Red Hot Chili Peppers
Freaky Styley

THE REVIEW

"I'm a Freakey Styley and I'm proud" sang in a spaced-out way a rather crazy Anthony Kiedis in the title track of this album that seems to flow in slow motion...

The year is 1985 and the Peppers are coming from an album that flopped in terms of sales and EMI is not exactly happy (following the commercial failure of this album as well, they will be passed to EMI MANHATTAN), so they think it’s best to comply with the Peppers' requests: the father of funkadelia George Clinton is recruited!! Additionally, due to internal disputes, guitarist Jack Sherman leaves, and the long-time friend, as well as the original guitarist of the Red Hot, Hillel Slovak, returns.

At this point, the game seems set, it will surely be a vigorous funky rock album!! But no... Our guys feel completely free and Clinton helps them express the best of themselves (after all, that’s what he’s there for), so the messed-up lives of Kiedis & Co. come directly into contact with the listener. It’s not a funky album in the strict sense, it’s something that goes beyond narrow classifications, because as I said, freedom reigns in this record. It all starts with "Jungle Man" which is nothing but the super creative talented Flea (born Michael Balzary). Here, this track musically makes us understand what you will breathe in this album: oddity.

Anthony's voice is a mix between singing and rapping, the bass is pure slap, the guitar is an essential rhythmic background and Cliff Martinez's drumming is almost tribal at certain points. Odd, especially the intermezzo that seems to pop out of nowhere. Then it's time for "Hollywood" which is a cover of the Meters (the original is called "Africa") and it is nothing short of sparkling especially for Anthony's charisma and the horns that make it all appear very James Brown; but there’s something that breaks the harmony: the bass!!! Yes, folks, here the bass captures everyone's attention for that crazy little riff that is particularly highlighted in the volume balancing. Then there’s "American Ghost Dance" that summarizes the first and second tracks of the album giving a bit of movement that seems blocked by a barrier giving the sensation of rigidity, the bass riff is phenomenal nonetheless. In my opinion, these along with "Freaky Styley" and "Blackeyed Blondie" are the manifesto songs of the album.

This album strikes for the variety of genres offered, ranging from funky to rap, from speed rock ("Catholic School Girls Rule" and "Battle Ship") to nursery rhymes ("Thirty Dirty Birds"), which, however, are characterized by an indelible stamp of oddity that is due, one must admit, largely to the use of drugs. It’s an album that one may like or not but is extremely interesting and unusual.

These were the Red Hot Chili Peppers of the time, and I like them a lot.