I Could have Lied.....But I Wont, This Rocks!!

Ahhh what fond memories I have of buying this......about 8 years after its release. However this is the definitive Red Hot Chili Peppers album. It may not be as good as Californication but this was a huge step forward for the Peppers and one that will be forever remembered (and no not just for the Sir Psycho Sexy lyrics). This album contains 17 tracks of almost all astonishing quality.. which is no mean feat.

This was the second release from the definitive (in most peoples minds anyway) Red Hot Chili Peppers foursome:

Anthony Kiedis: Vocals/words
Flea: Bass
John Frusciante: Guitar
Chad Smith: Drums/Percussion

The band themselves are a talented bunch. Flea and Chad make a great rhythm sections with Flea being one of the greatest Bassists ever and Chad is a fantastic drummer. John is the greatest musician ever in my opinion. Well he’s a bloody brilliant guitarist at the very least. Anthony is a great songwriter and rapper but his singing sometimes isn’t technically great, however he does get amazing amounts of emotion into his voice.

The album starts with The Power of equality which is a very political number with Anthony singing abut racism and American equality. The music has an infectious energy to it with some raging guitar and funky bass. It has a not very memorable guitar solo but it is a great opener nevertheless.

Next up, If You Have To Ask has a great bassline from Flea which is really the highlight of the song. Chiming guitars and Anthony's studio produced sounding voice also sounds good. Nice background singing from John and Flea too. Another well-written song and I love the speak-singing verses. Chad’s drumming is also very cool here and Johns solo is quite nice.

A fairly famous song now Breaking The Girl which has never been a favourite of mine. The acoustic guitar and mellotron is fine but Anthony doesn’t sound very good on this track. The music itself is a tad repetitive apart from the great bit where Chad and Flea attack some pots and pans which is a really nice and unusual touch.

Funk Monks starts up next and has a similar sounding beginning to the second track with johns guitar. Again the bassline is cool and Anthony is back to sounding cool. The chorus is perfect with great background singing from john. Typical Chili Peppers lyrics for this period about "certain needs" to use a peppers phrase. A great solo from Frusciante fits in well to this songs great rhythm.

Suck My Kiss is a raucous bass dominated number about as the title may suggest "certain needs". It is however unbelievably cool and a song that does not dislodge itself from your head for weeks on end. The guitar plays a very minimal role in this until a great solo that infects you with happiness. The chorus is another special one and Kiedis again sounds perfect for the singing. The song belongs to Flea though. Top Class

I could Have Lied is up next. How this was not a huge hit I have no idea. This could be my favourite thing on the album. John’s acoustic guitar soothes with a great piece of playing and this time kiedis sounds great at singing. The song writing itself is genius and very touching. The bass keeps itself firmly in the background behind Frusciante, first with he acoustic and then marvellously, jaw droppingly perfect electric guitar, which drips majestically into the song. We head back to the acoustic until the chorus where the electric joins in again to round the song off perfectly. Genius.

Mellowship Slinky in B major What a name eh! No drugs at all where involved in the making of this album...... anyway we return to bass dominance and "certain needs". The chorus is really good and this is another loud upbeat party song. I have to mention the guitar, as even though it stays in the background until the solo it is really decent. Some cheeky lyrics about mothers always make me smile in this song.

the righteous & the wicked....guess what it’s about.. surely not "certain needs". Yes Mr Kiedis does appear to b a bit of a pervert but he was youngish and so this is acceptable. Luckily his song writing found new subjects to write about on later albums but I don’t mind all the sex talk on this album. Anyway the song... is pretty cool though not a standout. The guitars are good and so is the chorus with more decent background singing that sticks out from John and Flea.

Give It Away I doubt you have ever heard of this one. Very obscure and definitely no one knows the chorus part. Who am I kidding, who hasn’t heard this? Apart from those already dead obviously (and no more smartarse comments posted about Eskimos or something like that please). The funks rules in this and the bass and guitar are equally great. Another song great for making you happy or at least hyper with a very famous chorus section.

Blood Sugar Sex Magik is the title track obviously (aren’t I a clever boy). It’s not a particularly popular one maybe because it’s stuck in between to of the biggest rock songs ever. However I really like it as its strangely compelling and Kiedis sounds great droning his way through the verses. The guitar and bass mainly mimic each other and sounds again very nice. The whole song, to me anyway, appears to be an excuse for John to go mad with his solo in the last chorus, which is bloody cool. If you don’t like the whole song fast forward to the solo.

Under The Bridge Ah the monster hit off the album. A song about Anthony's addiction to hard drugs and it has intense beauty written all over it. John once more rules the show with perfect guitar. Chad and Flea are quite quiet, as you would expect with a slower song like this. The choruses are exquisite and the verses are of no worse quality. It culminates in a chorus with "Gail Frusciante and friends" singing in chorus form behind Kiedis's wonderfully emotional and pained vocals. Something special.

With the impossible task of following that we get Naked In The Rain which I believe to be the worst on the album. It has good bass but falls rather flat other than that. Ah well I suppose they had to have a dud somewhere.

Apache Rose Peacock is about girls and the aforementioned needs. It does however have superb rhythm and the benefit of some great Kiedis vocals especially in the choruses. More nice bass and Guitar take a backseat but still manage to be cool. The song flows perfectly and has a great bit when the background singers enter. Also features Flea and his trumpet playing (he more than just a brilliant bassist).

The Greeting Song. A very fast paced little number with cool as hell guitars and chorus. Kiedis does sound somewhat irritating as he tends to sometime but makes up for it in the chorus. A great song musically especially Johns solo.

Next is a tribute to Hillel Slovak (founding guitarist of the peppers who died of a heroin overdose)My Lovely Man and its not terribly exciting or interesting. Drums are good however and the chorus is quite cool.

Ah time for the embarrassed looks on all the faces of those who own this Cd as Sir Psycho Sexy steps up. Lets just say that this eight minutes epic is slightly risky into he lyrics department and should not be played when relatives are near (especially old and young relatives). Despite the lyrics is still a large ball of fun and I love the ending section with the mellatron sounding cool. Worth a look but only if your own your own and enjoy silly pieces of music.

Ending is the short but sweet They're Red Hot which is hillbilly music but still a fun and entertaining way to round off a great album.

Considered by many to be the best album the Chilis did this is definitely worth a look by any Chillis fan or indeed anyone who likes funk-rock. With such different masterpieces like I could have lied to Sir Psycho Sexy or Give it away to Under The Bridge this is full of classic and will doubtless not leave your CD player for a very long time.