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.

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 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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

This Fucking Gem

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.

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.

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.

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

SEX MAGIK

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

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.

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

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.

I saw the RHCP in '89 at the Hollywood Palladium. I was 18 and had mostly gone to see the opening band the Butthole Surfers. Good times. When this came out I was all about it. John Frusciante puts on a guitar clinic. Just outstanding playing. One of the few albums that stays interesting throughout it's lengthy runtime. This album is a masterpiece in my opinion.

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.

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.

love this album.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 !

Well done. Monster album.

Sick album 5 stars love seeing flea do his thing. Wish the funk continued with the band. Also love keidis’ nonsense poetry I could listen to him whisper his meaningless stream of consciousness forever (until he gets weirdly sexual which were my most uncomfortable moments of the album)

their best work in my opinion

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.

Top 10 album of all time.

Hell ya! Thought me that cool guys play bass. This album spoke directly to teenage Ben.

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.

Legendary

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

Love this album, top 5 in my life

ayyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeee

Amazing Album

So good.

Just such a dope album

real nice

This is chocolate ice cream kind of album. I can't say I don't like chocolate ice cream - it's sweet and creamy, what's not to like - but I will never understand people for who chocolate ice cream is the basic, most obvious choice. Can't say anything bad about it, but still, it's not something I pick for myself

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

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

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

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

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

Hated every moment.

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.

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

Easy 5 for me. Big hits, awesome deep cuts. Funky, groovy, wacky, quirky, crazy, wavy, flea is sexy? Can I join the band for my lyrical talent now? Wong ding dong dong ding dang. Drugs.

Excellent

Blood sugar sex magik - red hot chili peppers This is one of those ones I've had to separate the art from the artist. As a 12 year old, this was my favourite artist, and this is probably one of my most listened to albums of all time. However, as I got older I realised how atrocious of a human being Anthony was. Then it gets to the point where some of the lyrics on the album are likely influenced by some pretty heinous shit and it completely changes how you look at them. That said, I do think this is a really fantastic album. I think the two big singles; under the bridge and give it away are absolutely classics. The other singles Breaking the Girl, Suck my Kiss and If You Have to Ask are great. Most of the album tracks (with the exception of The Greeting song and maybe naked in the rain) are superb, I Could Have Lied and My Lovely man in particular So I'll go with a 5 but its a dated 5 with the knowledge that the lead single is a sex offender

One of my favorite albums of all time!

A little bit ago, I said that a few specific artists are just going to get 5 stars automatically. Ladies and Gentlemen, Red Hot Chili Peppers. I love this band, and I love this album. I can't believe how many of their classics are on this album specifically. I often overlook this album when I'm listening to the Peppers, I am no longer going to overlook this album when I'm listening to the Peppers. Is "Under the Bridge" the best song on this album? I don't know. Depends on the day. They're all good.

oml i love this album

Great album. Quintessential 90s. I would rank Californication about this album as my favorite RHCP album, but it's close. Also Under the Bridge is untouchable.

One of my all time favorite albums

Not their best, but still an absolute banger!

I absolutely loved that one. It's very original. By the way, I like the cover, we have the impression that it's the same guy's face turned upside down on both sides and also below but if you look closer, you can see they're different. So you make a conclusion that it's a band group of four persons. I consider the album to be a mix of Hip hop and psychedelic rock. Loved it.

I already know this album is amazing

The Good: 4-words make up the band name, and the album name! The Bad: Trying to decipher the meaning of the album title without reading the wiki page… The Ugly: Finding out that the album title is but a rouse… Back in the days when I was a younger me, and when one actually had a “record” collection, actually heading out and buying an album was a normal thing. RHCP did not fit in my record collection in the ‘80s, though I was made aware of them by a friend of mine, and it wasn’t till this “album” “dropped” in the early ‘90s that I, along with thousands of others, started paying attention to RHCP. I was in college, and another buddy of mine had bought the CD, and we would play this album start to finish daily, multiple times on the weekend, it was the soundtrack for 1992 I guess you could say. And 1992 was a good year for me… Then, as life moves on, one stops listening to one album, and one startsm listening to other albums, and maybe other genres, and one forgets about certain albums. About a year or two ago, prior to me starting this little 1001 experiment, I bumped into “Under The Bridge” on a auto generated playlist, and decided to give the album a whirl… and truth be told, I can’t recall the experience being special… Yesterday, when this iconic album cover greeted me in the morning, I wasn’t sure what to think… and then I played the album, and I found myself sitting in my buddies car, while driving around time, talking about stupid shit that youthful people talk about, and a massive smile crossed my face. Blood Sugar Sex Magik isn’t the greatest album in the world, however, it marked the early ‘90s, it put RHCP on the map, for better or for worse, and I have played it 3 times already today! 5* (upgraded from 4 1/2*)

very fun, lots of funky bass, some really solid songs. Excellent in the IEMs

Not my most favourite of RHCP albums, but great nonetheless.

