Blood Sugar Sex Magik

Base score: 5 stars. This was an excellently crafted and performed album that undoubtedly succeeded in its intentions. PERSONAL BIAS DEDUCTIONS: I do not enjoy the Chili Peppers' sound: –1 star The 73-minute runtime subjected me to the equivalent of two albums' worth of Chili Peppers content: –1 star I already hated the song "Suck My Kiss" and never wanted to hear it again: –1 star I already hated the song "Give It Away" and never wanted to hear it again: –1 star Oof, that's a shame. I really would have loved this album if everything about it was different.

“Blood Sugar Sex Magic” by Red Hot Chili Peppers (1991) Here is an album with a diverse range of styles, from white hip hop (which doesn’t quite rise to the level), to white funk, to hard rock, to metal. One thing can be said about Red Hot Chili Peppers: the instrumentals are consistently excellent—bass, drums, guitar are very well performed. Bass and guitar solos on “Naked in the Rain” are very good. I wish they had been extended. But the compositions are uneven. Rap lyrics seem amateurish (although “Give It Away” is better). Sex references, while ubiquitous, are exceedingly shallow, as if love making is a hobby. It seems to be in perpetual search of shock. When I was young, I was more interested in doing it than hearing about it. Mindless lust is overrated. Has its cool moments. The album, that is. 3/5

I mean it was popular at the time. But mullets were popular at one time. so was blood letting with leaches. Just because it was popular doesn't mean it was good.

Man this album sucks. It feels like something a chubby middle school kid would listen to before he puts on a fedora and goes to the school dance, where he just stands in the corner judging the kids who are having fun. Under the Bridge slaps, but the rest of this album is terrible.

I've literally wore the 1's and 0's off my cd from listening so many times.

Absolute classic. One of the best albums of the 90s

Straight up 5 stars especially coming from Mother’s Milk and their earlier stuff which was just pure chaos. This album was the true foundation for their super stardom and their future sound. Chad Smith is EXCELLENT in this album as is John Frusciante who is 20/21 recording this which is insane. Have a lot of these tracks on my main Spotify playlist. I also read that Flea didn’t use any slap bass in this album as he said too many people were copying his style at the time which is utter bollox because Naked in the Rain is all slap as is the outro of Power of Equality. Highly recommend watching Funky Monks which covers the making of this and the behind the scenes of them hanging out in an LA mansion and recording the whole album there with Rick Rubin.

A big problem with albums from the age of CD’s is that they were just too long. When with an LP you had a really limited time to fill, which meant you had to ensure that your 30-50 minutes of music was the best 30-50 minutes of music you could possibly put out. By the time the late 80’s came about, the commercial power of the labels had ensured that most pop albums were taking advantage of the longer runtime allowed by a CD to justify charging more money than for an LP. ‘You’re getting more songs for just a little more money, it’s completely worth it.’ This spilled over from pop and into the world of mainstream rock and even alternative. As such, in the same year that Nirvana brought the Alternative Nation to the mainstream, alt long-timers the Red Hot Chili Peppers released Blood Sugar Sex Magik, their breakthrough 5th album. It is an hour and 15 minutes long. The reason I’m harping on about album lengths in the early CD era is that Blood Sugar Sex Magik is a prime example of a good album that would have been even better for if it had been released just a few years earlier. I love a lot of the songs on the album, but it is as often a drag as it is a delight. Did anyone really need to hear Apache Rose Peacock, My Lovely Man, and the full 8 minute inanity of Sir Psycho Sexy? Cut track 12-16 and finish on the one two punch of Under the Bridge and They’re Red Hot and you’ve got an almost perfect album. Except… would you? Maybe I’m just a bit biased, cos I’ve been on a Springsteen and Paul Simon kick the past couple of days, but it is really noticeable that although the music is fantastic, Anthony Kiedis is the weak link by a country mile. I actually don’t mind his voice. But his lyrics, oh my god. ‘Sittin on a sack of beans, Sittin down in New Orleans, You wouldn’t believe what I’ve seen, Sitting on that sack of beans.’ ‘Oh good brother just when I thought that I had seen it all, My eyes popped out, my dick got hard’ ‘Said the girl who left me silly, She liked the looks of me and my willy’ ‘Chicken strut your butt, let’s rock’ ‘Twinkle twinkle little star, Shining down on my blue car, Drivin’ down the boulevard, She was soft and I was hard’ All of these examples are from the same song. My consolation is that Kiedis did get better when he replaced the obsession with his own penis with an obsession with California. Californiacation has a much better set of lyrics. All in all, Blood Sugar Sex Magik is not a bad album. I loved it when I was a stupid 13 year old. I still love the music as a less stupid 24 year old. But only the music.

