90s Classic Albums (Featuring: Matchbox Twenty)

[bl5150]

I will be honest: I do not like the Red Hot Chili Peppers.  At all.

Pretty much this.   Under The Bridge was on the radio every 10 mins in my college years and drove me around the bend.

I like their Higher Ground cover but that's about it.

[Outcrier]

Blood Sugar is where their funky side shines the most. Probably my favorite album by them even though i don't mind the more melodic and commercial nature that came with Californication later that decade (which kinda was hinted by some songs here like Under the Bridge).

[sneakyblueberry]

ya know, Blood Sugar is the one that most fans zero in on as the best Chili's album, and its definitely a 90s classic, but One Hot Minute I think is a far superior record. 

There are some real gems on this album tho, although the last few tracks I never really dug ("There's a devil in my dick/and some demons in my semen" really dude?  you're fucked in the head, guy).  But ou can't go wrong with Suck My Kiss, Breaking the Girl, Mellowship Slinky, Power of Equality.  Yeah, theres some good white boy funk in there.

[Fluffy Lothario]

Oh, it’s the Let’s Gratuitously Namedrop California in Every Single Song Quartet.

Was Californication not a bigger album than this though? Potentially much of a muchness, but still.

[jammindude]

Oh sure...go for the easy one.     j/k

BSSM is a pretty amazing album.   The Chili Peps kinda peaked with this one.   I lost interest in them after this.   I had been a fan since the early college radio days, and I personally really love the early albums.  (my all time favorite RHCP album is The Uplift Mofo Party Plan)    Maybe I'm a hipster, but I just feel like the band lost something when Hillel died that they never quite got back.   Such a sad tragedy. 

Still can't deny that this is one hell of an album, though.

[erwinrafael]

Pretty much this.   Under The Bridge was on the radio every 10 mins in my college years and drove me around the bend.

I'd rather have that than what we get every 10 mins from what passes as pop music these days.

I get the hype about Flea, but I never got the hype about John Frusciante.

[bl5150]

I'd rather have that than what we get every 10 mins from what passes as pop music these days.

I won't argue that     You mentioning Tina Arena yesterday gave me a laugh too - I'm surprised anyone outside Australia or France knows her.   She was one of the child stars that we grew up with in Australia on a show called Young Talent Time..................sorta like whatever Britney was on in the US.  Was it Mickey Mouse Club??

But yeah..............I'd rather look at (and probably listen to) her than Anthony Kiedis. 

[erwinrafael]

Tina Arena rocks because her drummer is Virgil Donati.   

[bl5150]

Just like Rihanna rocks because her guitarist is Nuno.............no no 

[erwinrafael]

Sorry for derailing this thread but I have to confess that I reapetedly watched Tina Arena when I discovered her with her Burn video.

[Cyclopssss]

So, the Chili Peppers! Great album, probably could have done with some trimming. They recorded this in someone's house with Rick Rubin and took all their time, and it shows. They really let the creative juices flow (and maybe some more). They definetely  went for the Funk with this album. I could go on about some great songs that are on this, but I won't. Someone talked about some offending lyrics, but it's really just words that fit the rhythm of the music. Off course, they peaked with Uplift Mofo Party Plan and I was a fan after that, then they lost Hilel, and never really recovered. They put all their anger and hurt in the great 'Mother's Milk' album, (listen to 'Knock me down' for some serious grief therapy) and became better musicians and it shows on BSSM. But the insanity they became famous for was gone forever.

[Kotowboy]

I get the hype about Flea, but I never got the hype about John Frusciante.

This. I think he's a terrible guitarist.

[sneakyblueberry]

They recorded this in someone's house with Rick Rubin

Was it Headley Grange?  As in, the famous Zeppelin house.  I think I remember reading that somewhere, but I may be confusing it with De Loused in the Comatorium, which was recorded there with Rubin

[Calvin6s]

Figured RHCP was going to pop up eventually.  Just wasn't sure which album it would be.  I became hooked with Mother's Milk with the song Knock Me Down.  Love that song to death.  The whole album is pretty outstanding.

BSSM was when the rest of my friends came around to RHCP.  Although I liked it at first, the ridiculous amount of repetition of Under the Bridge and Give It Away left me with enough listens for 10 lifetimes.  Breaking the Girl probably held up the best on this album for me.

But the album that is their peak for me is Californication.

What do all these albums have in common?  John Frusciante.  So I don't doubt what he brings to the table.

[TAC]

I don't consider myself a RHCP fan, but as Cal says, Mother's Milk is an awesome album.

The only other one I have is One Hot Minute, which as far as I can tell, is their heaviest album, and I think that's why I liked it. I actually saw them on that tour at the Garden and they were great.

[Cyclopssss]

Californication is indeed an outstanding album.

[hefdaddy42]

BSSM is a fantastic album.  Lots of hooks and all the funk.

[OpenYourEyes311]

ya know, Blood Sugar is the one that most fans zero in on as the best Chili's album, and its definitely a 90s classic, but One Hot Minute I think is a far superior record. 

This guy gets it.

[Lolzeez]

Pretty nice album tbh,I got it on vinyl couple years back as a gift. Not something that I would buy for myself but there are some solid tracks here. Also,Frusciante is fucking great. Just listen to his solo stuff.

[Mindflux]

BSSM is amazing. "Sir Psycho Sexy" is by far the best track on the album. Full of sex and funk.

And No.. "One Hot Minute" is not their best body of work.  It's different and I do like it, but I'd say "By the Way" or "Californication" are close second place.

[Mindflux]

This. I think he's a terrible guitarist.