One of my favs

Funky music that can never be topped. Holds one of the songs known around the world.

Amazing album. Big influence for me.

Lol

Absolute classic

A classic. Arguably the best RHCP work, I’ve listened to this more times start to finish than I can count.

LOVE IT!

Own it, great album!

A personal favourite!

Giving it a 5 for Seb. 💜

The album the propelled RHCP to stardom. A great mix of funk, rock, and metal.

🩸🍩👨‍❤️‍💋👄✨🪄 Flea is a fucking badass

They have anything I want and everything I need. A true pleasure to listen to

Definitely more punky, not as good as Californication in my opinion, but still a fantastic album and an inspiration for 90s sound

I can't not give this 5 stars as this is one of THEE formative albums of teenage years and all of the Frusciante-era Chili Peppers music still inspires (or rather dictates) my songwriting and playing today. It's long (apologies to any RHCP haters, but at least it's not Stadium Arcadium), but every song has its place and rates between great and perfect. Sir Psycho Sexy becomes tiresome until the great instrumental that takes up a huge chunk of it, but that barely makes a dent in the overall quality of this album. You could also criticise Keidis' lyrics, but the songs have clear personal meaning before he goes full-on "binga bong bangifornia" in the later years. The musicianship is impeccable throughout, I'm not sure that the sheer musical chemistry that this outfit had throughout this era up until Stadium Arcadium has ever been beaten.

*obligatory comment dunking on Keidis* This rules, lots of long form songs that just keep evolving over time that feel like the kind of thing that would usually be reserved for a life show. Long album, but absolutely worth it all the way through. I’m only slightly embarrassed by how frequently I changed my gait while listening to this album while walking around - at least for the most part I was between parliament & St James via meadowbank. I blame flea.

I remember liking this album less, which is a very backhanded compliment but I'm more used to later Chilis and my most listened to album by them is either By The Way or Stadium Arcadium from their less funky times. I'm not gonna pretend all the songs hit and this is more of a 4.5 but damn this just one of the albums that I can always chuck on. I do often wonder (often during some insane scatting or when Keidis gives up on actual words) what the band would be like with a different frontman but I suppose the spirit of Funk is there in inane sounds and groovy beats. Highlight: Funky Monks

I loved how funky it was and his vocals are nice. I really enjoyed the bass in these songs. There was not a song I didn't like off the album. Only complaint is how long is was but that's about it. Bopped to every song nonetheless!

Funky, rocky, fucked-up fun. What's not to love? Five stars and it's going in my Tidal library

I did not use a private spotify session for this one. This album was the soundtrack to my sophomore year in college and will always have a special place in my heart, despite loathing the last few RHCP albums and finding out what type of person Anthony is. I really appreciated how after "Mother's Milk" the band could have gone mainstream and mellow, but instead came out with "Give it Away". As an older man, some of the lyrics seem overly sexual and sophomoric, but hey, I was a sophomore when this album came out.

5 estrelas o melhor RHCP

I must say, I had all but written off the chili peppers. New music sucks. Listened back to By The Way and found it middling. Even older music is just embarrassing But this album still slaps.

Classic. Perfection

I struggle with RHCP. Are they a GOOD band? Are they a GREAT band? A novelty band? Silly, stupid, ridiculous? Whatever they are iI can't deny how good THIS album is. The continuous nature of it makes me want to hear every song. My favorite song is The Greeting Song. It was all I could do to sit through Under The Bridge. I legit never want to hear that song ever again. But there's a difference between never wanting to hear a song again, and never wanting to hear it in the first place.

Punk lives

Absolute masterpiece

Amazing album loved every second of it. Great sound!

Didn't really know this album, but I think it deserves a place in the 1001 best albums. Vocals and instrumentation groundbreaking.

Poco da dire, molto RHCP, ma senza attorcigliarsi su sé stesso e le canzoni sono belle. Poi con 'Under the bridge'...

Great mixing. Vibe. Absolute cinema.