An incomplete list of things that aged better than this album: pagers, Richard Nixon campaign buttons, Blockbuster, the crab meat you left out on the counter last night, the kid who played young Anakin. Best track: Under the Bridge

The answer to the question; what on earth is that noise on the radio? is usually the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. So this is their classic album?! I just don't get it and probably never will. Under the Bridge is a nice tune but the rapping/singing style makes me want to bang my head against a wall to make it stop. Its just not good. Or of any merit. 1/5

SEX MAGIK

An album that I've probably only previously listened to once or twice, but love several songs form it. All-timer.

This Fucking Gem

Kiedis' white boy rap only gets more cringey as the years go on, and his out of tune singing is insufferable - only thing the man can half-way do is call and response blues hollers. Way too much rhythm and way too little actual musical ideas going on here overall. Though there are some stand out tracks, but the rest of it is so tedious the stand outs are drowned out. Aged real badly/10

Funky rock. Love RHCP and this is a classic! Some real highlights on this one and after reading Scar Tissue and understanding the issues behind the scenes, it's amazing that they made it and continued to make music.

Massively surprised by this one. I've heard a lot of RHCP when I was a kid because my brother loved them. Since then I've sort of discarded them because I found the singer's voice annoying on their best known songs like Californication. But this album is actual fire. Loving the funky guitars and the mix of playful and technical details. With this less pop-oriented style the singer's voice fits way better too.

Enough stank that it bails a gorged muskox from the podium. One of my favourite all-time albums, and a feature cassette in the Tarago.

Theres like 3 fun songs buried in a 17 song mess of an album that felt like the funkiest slog possible

People, we live in a world where the band Funkadelic exists and put out many great albums. Go listen to Standing on the Verge of Getting it On instead.

Another album I know quite a few songs off of and several in rotation quite regularly but never listened start to finish so looking forward to it. The Power of Equality - SWING! - "Power of the equality" banger - if you have to ask - loving that guitar and the scream at the beginning - definitely an inspiration for fun loving criminals - "(If you have to ask) You'll never know Funky motherfuckers will not be told to go" worthy applause at the end Breaking the Girl - a sad love song - love the backing vocals Funky Monks - what is not to love and love how it is keidis doing his own "backing"/"repeating" vocals .... Dancin' down your avenue love the outro Suck My Kiss - oh yeah! - Suck my kiss, cut me my share just a banger of a song I Could Have Lied - complete change of direction, love it - stink face of a song can't believe i never heard this before "She struck me but I'm fucked up now" Mellowship Slinky in B Major - love the music and the lyrics are peak keidis "Good God, take me away now" The Righteous & the Wicked - i love the subtle background noises they left in like the whispering 1,2,3,4 at the begginning here finally some more fruiscante vocals i love their two voices together "Marvin Gaye my love, where did we go wrong?" Give It Away - not much to say on this, it is amazing and obviously one of their better known song "You do a little dance and then you drink a little water" love the "backwards" guitar sound/effect and keidis "flicking" when he says give it away in the chorus "I can't tell if I'm a kingpin or a pauper" Blood Sugar Sex Magik - can't believe i never heard this one either "Every woman has a piece of Aphrodite Copulate to create a state of sexual light Kissing her virginity, my affinity I mingle with the gods, I mingle with divinity" Under the Bridge - i love this song i have heard this so many times, album version, live, covers etc and I love every one but the best is keidis and fruiscante on a boat in the netherlands or somewhere playing this which is poetic considering the history and the future of their lives "Well, I never worry, now that is a lie" next 6 tracks except sir physcho would have been dropped if this album came out later, good songs but do dilute the album for me Naked in the Rain - good song one of the ones i like less but that could be 12 track in fatigue but shows the strength of the album Apache Rose Peacock "Said that girl who left me silly She liked the looks of me and my willy" The Greeting Song - even keidis doesn't like this one, but it is grand My Lovely Man - meh Sir Psycho Sexy - love it "Deep inside the garden of Eden Standing there with my hard on bleedin' There's a devil in my dick and some demons in my semen Good God no, that would be treason" They’re Red Hot - was not expecting that 4 - enjoyed it, will listen again. 5 - absolute belter so based on this has to be a 5

Rick Rubin – legend!

Bada mama jama california! three stars and now Imma put it on you bing bong california!

