The Red Hot Chili Peppers (album)

This article is about the album The Red Hot Chili Peppers. For the band, Red Hot Chili Peppers, see Red Hot Chili Peppers.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers
Studio album by The Red Hot Chili Peppers
Released	August 10, 1984
Recorded	April 1984 at Eldorado Studios in Hollywood, California
Genre	Funk rock, rap rock
Length	30:32 46:01 on the 2003 remaster
Language	English
Label	EMI America
Producer	Andy Gill
The Red Hot Chili Peppers chronology
The Red Hot Chili Peppers (1984) Freaky Styley (1985)
Singles from The Red Hot Chili Peppers
"True Men Don't Kill Coyotes - video only" Released: 1984 "Get Up and Jump" Released: 1984

The Red Hot Chili Peppers is the debut studio album by American funk rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on August 10, 1984 on EMI America Records. The album was produced by Gang of Four guitarist Andy Gill, and is the only album to feature guitarist Jack Sherman.

Background and recording

Red Hot Chili Peppers struck a deal with EMI America Records. However, guitarist Hillel Slovak and drummer Jack Irons were also in What Is This?, who had signed with MCA Records two weeks prior, thus, the two were unable to play with the band. The Chili Peppers found replacements with guitarist Jack Sherman and former Weirdos & Captain Beefheart drummer Cliff Martinez.

The recording of the album was not a smooth process. Andy Gill and the band fought over creative issues, with Gill directing them towards a more "radio-friendly" sound. Since all the trouble the band had with recording this album, one of the members left a pizza box filled with crap, and one of the mixers ran away screaming from the studio. ^[1] In Kiedis' autobiography Scar Tissue, he says that he was demolished when he saw that Gill had written the word "shit" next to the title of the song "Police Helicopter" on a notepad as it was one of the first songs they had written and in Kiedis' words "It embodied the spirit of the band which was the kinetic, stabbing, angular, shocking assault force of sound and energy". The band were said to not be pleased with the production on the album, preferring the demo versions they had recorded earlier with Slovak and Irons.

They went on tour to support the record but the rest of the band did not get along with Sherman. They only earned about $500 each from the tour.^[2] Both albums, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Squeezed by What Is This? did not do well, so Jack Sherman was fired from the Peppers and Hillel Slovak returned to perform on Freaky Styley, the Chili Peppers' second album.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[3]
Robert Christgau	(B-) [4]

Critical and commercial response

Main article: The Red Hot Chili Peppers tour

The Red Hot Chili Peppers was released with the Chili Peppers disappointed in the production. It failed to chart on the Billboard 200, reaching #201 (meaning it "bubbled under" the main album chart for 8 weeks in the autumn of 1984). The album received college airplay and MTV rotation, and built the band's fan base. The reviews that were published of the album were mixed, with the first issue of Spin magazine giving, according to Anthony Kiedis in his autobiography Scar Tissue, a positive review.^[5] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic gave the album a negative review,^[6] and stated that "their first effort didn't quite gel into a cohesive album", giving the album only 2½ stars out of 5. As of 2007, it had sold about 300,000 copies worldwide.^[7] Many of the albums songs would be played at live shows, notably "Green Heaven", "Get Up and Jump", and "Out in L.A".

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"True Men Don't Kill Coyotes"	Kiedis, Balzary, Martinez, Sherman	3:40
2.	"Baby Appeal"	Kiedis, Balzary, Martinez, Sherman, Slovak	3:41
3.	"Buckle Down"	Kiedis, Balzary, Martinez, Sherman	3:24
4.	"Get Up and Jump"	Kiedis, Balzary, Slovak, Irons	2:53
5.	"Why Don't You Love Me" (Hank Williams cover)	Williams	3:25
6.	"Green Heaven"	Kiedis, Balzary, Slovak, Irons	3:59
7.	"Mommy, Where's Daddy?"	Kiedis, Balzary, Martinez, Sherman	3:31
8.	"Out in L.A."	Kiedis, Balzary, Slovak, Irons	2:01
9.	"Police Helicopter"	Kiedis, Balzary, Slovak, Irons	1:16
10.	"You Always Sing the Same" (listed as "You Always Sing" on some releases)	Kiedis, Balzary	0:19
11.	"Grand Pappy Du Plenty"	Kiedis, Balzary, Martinez, Sherman, Gill	4:15
Total length:			30:32

Bonus tracks on 2003 remastered version, previously released on Out in L.A. in 1994
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
12.	"Get Up and Jump (Demo)"	Kiedis, Balzary, Slovak, Irons	2:37
13.	"Police Helicopter (Demo)"	Kiedis, Balzary, Slovak, Irons	1:12
14.	"Out in L.A. (Demo)"	Kiedis, Balzary, Slovak, Irons	1:56
15.	"Green Heaven (Demo)"	Kiedis, Balzary, Slovak, Irons	3:50
16.	"What It Is (Demo)" (also known as "Nina's Song")	Kiedis, Balzary	3:58
Total length:			46:01

Personnel

Red Hot Chili Peppers

• Flea – bass
• Anthony Kiedis – vocals
• Cliff Martinez – drums
• Jack Sherman – guitar

Additional musicians

• Keith Barry – horn arrangements & viola
• Cliff Brooks – timbales & congas
• Gwen Dickey – background vocals
• Patrick English – trumpet
• Kenny Flood – tenor sax
• Phil Ranelin – trombone

Recording personnel

• Andy Gill – producer
• Spit Stix – producer (demos)
• Dave Jerden – engineer
• Carolyn Collins – assistant engineer
• Rob Stevens – mixing
• Barry Conley – mixing assistant
• Greg Fulginiti – mastering

Artwork

• Gary Panter – cover art
• Edward Colver – photography
• Howard Rosenberg – photography
• Henry Marquez – art direction

2003 remastered version personnel

• Kevin Flaherty – producer for reissue
• Ron McMaster – remastering
• Kenny Nemes – project manager
• Michelle Azzopardi – art direction
• Kristine L. Barnard – design
• John Dinser – photo imaging and additional design
• Edward Colver – photography
• Howard Rosenberg – photography
• EMI Archives – photography

References

Kiedis, Anthony; Sloman, Larry (2004). Scar Tissue. New York: Hyperion. ISBN 1-4013-0101-0. 

Notes

1. ^ Kiedis, Sloman, 2004 p. 144–145
2. ^ Kiedis, Sloman, 2004 p. 161
3. ^ Allmusic Review
4. ^ Robert Christgau Review
5. ^ Kiedis, Sloman, 2004 p. 145
6. ^ Thomas Erlewine, Stephen. "The Red Hot Chili Peppers Review". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r16297. Retrieved 2007-10-02. 
7. ^ Faris, Lynn (January, 2007). "Not your Mother's Milk". Creative Loafing. http://charlotte.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A119818. Retrieved 2007-10-09.