SpenniesRed Hot Chili Peppers - Freaky Styley
June 20th 2006 04:46
RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS
Freaky Styley (1985)
EMI Records
Produced by George Clinton
Everybody knows the Chili Peppers. They are a massive band and need absolutely no introduction. In saying this though, aside from their hugely popular albums from the 90's and beyond - their 3 or so records released in the 1980's remain fairly unknown. So many people don't know any of their stuff pre-Blood Sugar Sex Magic, or if you're lucky, Mothers Milk. For me, their early stuff is when the band were still exciting and fresh (and not a big stadium band, becoming more boring with each release.
Freaky Styley, the bands second album, is a mish-mash of funk, rock and punk. The band (with original guitarist Hillel Slovak {RIP}) were great musicians even back in '85, with syncopated and extremely tight drumming, LOTS of slap bass, and some very creative guitar work. The vocals are...well, pretty bad. Anthony Keides I feel has never been a strong vocalist. He's an entertainer, a showman, a frontman - but back here when he hadn't been singing for too long, it's very amatuerish but for some reason fits the music quite well. I guess it's a good portrait of a band who were still finding their feet and experimenting with different styles. Also it was produced by the Godfather of funk (the other one!) George Clinton - thus the record is filled with brass hits and grooves, and I would say it is the funkiest Chili's album.
Admittingly, this doesn't come across as a very strong album. There are some really great songs, but there are too many that aren't so great that make it feel a bit more like a collection of songs than a coherently thought-out slab of music. I guess that's a bit of a moot point though, as I always enjoy listening to it and bopping along - the better tracks relying more on the music and subsequent riffs than vocal melodies and chorus' to hook you in. My faves are the more upbeat tunes like "Blackeyed Blonde" with it's frantic funk feel and awesome basslines; the laid-back groove of "American Ghost Dance" and the punky "Catholic School Girls Rule". Also featured is a Sly & the Family Stone cover (If You Want Me to Stay) which surprisingly works quite well, and a reworking of the Meters "Africa" which has aptly been changed to "Hollywood" - another pretty decent interpretation.
The Chili Peppers 80's catalogue goes pretty cheap these days, so if you want to check out the beginnings of one of the most commercially successful bands in recent history, Freaky Styley is a great place to start. It's fun, youthful, funky and is a very interesting listen when you compare it to their more recent material.
I'd also recommend the digitally remastered version - it comes with a nice thick booklet, sounds a hell of a lot better, and has some bonus demo tracks tacked on the end, which actually sound pretty good.
Freaky Styley (1985)
EMI Records
Produced by George Clinton
Freaky Styley, the bands second album, is a mish-mash of funk, rock and punk. The band (with original guitarist Hillel Slovak {RIP}) were great musicians even back in '85, with syncopated and extremely tight drumming, LOTS of slap bass, and some very creative guitar work. The vocals are...well, pretty bad. Anthony Keides I feel has never been a strong vocalist. He's an entertainer, a showman, a frontman - but back here when he hadn't been singing for too long, it's very amatuerish but for some reason fits the music quite well. I guess it's a good portrait of a band who were still finding their feet and experimenting with different styles. Also it was produced by the Godfather of funk (the other one!) George Clinton - thus the record is filled with brass hits and grooves, and I would say it is the funkiest Chili's album.
Admittingly, this doesn't come across as a very strong album. There are some really great songs, but there are too many that aren't so great that make it feel a bit more like a collection of songs than a coherently thought-out slab of music. I guess that's a bit of a moot point though, as I always enjoy listening to it and bopping along - the better tracks relying more on the music and subsequent riffs than vocal melodies and chorus' to hook you in. My faves are the more upbeat tunes like "Blackeyed Blonde" with it's frantic funk feel and awesome basslines; the laid-back groove of "American Ghost Dance" and the punky "Catholic School Girls Rule". Also featured is a Sly & the Family Stone cover (If You Want Me to Stay) which surprisingly works quite well, and a reworking of the Meters "Africa" which has aptly been changed to "Hollywood" - another pretty decent interpretation.
A young Anthony Keidis circa 1983
I'd also recommend the digitally remastered version - it comes with a nice thick booklet, sounds a hell of a lot better, and has some bonus demo tracks tacked on the end, which actually sound pretty good.
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Comment by smash
You should check out Keidis' autobiography Scar Tissue. It's fucking woeful, he's such a tool, but it's an entertaining read.
Also, I read an interview where Keidis actually says that with Stadium Arcadium, his aim was to create something that would be easily digested. I guess that says a lot about why their old stuff is better than their new stuff.