The last time the Red Hot Chili Peppers released a new studio album, George Bush was president. Why the long wait? Among other things, the Peppers didn't need the money; in the past four years, the lads came out with a greatest hits album as well as a hastily thrown-together live album. Not to mention the fact that Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magik sold gazillions of copies to young shavers across the country who had never heard anything quite so funky (a national tragedy, to be sure). Yes, back in those days f unk bands were novel. But now all those little shavers have decided to start funk bands of their own, a fact demonstrated by nearly 60 different funk bands which played at last year's Spring Fling. One might start to wonder if the Peppers will stand out i n the crowd anymore....
One Hot Minute should erase such doubts and put the Peppers back into heavy rotation on MTV. Whether or not One Hot Minute will be accepted by "alternative" music fans is debatable, but it's chock full of radio-ready singles. The Peppers' sound remains essentially the same, but One Hot Minute has more of a '70s feel than anything the Peppers have done before. In addition, after going through guitarists like Spinal Tap drummers, the group settled on former Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro. Not surprisingly, Navarro adds some versatility that the Peppers previously lacked. His guitar is sometimes more jangly than funky, and this influence makes the band occasionally sound like (I almost can't bear to say it) U2. Give One Hot Minute's closing tra ck "Transcending" a couple of spins, and tell me that it never sounds like "Bullet the Blue Sky."
A real surprise would be if the Peppers' famously juvenile lyrics started to sound like Bono's overwrought patter. Although lead singer Anthony Kiedis acts like his usual buffoonish (but appealing) self, One Hot Minute is not without its serious moment s. Before Kiedis sang tripe like "No Chump Love Sucker." Now he discusses battling addiction on the lead-off single, "Warped." It may hit the Top 40, but Debbie Gibson it ain't. "Shallow Be Thy Game" takes on Christianity: "2000 years look in the mirror/ You play the game of shame/ And tell your people live in fear." Though the Peppers will probably never be known as lyrical craftsmen, One Hot Minute shows they're at least trying to stretch themselves content-wise.
But lest we forget what the Peppers are best at, it should be clearly stated the One Hot Minute is at its heart pure, dumb fun. "Aeroplane" is, as far as I can tell, about how much Kiedis likes Mazzy Star and how important music is to him. It certainly isn't high concept, but it's the best song on the album because of its joyful exuberance and Flea's steady bass. Towards the end of the song, a choir of children join in on the chorus. Usually this sort of gimmick turns people off, but it works well here . These kids aren't some over-rehearsed bunch of prep snots - they're an off-key but lovable group of rug rats, which somehow seems to aptly describe the Red Hot Chili Peppers as well.
-- Eugene R. Kimball
Copyright 1995, The Yale Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.
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