disadvantages: N/A

Despite dominating the 80's funk scene in LA and having 3 fairly successful albums under their belt, the Chilis just couldn't seem to break on to the mainstream music scene. Then, after the devastation of their original guitarist's (Hillel Slovak) death, they recruited John Frusciante and released "Mother's Milk". It was to be their most successful album to date and they followed it up with their commercial breakthrough "Blood Sugar Sex Magik".

Whilst Blood Sugar Sex Magik is filled with the brand of psychedelic funk the Chilis made their own during the 80's, it is way more sophisticated than any of their previous efforts. If you listen to any of their earlier albums you will notice that their style is much rawer and, in my view, less appealing than the brilliance of Blood Sugar Sex Magik.

To this day, the Chilis have not forgotten their roots ("Get On Top" from Californication could be implemented seamlessly on their self-titled debut album) but Blood Sugar Sex Magik marked their moving away from hard hitting rap/funk they were so accustomed to and settling in the climes of powerful, emotional and groovy melodies that Blood Sugar Sex Magik is so awash with.

The album is more commercial than any of their previous efforts but this is the rare exception in that going commercial was the best the Chilis could have done (unlike Offspring and Green Day). I don't believe it was a conscious decision (unlike the aforementioned bands), just that the style the band was evolving to was more commercially accessible. The Album is full of modern classics; rarely have I ever found so many brilliant tracks on one album.

The haunting Spanish feel of "Breaking the Girl", the utter emotion of "Under the Bridge", the hidden sadness of "My Lovely Man"; there's something for everyone on this album. From a musician's perspective, Blood Sugar Sex Magik is a master
piece. The flawless talents of Flea and John Frusciante leave you wondering how such feats are possible on their respective instruments. Flea is constantly heralded as the best bassist to ever pick up the instrument and, although Frusciante receives less critical acclaim, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone that can match his lightning fast guitar work and heaven sent talent for songwriting.

Anthony Kiedis is one of the most versatile vocalists of modern times. He has no single style and this is one of the more significant reasons behind my love of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Their sound on Blood Sugar Sex Magik is so unique and ground breaking that I'd struggle to compare it directly with anything else ever recorded (not something you can say lightly these days). They can be obscene ("Apache Rose Peacock") at times but the great thing is that nothing on the whole album is contrived or put on to look cool. The band genuinely does have style and their mutual songwriting partnership is the key behind their success.

Blood Sugar Sex Magik is, I believe, the Chili Peppers in their prime. It captures the time in which it was written excellently. The band doesn’t write like this anymore and never will again. This album merges the hard-hitting funk of their previous four albums and the individual rock they have since moved on to. It will appeal to people of many different musical tastes and is, without a doubt, one of the best albums of the 1990's.

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