Red Hot Chili Peppers

The Soundwaves Vinyl Of The Week is the album Blood Sugar Sex Magik by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

 

Released in September of 1991 (a few months after I graduated high school), this album was one of a handful on repeat for me for a very long time, and one of the first albums that I bought when I started to collect vinyl records. 

 

As I was talking about this band last night with a friend, he reminded me of the documentary Funky Monks about the making of this album in a mansion up in Laurel Canyon in the Hollywood Hills. The band which includes Anthony Kiedis belting out his poetic-infused vocal rhymes, Flea and his exuberant energy always present on stage and on bass, and Chad Smith laying down the rock drums was already pretty solid. With the addition of John Frusciante on guitar, you could see this band truly becoming one. Couple all of that with Rick Rubin injecting his wisdom here and there, it was magic in the making.

 

Their style of music has been called funk rock, alt rock, California rock, rap rock, and I’m sure the list goes on and on—but who really cares. It’s simply unique and brilliant. The band has releases a number of albums since then, including the gems Californication and By The Way, but it’s this album, Blood Sugar Sex Magik, a 7x Platinum masterpiece in the U.S. alone that defines this band. This album has no skips. Listen to it from start to finish. Prove me wrong.