Rocktrospectiva: Red Hot Chilli Peppers' Debut Studio Album Turns 40

 

Released on 10 August, 1984 the self-titled debut studio album by American band Red Hot Chilli Peppers was produced by Gang of Four guitarist Andy Gill, and is the only Peppers album to feature Jack Sherman on guitar; Sherman was in the band as a replacement for founding member Hillel Slovak, who'd left the band along with founding drummer Jack Irons before the album was recorded. After the tour for this album, Sherman was fired and Slovak rejoined the band. 

 

The band was not quite sure to team with Andy Gill over the musical direction the album would take, Kiedis was disappointed with the overall sound thinking that it lacked of that raw energy the band recorded in their 1983 demo tape, according to Kiedis in his "Scar Tissue" autobiography, he felt demolished due a comment Gill said about "Police Helicopter" described it as shit, because for the band, this was something like a the jewel in their crown cause it emdodied the spirit of what the band truly was back then, now they are working with the enemy and from now until the end tof the recording, he and Flea would under constantly attack, even Flea was dissapointed at the time about the songs they recorded, the band was constatly smoking, Irons and Slovak quit, and then hired these two guys, Sherman and Martinez both were great musician, but there was a lack of connection, sometimes the feeling was to go back and re-record that with the original band. 

 

The Red Hot Chili Peppers' debut album  was a funk-metal hybrid quite effectively, especially on the deep groove of the brilliant track "True Men Don't Kill Coyotes." but even though their fusion of heavy guitars and slapping bass was audacious, this very first effort didn't quite get into a cohesive album.  You know, it's one of those albums litterally destroyed by the weak post-production, full of weird reverberations, stilted and sterile sound and strangely unpronounced guitar, bumpkinish brass sections and in result you get an inconsistent jumble of corny songs. The Red Hot Chilli Peppers were off to a good start, but there are already some key elements, but one feels that it is a debut in which a well-formed repertoire and a cohesion of intentions are still lacking, also the sound of the album is terrrible according to fans due to the productions but even though, there were also great remarkable points.

Unfortunately for the band, the album failed to chart the Billboard 200, it reached No. 201, but the album received college airplay and certain MTV rotation and helped the band to built a fan base, about the critics, those were mixed some were positive others pointed the lack of cohesion in the sound, but paved to way to what was about to come for the band. 

 

Red Hot Chilli Peppers Track List:

 

1. True Men Don't Kill Coyotes

2. Baby Appeal 

3. Buckle Down

4. Get Up And Jump

5. Why Don't You Love Me

6. Green Heaven

7. Mommy Where's Daddy

8. Out In L.A.

9. Police Helicopter

10. You Always Sing The Same

11. Grand Pappy Du Plenty (Instrumental)