First, the Chili rhythm section is wasted as a quasi-metal outfit. Jane's was great at that, deconstructing the power-chord to the point where it resembled art. But Flea and (drummer) Chad Smith, while occasionally high energy and hard hitting, are at their best in plush polyrhythms. Former (and now current) guitarist John Frusciante fit in perfectly in this regard. But Navarro, a great textural guitarist, is not usually counted on to carry a groove ("Stop!" notwithstanding). I should have known trouble was a-brewing when in pre-release publicity interviews, Dave professed a profound distaste for funk. Oh no! He does give it the old college try. Listen to his laid back staccato rhythms on "Aeroplane", or the jazzy wah-wah work in the addictive "Walkabout". But for the rest of the record, he just doesn't seem willing to try any more of these compromises.

Second, Anthony Kiedis is no Perry Farrell. That's not a slight, mind you. Anthony does what he does better than anyone else. He can deliver simple soulful singing on one song, and credible party rapping on others. But he doesn't have the vocal chops to do what Perry Farrell does. Perry's voice is an ethereal instrument, and his melodic phrasing is always unexpected. Anthony tries to emulate those qualities here ("Warped", "Deep Kick", "Shallow Be Thy Game"), but it's just not in him. This even leaks into the songs of conventional melody. There are specific points in both "Tearjerker" and "Transcending" where he's unsure of how to phrase his lyrics. He seems uncomfortable throughout the whole record.

There are some great moments here, though. "Aeroplane" is an ecstatic song, held together by a wicked Flea groove. The acoustic guitar from 'BloodSugarSexMagik's "Breaking the Girl" makes a welcome return on "My Friends". "Tearjerker" is a touching profession of love (to Kurt Cobain, I believe). As I said before, "Walkabout" is an interesting, funky workout for all involved. It's probably my favourite track here. And "Transcending" is mostly beautiful. It begins with a spiraling bass line, and has some nice overlapping vocals in the middle section. But it breaks down during the coda; an off-putting right turn into metal riffing.

I love the Chilis. I'm glad John is back with the band. I now know that the Dave experiment was a tad misguided, a case of friends not meshing musically. However, I do enjoy most of this album. If anything, it's an interesting experiment. One that produces some fine moments, but others that just don't work.


A Weird Detour from RHCP   November 16, 2006
WalterDigsTunes
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

Ragging on this album just because of Dave Navarro's presence is unwarranted. Face it: The Chili Peppers have seen various different guitarists in their albums, and each compliments Flea's bass and Kiedis' vocals in a suitable manner. Navarro just happened to be heavier.

This album IS, in my a opinion, a strange detour from the line of continuity that the Chili Peppers had been following. The first album was patchy funk affair nurtured under the hollow production imposed by GoF's Andy Gill. The second album saw a lazy, fun sort of funk come to the fore under the auspices of George Clinton. With "The Uplift Mofo Party Plan," there was a move towards trebly funk rock. 1989's "Mother's Milk" was a great blend of powerful funk rhythms and massive guitar overdubs. The sound was rather balanced by the sheer intensity of it all, and the production made it all enjoyable. The next album, "Blood Sugar Sex Magik," brough the production back to a more stable level. It was here where the care-free funk and the unique guitar work were allowed to flourish in their own manner. And the results were great.

But "One Hot Minute" sees the production values take an abrupt dark shift. The general atmosphere of the album is one of hazy psychedelia meshed with overly dark sensibilities. Songs like Warped, Deep Kick and the title track best exhibit this foray into the dark side. The psychedelia comes to the fore on both the funky numbers (Walkabout, Falling into Grace) and poppier tracks like Airplane. Both of these types of songs inhabit a barely lucid realm that's totally different from the band-in-a-room sound on the previous album. Sometimes, the darkness and the psych can both manifest themselves within the confines of a particular song. All of this can be rather unsettling for those accustomed to a funky, happy-go-lucky sort of juvenile sound.

The songs themselves are much more difficult to swallow than the tracks on previous albums. Those albums had a lot of filler and throwaway tracks, while all of BSSM could be enjoyably absorbed in a single sitting. With "One Hot Minute," however, the overbearing heavyness makes it hard to listen to the album over and over. Navarro's guitar sound is just too heavy in many ways, and it drowns our Flea's characteristic bass in many instances. The vocals on the tracks rely more on attitude than content (as always with Kiedis), but there's a certain straightforward approach here that stands in contrast with the more playful mannerisms of previous album. The various songs can be instantly catchy or tough to assimiliate, but very few are actually terrible. For instance, the title track descents into unnecessary repetition which just hurts its value in the end. But, for the most part, the tracks are all quite solid in their own right.

This album seems to head down a direction that defies the route that the Chili Peppers seemed to have been following. The production and the songs, coupled with the heavier guitar sound and vocal approach, made it tough to stomach this piece of work. In retrospect, however, it manages to stand on its own quite well. It's not a dud; it's just an odd digression that will take some time to reconcile and appreciate.


