Red Hot Chili Peppers
One Hot Minute

THE REVIEW

Strange album this one by the Red Hot! Certainly the strangest of their long (in '96 it wasn't that long, okay) career. After four years of silence and the departure of the prodigy child John Frusciante who had poured his soul into the masterpiece "Blood Sugar" of '91, the four Californians (back to four with the addition of Dave Navarro, former guitarist of Jane's Addiction) return to the scene with this "One Hot Minute".
The reactions from the public, as you may have certainly seen (yes, even on this site), were not among the most enthusiastic. Too many were expecting the perfectly mixed funk-rock of the previous album... and too many were indeed disappointed.
I was disappointed first of all... with the difference that I was coming from the listening of that masterpiece called "Californication" and I was making a journey "backwards" to discover the other albums of the Kiedis & Flea creature.

"One Hot Minute" is definitely not what one could call an "objectively" beautiful album. It's true: NO album in history can be defined in such a way, but there are certainly some that are recognized as masterpieces by almost total unanimity (I repeat, ALMOST) ("Blood Sugar" is among these... "Californication" is not... but it comes close ;) ).
But "One Hot Minute" is not among these. It is an album that probably today is not even liked by the Red Hot themselves... a significant example is the fact that, since Frusciante rejoined the lineup, live they have NEVER played a single track from this record, except for "Pea", a short and funny interlude sung by Flea; or the fact that on the greatest hits just released, the only track from this album is "My Friends", probably the most successful track, which generally pleases almost everyone, even the most hardened detractors of this album in particular.

What is it about this album that doesn't convince? Why do even Red Hot fans struggle to digest it? Well... simply because in this album it's NOT the Red Hot playing, but rather a copy of themselves leaning more towards heavy sounds.
It really is hard to believe that the same band who four years earlier composed "Under The Bridge" now conceived "One Big Mob" and "Warped", tracks that are really intense, halfway between rock and metal (!!!!).
Of course, the songs are really well played: from this perspective, we are probably facing the album with Flea's best performance in terms of virtuosity (the bass lines of "Aeroplane" are unforgettable!), not to mention Chad Smith on the drums, more powerful than ever!

Indeed, as already mentioned, it is really strange to hear the Red Hot tackling this kind of songs, but the result certainly shows them holding their heads high on a technical level.
Also, the fact that the songs, once they get into your head, are hard to get out. Besides the already mentioned "My Friends" (it really is one of the best RHCP songs, in my opinion), the various "Tearjerker", "Shallow Be Thy Game", "Coffee Shop" remain ingrained in your mind for a long time. The problem is getting your ears to accept that these are not Incubus, but the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Once you accept this, you can easily go beyond "My Friends" and appreciate even semi-masterpieces like "Transcending" (if it weren't for the final part that I just can't get over, I would have removed the "semi") and "One Hot Minute".
But the obstacle is tough to overcome! Then in the long run, it might get boring too, since variety is certainly not the strong point of the album and even the ballads are purely rock-hard-rock or whatever you want to call it.

Not an album for everyone: if you don't care about the Red Hot you might find it beautiful already after the first listen, then set it aside, then listen to it again after some time and so on.
If you are a Red Hot fan you will probably hate it, but in the end admit it: how would you feel if at the next concert (uh? Did someone say June 8th S.Siro?) they hit you with the adrenaline rush of "Shallow Be Thy Name" or the never too mentioned "My Friends"?

Think about it :D