You've said some oddball things before, but this one takes the cake.

[OpenYourEyes311]

And No.. "One Hot Minute" is not their best body of work.   It's different and I do like it, but I'd say "By the Way" or "Californication" are close second place.

That was never said. It's better than BSSM. I would say everything from OHM on was better than BSSM (at least up to Stadium Arcadium). But that's just me.

Edit: In any event, there's no denying that BSSM should be listed as a '90s classic. It was way more popular that OHM and put the Chili Peppers on the mainstream map with Under the Bridge.

[Outcrier]

And No.. "One Hot Minute" is not their best body of work.  It's different and I do like it, but I'd say "By the Way" or "Californication" are close second place.

Actually, that's my top 3 from them (Blood Sugar, Californication and By The Way).

[Mindflux]

And No.. "One Hot Minute" is not their best body of work.   It's different and I do like it, but I'd say "By the Way" or "Californication" are close second place.

That was never said. It's better than BSSM. I would say everything from OHM on was better than BSSM (at least up to Stadium Arcadium). But that's just me.

Edit: In any event, there's no denying that BSSM should be listed as a '90s classic. It was way more popular that OHM and put the Chili Peppers on the mainstream map with Under the Bridge.

To me BSSM is their pinnacle, so when it was said OHM was better.. I just said "no f'n way is it their best".  I like it.. it was hard to get into at first.. I missed Frusciante too much but I eventually got into it enough.  Though I was also relieved when he came back. 

[Mindflux]

And No.. "One Hot Minute" is not their best body of work.  It's different and I do like it, but I'd say "By the Way" or "Californication" are close second place.

Actually, that's my top 3 from them (Blood Sugar, Californication and By The Way).

By the way, in some ways had a lot more magic to it for me than Californication.  I think they really had something there. Then they did Stadium Arcadium which I didn't really like at all.

Looking at Album Charts, Stadium Arcadiam sold better than By The Way.  I should revisit it, though by then I had really fallen in love with DT and a bunch of prog and so former favorite bands (RHCP, Phish, Primus) were set aside for DT/Spock's Beard, etc.

[jammindude]

Is there anyone here who is really into the Hillel Slovak era?

[Mindflux]

Is there anyone here who is really into the Hillel Slovak era?

I like mothers milk and uplift mofo but I'm in my late 30s now and didn't get into them until BSSM. I imagine you have a few years on me which makes sense why you like that era more.

[Outcrier]

By the way, in some ways had a lot more magic to it for me than Californication.  I think they really had something there.

I always gonna have a soft spot for By the Way mostly because it was the very first music album i've heard in its entirety.

[Kotowboy]

This. I think he's a terrible guitarist.

You've said some oddball things before, but this one takes the cake.

Nope. It's my taste and opinion. Get over it.

[Mindflux]

This. I think he's a terrible guitarist.

You've said some oddball things before, but this one takes the cake.

Nope. It's my taste and opinion. Get over it.

Likewise that I think your opinions are nuttier than a fruitcake at Christmas. Get over it.

 

[sneakyblueberry]

And No.. "One Hot Minute" is not their best body of work.   It's different and I do like it, but I'd say "By the Way" or "Californication" are close second place.

That was never said. It's better than BSSM. I would say everything from OHM on was better than BSSM (at least up to Stadium Arcadium). But that's just me.

Edit: In any event, there's no denying that BSSM should be listed as a '90s classic. It was way more popular that OHM and put the Chili Peppers on the mainstream map with Under the Bridge.

To me BSSM is their pinnacle, so when it was said OHM was better.. I just said "no f'n way is it their best".  I like it.. it was hard to get into at first.. I missed Frusciante too much but I eventually got into it enough.  Though I was also relieved when he came back. 

I think that the biggest problem is that people missed Frusciante during the OHM era, and didn't like what Navarro brought to the table, and in turn didn't like the way OHM turned out.  It was pretty much the first RHCP album I listened to fully, and I had no idea who was even in the band so.

For me its their deepest album - lyrically it moves away from the cock-swinging, alpha male bullshit that I've always hated from Kiedis and into more subtler content.  Couple that with Navarro's heavier approach to guitar (as TAC pointed out) and I think it makes for a fantastic record - certainly the Chili Pepper's record I would reach for 9 times out of 10, but in saying that I'm indifferent to most of everything else they've done.

In saying that, there's no denying BSSM's classicity.

[Kotowboy]

This. I think he's a terrible guitarist.

You've said some oddball things before, but this one takes the cake.

Nope. It's my taste and opinion. Get over it.

Likewise that I think your opinions are nuttier than a fruitcake at Christmas. Get over it.

 

You may have a cake problem. You refer to it quite a lot. 

[Zantera]

RHCP has always been one of those bands I've been fairly meh towards. They definitely have some qualities, and upon hearing some of their hits, it becomes clear that they can write some catchy melodies, but they still never clicked for me. I think my main problem is Anthony Kiedis, he just seems so full of himself, and vocally he's not too interesting either.

[Kotowboy]

Anthony is a boring vocalist. Chad Smith plays pretty much the same thing on every song. Frusciante is appalling live. Flea carries the whole band.

[Calvin6s]

Anthony Kiedis, he just seems so full of himself, and vocally he's not too interesting either.

I think he's interesting.  I just think AutoTune needed to happen a little earlier for him.

That is one thing that always made me laugh.  Guitar for the Practicing Musician magazine used to have a section where guest musicians would listen to other artist's songs (without being told the artist) so they could comment for a paragraph or two. Almost every RHCP listen had the guest starting with "G Damn.  Can the vocalist just pick a G Damn key already?"