Red Hot Chili Peppers, One Hot Minute Song by Song Thread *

One Hot Minute:

The song would be just fine if it ended at 3:45, it works well on the record and has a good vibe. I like the song but agree with the above posts about Anthony not being the best voice and being limited in what he can pull off.

5:15 to 5:03 seems like a quasi-hypnotic drive, It's almost like a white noise that keeps droning. Like when your refrigerator or washing machine makes that same damn noise over and over again. I get lost thinking about other things when this happens and if it went on longer I would probably go to sleep.

 

Falling Into Grace:

Falling Into Grace, written after Anthony's meeting with Guru Muhk, the yoga teacher, who also performs the chants on this song. In addition, Kristen Vigard performs backing vocals on this song. This is the third track on the album that has never been played live.
The song starts off with Flea playing a wah-tinged bass line, supported by Chad's backbeat and colored by Dave's talkbox, which I really like on here. Anthony's voice works pretty well here, he works with what he has and makes decent use of it, and it does an okay job working with the music here. I love Dave's solo at 2:12, has this Indian tinged tone and is very well constructed, and the chant adds an interesting flavor to the track, I like it a lot.
Overall, I really like this song, I think it's pretty cool.

 

Probably my favorite track on the album. So heavy. So awesome.

 

I think the song would be better if it started at 3:45

 

Falling Into Grace is one of the strongest tracks on the album. Great bass, great guitar, solid beat. One of Anthony’s best vocal efforts on the album. I love Dave’s strum during the chorus.

 

Falling Into Grace

It's got a nice main bass groove, but that's about the only thing I like on this one. Lots of wankery from Flea and Navarro. The chorus is bad and Anthony can't pull this song off, even with nice backing vocals. Thumbs down.

 

Yes, that's a really good way of describing the sound of this tune!

I really like this one - appreciate the thoughts of others who find a bit trying, but I think it works. I'm happy with all 6+ minutes. And it's good to have a break in style with what I see as the palatable - but meandering - nature of the songs preceding it.

Perhaps what I like most about this song is that it gives a good ear-worm reference when I think of this album, or read it on an online forum, or see it on my record shelf..."One Hot Minute and I'm in it come and get it..."

Many albums are named for their signature song, or another notable single on the album. And many other albums bear a name that has no reference to any song or lyrics on the album at all. But in my opinion, rare is the album named after a deep cut that is also a satisfying song and title.
Again, I was aware of this album - and so obviously the album title - much earlier than I knew of the song that gave the album its name, and to discover the link with the song/album name was a pleasant surprise.

 

"One Hot Minute" is a pretty good song. I think this is one where Navarro's metal influence kind of came through in the first 3:44. There are parts of this that are more Jane's Addiction oriented with the psychedelic vibe and the grinding ending. Probably the only thing I could do without is the chorus which I don't particularly care for.

"Falling Into Grace" Dave's use of the golden throat is an interesting idea, but is also a bit distracting. I never thought I'd say this but Flea's bass is a bit too overdriven for this. He's obviously running through a flanger and it's just overbearing. Not fond of the chanting at the ending; I'd definitely consider this a 'weaker' track for this record. Not a favorite.

 

I think that's said Hot Minute, more or less.

 

Falling Into Grace

This such a strong song, the funk is all there, the vibe is good, The chorus however kills this song for me and the chant almost seems like it could have been left out and not affected the song.

 

The best parts for sure are Dave's 'Indian' solo followed by the chant. I think the band probably achieved the sound they were setting out to construct with this one. It's not a personal favourite, but not too bad.

 

Shallow Be Thy Game:

We come to the second to last track on the album, which was also the fourth single from the album; however, it had no video made for it, as it was a promotional single in Australia during their Australian dates. The song serves as an attack on religion and it's use of fear to make people conform and bend over.
The song kicks off with this badass little bass line from Flea before Dave's guitar comes in at :16, and the band is insanely tight on this track, laying down a strong, dense rhythm, Anthony is in form on this track lyrically and even vocally, but for me, the true star of this song is Dave, who just tears it up throughout this track.
This track is winner winner chicken dinner, an album highlight, I absolutely love it.

 

Here's Frog, the instrumental demo:

 

Live in Sydney:

 

Shallow Be Thy Game

Now we're cooking with gas! This is a great melding of Peppers funk with Navarro's rock sound. Flea and Chad lay down a serious groove, and Navarro goes nuts. It's also the kind of track where Anthony's voice really works - reminds me of early RHCP.

Good work by everyone. There's no hook in the chorus, but this song doesn't need it. Just sit back and rock out to the hard rock funkiness.

 

Love this one also, anytime I play the whole album I'm just waiting for this to kick in! Absolutely fantastic groove and great work by the whole ensemble, as others have said.
One of those tracks so great - and pleasantly surprising to me on discovering the album - where you wonder why the band couldn't have done one or two more like this, such is the calibre.

 

One Hot Minute
Never thought much of this track but I'm listening to it now and I really like it. (According to my Windows Media Player records, this was the song on the album I hadn't played in the longest time.) The length is a bit of a turn-off but it's actually pretty awesome and I like every section, even the repetitive ending. I don't know why I always remembered OHM as a top-heavy record because this is easily one of the best songs here.

Falling Into Grace
Always dug this song and digging it even more listening now. The instrumental breakdown is pretty excellent. I could do without the chanting, but I love the female backing vocals. They help me tune out Anthony's singing

Shallow Be Thy Game
Love this song! Always have. Every 90s rock band needed their token "don't buy into religion" song, and even as a devout Catholic, I give good writing credit where it's due, and these are some of the better lyrics on the album for sure. The chorus absolutely rocks.

 

This song makes we wish they had done more albums with Dave. He smokes on this song. Chad really holds everything together. I also really love the Frog demo.

 

^bump

 

I remember thinking that "Warped" rocked hard at the time - made me very excited for the new album and new direction with Navarro.

nearly 23 years on, and re-listening to the track today, my ears must've changed substantially, I'm finding very little to like here other than the lock-in groove between Flea and Chad. And this is all the more surprising given that I'm a huge Dave Navarro/Jane's fan.

 

BDSM/Bondage themes in music were all over the place for a little while in the 90's it seemed!

 

didn't like any of SA's singles, so haven't given the full album a fair listen. Each single sounded like a blatant retread of previous RHCP songs.

there are many whose opinions I respect who seem to love Stadium Arcadium however - next to One Hot Minute, could SA be the most polarizing RHCP release?

 

I didn't listen to the full thing until 2016, and it was a bad as I imagined, what an overbloatwd, half baked, uninspired turd.

 

Great thread! This album is a bit of an outlier in the Peppers catalog, but an important one and certainly a favorite of mine. I think Navarro had big shoes to fill and was the perfect replacement at the time, considering the large shadow the Peppers cast over music in the 90s. I'll comment on individual songs as the discussion continues, but I think this is quite a memorable and essential record for the Peppers!

 

Thanks for the compliments, and we're up to Shallow right now.