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The old five-point scale has been retired in favor of just rating stuff 1-10, which allows me a much more nuanced final rating. Still don't take it that seriously. Most of these come from my own collection, so the grades skew rather high. Your results may vary if you send me stuff to review.

Each album is given three Essential tracks, my personal favorites, regardless of how weird and inconsequential they are. The Quintessential pick is the one I think best represents the album as a whole, so you can try one song instead of a whole album of songs. Non-Essential picks range from merely disappointing to outright unlistenable.

Red Hot Chili Peppers

[#] Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991)

Reviewed July 26, 2020

An overly-long orgy.

(This is an album that was previously covered on the Rediscovering! Click the link in the table to read a wordier and possibly less accurate version of my feelings on this album.)

RHCP started gaining traction in the late 80s when Mother's Milk and "Higher Ground" gave the world their first taste of Chili, but it wasn't until Blood Sugar Sex Magik that the stage was truly set for the takeover. The band found their regular producer in golden-age hip-hop Def Jam mogul Rick Rubin after an unhappy recording experience with Michael Beinhorn, and with guitarist golden boy John Frusciante firmly wedged in the lineup by now, some 25 songs tumbled out of the band, seventeen of which made it onto this one. That's 73 minutes of Chili Peppers! Retrospective coverage is nothing but universally kind to Blood Sugar, but if I'm honest, it really needs an editor--even Soundgarden only went for an hour.

Let's start with the positives. John Frusciante massively enhances the record with his presence on backing vocals and guitar--"The Righteous and the Wicked" and of course that gloriously hushed intro for "Under the Bridge" are proof enough for that. This was the first Chili Peppers album where the ballads really become the focus, and for me, "Breaking the Girl" is not only the true start to the album, it's also one of the best songs in their entire catalog. Sometimes the heavier stuff lands, like on "Funky Monks" or "Suck My Kiss", but just as often it tends to devolve into this mire of funk-punk, cartoonish, sex-addled Anthony Kiedis honking. Perhaps I'm in the minority, but I really think these guys became a lot more likable with age. Blood Sugar ain't bad, they're just better served in smaller doses.

Essential:	Quintessential:	Non-Essential:	Rating:
"Breaking the Girl", "Funky Monks", "I Could Have Lied"	"The Power of Equality"	"Sir Psycho Sexy"
Blood Sugar Sex Magik's Rediscovering entry

NOFI | LOFI