Juvenile lyrics and bratty vocal delivery result in unattractive music.

First 4 tracks are amazing. Unique guitar and bass. Pronounced bass. Great use of stereo and songs blend perfectly - seamless transition between track 1&2 Singles dont even come in till later this album rocks, surprisingly enough ive never listened it it its entirety.

real nice

Not a single miss. Rock, funk, energy, segues, chunky rhythm guitar, Flea turned up to 11, and classic raunch liberally sprinkled throughout. Could listen on repeat for at least 3 times straight. PS this is my go-to album for driving crosstown through Manhattan.

Just such a dope album

love this album.

So good.

Amazing Album

ayyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeee

Love this album, top 5 in my life

One of the good RHC Albums, Some tracks a not that cool.

Legendary

This defined so much of that era. The hits still hit as hard as day one. I hadn’t listened to this all the way through in a long while but it still fantastic.

It’s early 1992. The relationship is wobbling ( Sometimes I feel like I don’t have a partner). The record shop is about to turn ten but is also under the pump. Keating’s Recession We Had To Have is wreaking havoc (don’t ask what interest rates were). I start a clerical job at the Social Security Office in Campsie & leave the shop in Simon’s capable hands, because we really need the money. I miss it (Take me to the place I love). This album is the soundtrack to this part of my life. The song is Under The Bridge. Give It Away is on the jukebox at home ( with a cover of The Stooges’ Search & Destroy on the flip). For over a year this album leaks great singles. I purhase tix to see the band at the Hordern in May. The tour gets postponed. I finally see them there in October, by which time I’ve resigned from Social Security but am also resigned to closing the shop. They’re terrific live. Very fond of this record. Can take or leave most of their others, but love this.

One of my all time faves. Top 10 fo sho. When I was 17, I went to a house party in the sticks. I remember sitting half in a closet in a bedroom full of kids, cranking this album, getting high as hell and singing along at the top of our lungs. Apache Rose Peacock was a highlight. Hearing it takes me right back. Loved that time, loved this album. 1000 stars.

Love/hate relationship with this band and particularly this album since the day it came out. I remember exactly where I was, day drinking at the record store where one of my best friends and guitar player in my band worked, and I recall being blown away by the huge step forward the record immediately represented with its bigger and more mature sounds and (sometimes, marginally) more mature songs. The first and only full realization of their artistic "vision" and by far Rick Rubin's best work as a producer - more than anything he did up until this point, this is the album that cemented his reputation. He found their core essence and celebrated it in a way that only a great producer can, and this is why despite his ridiculous, Papa Smurf meets Freedom Rock look, he was eventually able to do the same thing for Johnny Cash and revitalize his career, hang with Paul McCartney, publish a mediocre book on Buddhism and art. This lineup of the band was also their best, w guitar player John Frusciante at the height of his powers and Flea's playing serving the songs more so than on previous records. While the lyrics are unfortunately mostly consistent with the juvenile themes of their previous records - if I were filming a collegiate date rape scene it would absolutely have this album playing in the background - Keidis also gets emotionally vulnerable once or twice, which was shocking in its own way at the time. I own some of their records but rarely if ever play them. I saw them headline a masterful performance touring for this album but only because the tickets were free. It's hard for me to put into words the great passions providing counterweights on either side of my delicately balanced ambivalence about this band and album. As much as I admire them, to me their music (though, importantly, not necessary the musicians) carries the unshakeable whiff of toxic masculinity, preceding the term itself.

Solid album with a ton of classics. There's definitely some weird stuff in it too. I think this is probably peak Chili peppers and also another amazing Rick Rubin special.

OK. Under the Bridge is a great song. Preferred that style to the rest.

I tried listening with an open mind but they have created something monstrous here. Some of the ugliest music ever.

So there were plenty of songs related to sex but where were my songs about blood sugar, about magic? Nowhere, that’s where. Still, I could have lied, greetings song, and my lovely man are banging tracks

Nr. 28/1001 The Power of Equality 2/5 If You Have to Ask 3/5 Breaking the Girl 4/5 Funky Monks 3/5 Suck My Kiss 3/5 I Could Have Lied 5/5 Mellowship Slinky in B Minor 2/5 The Righteous & The Wicked 2/5 Give It Away 4/5 Blood Sugar Sex Magik 2/5 Under the Bridge 5/5 Naked in the Rain 3/5 Apache Rose Peacock 3/5 The Greeting Song 2/5 My Lovely Man 3/5 Sir Psycho Sexy 2/5 They're Red Hot 2/5 Average: 2,94 RHCP are tough for me to rate. Some of their songs belong to my favorites of all time. Others I don't get at all. Same with this album

Would be 2 stars if not for Under the Bridge and I Could Have Lied.

