I ran for the bus today because I
didn’t want to walk home after a long day. It doesn’t count as exercise, but I’ll
take it.
Disc 982 is…Freaky Styley
Artist: Red Hot
Chili Peppers
Year of Release: 1985
What’s up with the Cover? A collage of the band doing various
silly things in various silly outfits. These guys look like they’d be a lot of
fun to run into at a party, as long as it wasn’t anywhere that you were
responsible for the glassware or the carpets.
How I Came To Know It: My friend and old roommate Greg
introduced me to both the band and every album I own by them, including this
one. Thanks, Greg!
How It Stacks Up: I have three Red Hot Chili Peppers albums and
I like them all. I rank “Freaky Styley” second, just behind “Blood Sugar Sex
Magik” (reviewed back at Disc 690).
Ratings: 3 stars but almost 4
Listening
to the power pop stylings of the Red Hot Chili Peppers in recent years it is
hard to remember just how incredible and innovative they were at the beginning
of their careers, but if you need a refresher look no farther than “Freaky
Styley”.
Back in
1985 the Chilis were drugged out beach bums oozing with potential. They were a
mix of surfer punk, funk, and psychadelia. With the dynamic balls-forward
vocals of Anthony Kiedis and the incredible bass licks of Flea they seemed destined
for greatness. Add in Parliament’s George Clinton as producer and it felt like
anything could happen.
The only
thing holding this record back is its total refusal to have an artistic
direction, but that’s also what makes it so enjoyable. The Chilis range through
musical styles, throwing in bizarre rhyming spoken word tracks like “Thirty Dirty Birds” as readily as they
land backbone sliding funk riffs. I love the mix, but it is hard to concentrate
on what’s coming next.
This
whole recording from the name, to the cover art through to the music feels
overblown and excessive. Ordinarily I would call it ambitious, but you get the
feeling these guys are just freaking out and having a good time. That they were
defining their own musical niche in the process feels more born out of
fearlessness than forethought.
Kiedis
has a wonderful tone to his voice, although for the most part this won’t be
fully showcased until later records (even 1987’s “Uplift Mofo Party Plan” has
more sustained singing). On “Freaky Styley” he is all about delivering his
crazed and frantic lyrics into the pocket of the beat with the precision of a
rap star. He’s like James Brown if James Brown were a surfer acid freak.
Guitarist
Hillel Slovak (who would die tragically of a heroin overdose three years later)
brings the punk edge to the band, with raw, saw-toothed playing that cuts its
way through the groove when the song needs grit, and drops a funky riff down on
“Yertle the Turtle” that will make
you dance like a madman. It made me dance in the elevator on the way home, in
fact. I’m just thankful no one was in there with me, because there was no
resisting that funk – audience or not. Also, bonus points for making the best
song about a Dr. Seuss story ever.
The
rhythm section of Flea and Cliff Martinez hold the whole thing together. Flea is
the star of the band at this stage of their career (maybe at every stage). The title
track is just a slow fade in/fade out groove driven almost entirely by Flea’s
bass playing and I can’t get enough of it.
The band
features some fine guest musicians in the horn section, including none other
than the great Maceo Parker on saxophone. On “The Brothers Cup” the mix of the Chilis doing their rap-rock
stylings mixed with the funky flourishes of the horn solo make that song
timeless and irresistible.
Regrettable,
the record suffers from poor production (sorry George). It could just be the
transfer of everything onto CD that is the culprit here (my copy is old and in
those early days they didn’t know how to fix the mix for compact disc). In any
event, it sounds tinny and distant in places, which is the worst thing for
music as visceral as this.
Also,
the way the music jumps around from style to style – sometimes between songs,
and sometimes within them – makes it hard to settle your ears down and listen.
The music is frantic and distracted. It is brilliantly so, but it isn’t for
everyone, and you have to be in the mood to have your senses assaulted.
Overall,
“Freaky Styley” is a solid record that is hard to define but easy to love.
Best
tracks: Hollywood,
Freaky Styley, The Brothers Cup, Catholic School Girls Rule, Sex Rap, Yertle
the Turtle
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