Red Hot Chili Peppers - Live Rare Remix Box [3CD] (1994)

Back in the summer of 1991, when the Chili Peppers and Rick Rubin completed the sessions for Blood Sugar Sex Magik in a (supposedly haunted) mansion in Laurel Canyon, both parties were left with quite a dilemma -- they had too much darn material to fit on a single disc. Hence the arduous task began of having to trim away tracks, with more than just a few deserving selections being delegated to European CD-single B-sides. That's where the three-disc Live Rare Remix Box comes in handy, as it collects most of these oft-overlooked Blood Sugar era studio rarities (most of which are as strong as the keepers that made it on to the album), as well as live tracks and remixes. Although three discs are included, there are only 13 tracks total (!) -- guess somebody forgot that you could fit over 70 minutes of music per single CD. As far as the studio cuts go, all are worthwhile, especially the mellow "Soul to Squeeze" (which later became a hit in 1993 as the main song to the movie Coneheads), as well as such hyper ditties as "Fela's Cock" and "Sikamikanico," as well as a rough and ragged version of the Stooges' "Search and Destroy." The live tracks are enjoyable as well (especially "Suck My Kiss" and the Mother's Milk classic "Nobody Weird Like Me"), but the remixes are a waste of time -- is it really necessary to include three different versions of "If You Have to Ask"? Although there are several highlights here, due to its high price tag and underwhelming amount of tracks, Live Rare Remix Box will be of interest to the most extreme Peppers' fans.