From the Vault...

02/25/2018
#1609

info
Red Hot Chili Peppers
"Mother's Milk"


© EMI Records

Year of Release: 1998
Rating:

track listing
  • Good Time Boys
  • Higher Ground
  • Subway To Venus
  • Magic Johnson
  • Nobody Weird Like Me
  • Knock Me Down
  • Taste The Pain
  • Stone Cold Bush
  • Fire
  • Pretty Little Ditty
  • Punk Rock Classic
  • Sexy Mexican Maid
  • Johnny Kick A Hole
    In The Sky

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    "Mother's Milk"



    The Red Hot Chili Peppers makes their debut on our site this week, with what would be the start of their popularity - their 4th album of their career, Mother's Milk, from 1989.


    Multiple genres evolves on this album -- Soul, Punk, Funk, even Rap. Known as a "funk rock band," this title does hold well. Lead vocalist Anthony Kiedls "rap style" makes it work, and if you really want to be an accomplished bass player, the funkiness of bassist Flea holds his own, on many funk-styled bass rhythms and lead bass solos.


    Starting out the album is "Good Time Boys" -- It's got Soul, and Pun. Definitely Funk. Rap? You could say that too. What was the highlight and most remembered track from Mother's Milk is the funkified remake of Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground." More funky than the original, it's the constant strumming of Flea's bass that is the standout for this track.


    More on the funk and fast-paced vocals (rappin Anthony Kiedls) gets "Subway To Venus." And even more fast-paced vocalizing (way, way fast) is "Magic Johnson." Fast-paced and weird as it's title on the next track, "Nobody Weird Like Me."


    But then there are the next two tracks that are considered great tracks, and more on the Alternative Rock genre: "Knock Me Down," and "Taste The Pain." Not are fast-paced, but they both work, extemely well.


    Then it's back to fast paced funk again: "Stone Cold Bush." The Jimi Hendrix remake of "Fire" continues the fast-pacing, as their version is faster than the original by Hendrix.


    "Pretty Little Ditty" is a nice little (funky) instrumental, and has a sampling of the band Crazy Town's "Butterfly." OH WAIT.. the Crazy Town hit would not come around until the year 2001. Just a coincidence that this "sample" sounds like it? If you're familiar with the "Butterfly" hit, take a listen for yourself.


    And again, it's fast, fast, fast -- "Punk Rock Classic." On "Sexy Mexican Maid," I can't get two songs out of my head while listening to this one -- Another (fuure) hit for the RHCP, "Aeroplane" (which would be on their 1995 album, One Hot Minute. The other one is another song (that would be in the future at the time) - Lenny Kravitz's "Fly Away" (released on his 1998 album, 5>) Especially the lyric as I listen... "I want to get away..." All in all, this track is another good Alternative Rock track.


    The album ends with a somewhat novelty sounding track and funky as usual, "Johnny, Kick A Hole In The Sky."


    Mother's Milk has all the ingridients of a funk/soul/alternative rock album. Some say it was "Prince meeting Jimi Hendrix in a Twilight Zone episode." (They must have been Hendrix fans, as they recorded their own version of Hendrix's "Fire," and on the album's 2003 remastered version, they include two other Hendrix songs, recorded live -- "Castles Made Of Sand," and "Crosstown Traffic."


    The RHCP had released albums prior to Mother's Milk, yet it would be this album that would gain themselves more popularity. Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground" started the foundation, as the RHCP became known as a funk/Alternative Rock band. Some admired Anthony Kiedls' attempt at rap. Just listen to their hit "Give It Away" and YOU try to say that title as fast and "rappin" as he did... I don't think so.


    Throughout their upcoming albums, they achieved the #1 position on the Billboard Hot 200 Albums chart, with Californication (1999) and Stadium Arcadium (2006). As of Mother's Milk, they have released a total of seven studio albums; their latest in 2016, The Getaway.


    They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in 2012.


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    Previous Review: #1608
    Jewel--Perfectly Clear
    Next Review: #1610
    Various Artists--Jazz For A Rainy Afternoon