Blood Sugar Sex Magik (180 Gram Vinyl) (2 Lp's) / Red Hot Chilli Peppers

Red Hot Chili Peppers: Anthony Kiedis (vocals); John Frusciante (guitar); Flea (bass); Chad Smith (drums). Additional personnel includes: Brendan O'Brien (Melltron); Pete Weiss (Jew's harp); Gail Frusciante (background vocals). The Red Hot Chili Peppers' best album, Blood Sugar Sex Magik benefits immensely from Rick Rubin's production -- John Frusciante's guitar is less overpoweringly noisy, leaving room for differing textures and clearer lines, while the band overall is more focused and less indulgent, even if some of the grooves drag on too long. Lyrically, Anthony Kiedis is as preoccupied with sex as ever, whether invoking it as his muse, begging for it, or boasting in great detail about his prowess, best showcased on the infectiously funky singles "Give It Away" and "Suck My Kiss." However, he tempers his testosterone with a more sensitive side, writing about the emotional side of failed relationships ("Breaking the Girl," "I Could Have Lied"), his drug addictions ("Under the Bridge" and an elegy for Hillel Slovak, "My Lovely Man"), and some hippie-ish calls for a peaceful utopia. Three of those last four songs (excluding "My Lovely Man") mark the band's first consistent embrace of lilting acoustic balladry, and while it's not what Kiedis does best as a vocalist, these are some of the album's finest moments, varying and expanding the group's musical and emotional range. Frusciante departed after the supporting tour, leaving Blood Sugar Sex Magik as probably the best album the Chili Peppers will ever make. [Blood Sugar was re-released on LP in 2011.] ~ Steve Huey

Vinyl

1. The Power of Equality
2. Blood Sugar Sex Magik
3. Under the Bridge
4. Naked in the Rain
5. Apache Rose Peacock
6. The Greeting Song
7. My Lovely MAn
8. Sir Psycho Sexy
9. They're Red Hot
10. If You Have To Ask
11. Breaking the Girl
12. Funky Monks
13. Suck My Kiss
14. I Could Have Lie
15. Mellowship Slinky in B Major
16. The Righteous & The Wicked
17. Give It Away