What a wildly inconsistent album. The first two songs made me want to rate it as a rare 1 star. Seriously, that frat boy rock rapping is so lame. It was a wild rollercoaster ride of garbage and gems. I was almost ready to start to look past the first two tracks until I heard the title track. Ruined. I’d give it a 2.5 if I could, but I can’t. So 2. The thing is, this could have been a 4 star album if they had only cut it down to 40 minutes.

Hated every moment.

Closer to what I expect from RHCP, here the good song/constipated funk workout with terrible vocals ratio is about 1:16 (and I'm being generous to "Under The Bridge" here). So fucking long, and every song is the same, and over 4 min for no goddam reason - how can a track listing with titles like "Funky Monks" or "Sir Psycho Sexy" (8 fucking minutes!) promise anything other than deep, existential horror? I was desperately praying (in vain) that "Naked In The Rain" was a Blue Pearl cover. Appalling

40 seconds from the end, I Could Have Lied has a loud, confusingly Beefheartian guitar solo that mangles what is designed to be a sensitive ballad: this is the only piece of this record that gave me pleasure. What a way to spend Father’s Day. I would’ve listened to the bonus Hendrix covers, but I was busy threading barbed wire in and around my urethra. How revolting is Anthony Kiedis !

Really enjoyed. Hadn't list to much Chilli Peppers before Californiacation but this was really good. Some songs weren't great and much preferred the slower ones than the funky ones.

Et album der altså...

perfect

♥‿♥

Fantastisk og funky album. Kjører gjennomlytting av dette albumet med ujevne mellomrom - aldri lei.

Evig klassiker

Als het kon, gaf ik dit album zes sterren. Een van m’n favorieten.

Una genialidad este disco. Todas las canciones son buenas y llenas de energia

Ciągle super

Kind of an iconic album, wouldn't you say? I'm all about it.

Un dels discos més cool dels 90, i on sempre que tornes pots trobar nous temes que havies oblidat o no havies considerat el suficient, a més de poder disfrutar de nou dels hits de sempre. Una d'aquelles obres que marca una generació

Ахуенна, заслушал до дыр

10/10

Brilliant, not as refined or mature as the classic late 90s/2000s albums, but a good fun mix of early Chilis progressing to the Californication sound. I still love this, even if it a bit too long. 5 star album.

ahhhhhhhh va

A wonderful album from start to finish. I loved the Peppers before this but this album totally reinvented them as a band, showed just how good they could be as songwriters and be taken seriously rather than a throwaway party band. No question that working with Rick Rubin and stripping back their sound worked wonders and Frusciante getting the chance to not just replicate Hillel Slovaks sound. Absolutely wonderful from start to finish ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Uh, HELL YEA. I already loved this album (and RHCP). Killer album. One of, if not, the best album of theirs.

LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS

When I was 15 I loved this album. Bought the guitar TAB book and learned every single note that John Frusciante plays on this album. As a guitar teacher I still teach the odd song from it (particularly fond of the solos on I Could Have Lied, and Mellowship Slinky...). I thought I'd kinda outgrown the album and band but when it came up as today's album I listened again, and loved every last bit of it, cringe-inducing lyrics and all. NOBODY played their instruments like this back in the 90's. Peak RHCP brilliance.

Absolute classic!!

For a while, and because of this album, and around the years following its release, the Peppers were probably the "biggest band in the world". I recall recording the album to a cassette. Several months later, when I realised I'm listening to that cassette every day (and despite investing in quality TDK cassettes, these things don't last) I gave up and bought the CD.

One of my all time favourites

Give It Away and Under the Bridge are 2 of my favorite RHCP songs. Great album all the way through.

This really brought back some college memories... I remember I couldn't believe how good this album was back then. Still pretty solid but there are a couple of duds that I was blind to back then. Even so, I gotta say that the hits really outshine the duds. Could see it being annoying if you're not already into this kind of music but luckily for me, I am.

Alguien dijo Funk?!

4.8 - such an amazing album. Classic RHCP sound. A bevy of great songs and a heavy dose of nostalgia. It’s been too long since I listened to this - so glad this project had me pick it up again.

Great

Great start, love the first 2 songs and some real classic on there!

Classic!

Top 5 greatest album to me.

This album just keeps giving and giving!

