Freaky Styley is the second effort from funk-kings, the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It's definitely the funkiest stuff they've ever produced. Rapping from Kiedis, as usual, is always solid on the album. Flea never fails to produce the unthinkable on his bass. Guitaring and Drumming aren't really features of this album, but it's definitely there, and is always done well, no matter who's playing.
As I look over the average ratings on sputnik, I can't help but see that this album has one of the lowest ratings out of all of the Chili Peppers albums. The only reason I can think of for this would be that it's a bit over-funked, and as Flea said, never really reached mainstream. I love this album, the basslines never cease to amaze me, and I think the chemistry between vocals, bass and brass is phenomenal. The guitars and drums are always there aswell, doing their job. Most of the songs on this album mix bass and brass very well. A couple of good examples would be
The Brother's Cup,
American Ghost Dance, and
Yertle The Turtle.
Not only do I think this album is a good listen, but I can't help moving my body to the insane basslines, awesome rapping, and wacko drumbeats.
Battleship, while probably not one of the best songs on the album, is really catchy, featuring all instruments well, including trumpets and saxophones.
Catholic School Girls Rule has an absolutely awesome bassline, nice guitaring, fired up drumming, and Kiedis at the front, is doing a great job of delivering the lyrics about hot school girls. It's a another real upbeat, head-bopping song, and the short, but sweet solo, is yet another great exponent of Flea's great talent.
My personal favourite song is
Blackeyed Blonde. The vocal delivery is mind-blowing, I don't get how he does it! Flea also amazes in this, pumping out those funkalicious basslines with ease, making for a great listen. Beat is kept aggressively, and of course brilliantly, by the drums. Guitaring is done well, playing some nice notes behind the bass, and also featuring a couple of times.
Although I believe that this is a great funk album, it still varies a lot. From the beautiful sex ballad
Lovin' and Touchin', to the totally random
Thirty Dirty Birds, and then to
Yertle The Turtle, a Dr. Seuss story rapped! Combined with the rest of the album, you have yourself a great listen.
Be that as it may, this isn't quite complete. I think that the album doesn't feature the guitar enough, but it has its moments playing something funky. The drumming is always done well, the beat is kept aggresively, and keeps the songs together. Overall, the album is almost complete, and a great example of the younger Chili Peppers, along with The Uplift Mofo Party Plan.
This kind of funk is seldom seen elsewhere, and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who is a remote fan of the Chili Peppers.
Recommended Songs:
American Ghost Dance
Nevermind
Blackeyed Blonde
The Brothers Cup
Catholic School Girls Rule
Overall album rating: 4.5/5