Awesome CD!   June 10, 2005
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

This is a very good CD and I was suggest it for those who have recently discovered Red Hot Chili Peppers. Warning to those who don't like the "funky style of RCHP": this is one of their "modern rock" albums like Californication, By The Way, etc.

Warped 4.5/5
Nice Intro! It starts out sort of quiet and then turns into real rock.

Aeroplane 5/5
Now this is a genius song! It's probably even the best one on the album! I love it, it's about romance and mixed feelings of love and attraction.

Deep Kick 4/5
This one is okay it's a little weird. I wouldn't suggest listening to this one first if it's your first time listening to the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

My Friends 5/5
This one was on Greatest Hits, so I definitely suggest it! It is also one of MY FAVORITE RCHP songs! Check it out! This is definitely for the Red Hot Chili Peppers' fans!

Coffee Shop 5/5
This is a nice rock song! All the way through, there is nice groove! It is the best and I suggest it for YOU, whoever you are.

Pea 4.5/5
Ha ha! This one is very funny! It's only about 1 minute and forty-seven seconds long, but it's still a great song.

One Big Mob 4/5
OBM is a weird song, but I like it pretty much. Around the middle of the song, you hear the baby of a member of Jane Addiction's cry. The member of JA plays guitar in this song.

Walkabout 5/5
Ha! This one is awesome! Nice rock piece!

Tearjerker 4.5/5
A very epic song of tragedy. I listen to this one not as much as Aeroplane but it is pretty good.

One Hot Minute 5/5
Now we're talkin' on this one! A very great story about a guy recieving his first kiss.

Falling Into Grace 3.5/5
I don't listen to this one very much, and I've heard that it's not good. I wouldn't suggest it for just anyone.

Shallow Be Thy Game 5/5
Oh yeah! We're talking about rock in this song! Great for a party (and so is Coffee Shop...)

Transcending 4.5/5
This one is very good, it's makes a nice outro. I don't think it's the best in fact, but all I can say is that the Red Hot Chili Peppers' One Hot Minute is great!!!





One Hot Minute of Change   June 5, 2005
Josephll (CET)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

This might not have been the greatest of their albums, but it's defenitely not a bad album at all. I actually think that "One Hot Minute" is a near great album. One big change was that guitarist John Frusciante had left and was replaced by Dave Navarro from Jane's Addiction, musically this album wasn't perhaps as hard as the previous albums either, Infact many of the hits here were rather slow or midtempo songs. A new direction perhaps, but we've seen the Peppers changing style later on aswell and it still sounds cool and fresh in my honest oppinion.

"Shallow Be Thy Game" and "One Big Mob" sound like old-school peppers. "Warped" is heavy metal with fast riffs, perhaps under the influence of Navarro, same with "Coffea Shop" and "One Hot Minute". "Aeroplane" a big single hit is a catchy rocky midtempo song. "My Friends" is slow and beautiful aswell. Another big hit. "Walkabout" is very funky, just like in old days. "Tearjerker" could have been a chillout song, cause it's a slow, touching ballad. "Transdending" is a midtempo song and a good closer, got some very nice riffs aswell.

This album may not sound like the old days but it got alot of diffrent influents, few songs sound alike and it got absolutely no fillers. Not liked but die hard peppers fans but very underrated full of interesting songs. Recommended.


Between 1991 and 1999, there was "One Hot Minute"   March 5, 2000
Adam W. Smith (Kansas City)
10 out of 12 found this review helpful

With Dave Navarro at the guitar helm, "One Hot Minute" is the one Chili Peppers album that is much different than the rest. Here, there is a guitar-driven alterna-rock band that put together a great batch of songs, yet except for Anthony's distinctive vocals, it's hard to tell these guys from a lot ot bands who put out great albums in the '90's. This is a minor complaint, though, because when it all comes down to it, it's the songs that matter, and OHM has plenty of good ones. "Aeroplane", "My Friends", and "Tearjerker" are midtempo pop-rock tracks that go down smooth, and "Warped", "Coffee Shop", and "One Big Mob" are aggressive harder rock that shows us all why these guys are so influential today. "Pea", Flea's short, bass-driven vocal attack holds its own; "Transcending", a tribute to River Phoenix, is a heartfelt number that is a good closer; "Deep Kick" is a great epic spoken-word/hard rocker where Anthony tells the story of him and Flea growing up with a sweet outro by Flea; "Shallow Be Thy Game" is the kind of funk-rock we've all come to expect from these guys, and "Walkabout", my favorite cut on here, is a fun little number with great guitar parts, and interesting lyrics with a slight outback theme. There really aren't any weak tracks on here, it's all quite good, and that's reason enough to check this album out, even though it doesn't always sound like the guys who brought us "Mother's Milk". It's a new direction, and it's a good indication of where they went with "Californication", a nice mix of all of the styles they have explored.