Bangin album here So good the whole way through it Chilli Pepper’s best 9/10

Great

RHCP. Vinilo.

Plenty of personal history with this album. Greased funk bassline grooves with Anthony's mercurial lyrical delivery comes together to make a really sonic statement. Power of Equality into If You Have You Have To Ask is smooth and sets the tone for the real groove flexibility the Chili Peppers display on the album. Breaking The Girl is a titan of a song. Suck My Kiss is another. The connective tissue on this record does the important work of creating the space for these monster hits. I Could Have Lied is a sleeper hit on the record. Give It Away punches us all in the face with how it takes over, with the most absolute insane soundscape. Followed immediately by Under The Bridge. Goddamn the hits literally cannot be stoped. The best part is there is this true thread that runs through all of these songs. They're Red Hot is a nice little bow on the end of the sprawling Mr Psycho Sexy. What a goddamn album.

Rulez

To ne this is still the best RHCP Album. Those afterwards are still great in their own regard, but nothing beats blood sugar sex magic...

i only realized a few months ago that rhcp were funk! and this album is pure funk and rap, and i sure loved it! some of the lyrics are, uhhh, well beyond suggestive, but somehow i don’t mind with all of the amazing guitar, bass, and drums. i mean, rhcp certainly embraced their desire for unrestrained lyrics. a lot surrounds sex, but the opening song, “the power of equality,” being what it is and containing some scathing comments, makes sure we know they’ve got more to say. this album, as a whole, is so solid. the slower songs on the album don’t mess with the flow. “under the bridge,” in fact, remains this album’s highlight. it’s beautiful and relatable, regardless of situation. the rest of the album has such amazing instrumentation—it’s steady throughout. special mention to my favorite lyric ever: hicks don’t mix with politics.

Timeless, every song slaps. This album stands so on its own yet defines an era, which is rare

very good

Not a gem, but close to

Classic

There's not much to fault on this well produced funky album which has great songs, excellent lead vocals and plenty of energy. Instrumentally, the group is on fire, creating some awesome grooves. I like that they experimented with sounds like backwards guitar on 'Give It Away', mellotron on 'Breaking The Girl, If You Have To Ask' and 'Sir Psycho Sexy' (also featuring marimba) plus Flea plays Trumpet on trumpet on 'Apache Rose Peacock'. They're not afraid to mellow the mood, like on 'I Could Have Lived' and of course there's familiar singles like 'Under The Bridge' and 'Suck My Kiss'. Unlike a lot of double albums, it doesn't feel like they beefed it up with filler. This was a really enjoyable and accessible album. A classic.

It’s been a while since I’ve really listened to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and I never listened to a complete album. I definitely appreciate them more now than I did then… they create incredible compositions in a wide variety of styles. The songs are interesting, include complex arrangements and unexpected instruments, and are a lot of fun to listen to! Really enjoyed this and glad to have found a new appreciation of this group that I had not appreciated as much as I feel I should have when this was new. This is an album I will be listening to again!

Another classic

Last time I probably listened to this album was in my dads crappy old BMW around 2007. It banged then and it still bangs now- and I was fully prepared to hate this album

Lovely!

Fundamental na formação do caráter e aptidão no rock.

an old favorite

I remember there being a book of bass tablature in the guitar shop I got lessons from that was strictly for this album. Naive, 12-year-old me flipped through it one day landing on "Sir Psycho Sexy" (of course, the tab book had lyrics). Years later, I finally got around to listening to the record, and it became my favorite RHCP record of their entire discography. Love them or hate them, this is RHCP firing on all cylinders, a well-oiled machine of funk rock, somewhere they would never really touch again. Flea absolutely puts work into this record, and John Frusciante creates wonderful soundscapes for Anthony Keidis to go into full white-boy-rock-funk mode. It's, in my opinion, a great album, the right combination of youth, drugs, and just fucking going for it. There's plenty of vulnerability on here too, with "Under the Bridge" remaining a very important track to me. A few songs could be described "misses" on this project, but they'd be the best songs on a lesser album, so they get a pass. Favorite tracks: "Sir Psycho Sexy", "The Power of Equality", "Under the Bridge", "Blood Sugar Sex Magik", "Suck My Kiss"

Great album. IMO it's the RHCP best album. It brought back great memories from my teen years listening to it.

I recall seeing RHCP perform at an MTV Awards the year that this was up for awards. They set up to play Under the Bridge in formal wear and got through the first chords before ripping off their clothes and busting out Give It Away near-naked as 50 fans joined them on stage for an orgy for the eyes. This album is joyous.