Over thirty years on and the energy conjured by the Chili Peppers for their groundbreaking ‘Blood Sugar Sex Magik’ remains as potent and as psychedelic as ever.
Deeply ingrained in the core canon of 1991 rock records (Black Album, Nevermind, Ten), this 17-track journey of funk, thrash, rock and rap is justified in this hall of fame with its creative weight being outdone by just how much fun the music is to listen to. At times blown out and bombastic as well as tender and surprisingly quiet, the band built the formula for their signature sound from their George Clinton-esque earlier works to the preceding 1989 ‘Mother’s Milk’, which brought the band to their loudest.
And it all pays off here as they entered their next phase which showed them to be more than just dumb rockers. Instead, rather brilliant, forward-thinking musicians who crafted a sound with an exciting edge built for parties, radio and driving (see ‘Give It Away’ and ‘The Power Of Equality’). There is also the signature ‘Under The Bridge’, which shows a tender vulnerability surprising for an album as hard-edged as BSSM can be.
There’s also the highly underrated second half of the album with the main-lined Parliament-Funkadelic 8-minute ‘Sir Psycho Sexy’ and the throwback ‘The Greeting Song’ to cement the album as a non-stop blast from end to end.
Genre conjured into a groove-filled odyssey.
Available now in ‘The Shop’.
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Touring February 2023 with Post Malone.