The Uplift Mofo Party Plan

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Performer: Red Hot Chili Peppers
Artist: Norwood Fisher; Angelo Moore
Distributor: EMI Music Distribution

Notes: The Red Hot Chili Peppers: Anthony Kiedis (vocals); Hillel Slovak (guitar, sitar, background vocals); Flea (bass, background vocals); Jack Irons (drums, background vocals). Additional personnel includes: Norwood Fisher, Angelo Moore, David Kenoly, Michael Beinhorn, Annie Newman (background vocals). Recorded at Capitol Studios, Hollywood, California. Includes liner notes by Flea. All tracks have been digitally remastered using 24 Bit Technology. In a perfect world, the Red Hot Chili Peppers' breakthrough album wouldn't have been 1989's Mother's Milk, but 1987's The Uplift Mofo Party Plan, and the history of this groundbreaking rock/rap band (and likely the entire subgenre it created) would've been drastically changed. But the Chili Peppers created most of the imperfections in their world, especially in the late '80s, and the unusual scenario of four original bandmembers recording together for the first time on that band's third album would tragically prove to be a one-shot deal. Veterans Anthony Kiedis (vocals) and Flea (bass) had welcomed back original guitarist Hillel Slovak for the preceding Freaky Styley album after using Jack Sherman on their self-titled 1984 debut, doing the same at this point for original drummer Jack Irons, who replaced Cliff Martinez. The energy of having these four friends from Los Angeles back together jumps out of the opening anthem "Fight Like a Brave" and the experimental "Funky Crime"; tracks like the autobiographical "Me & My Friends" and closing "Organic Anti-Beat Box Band" would stay in the group's live repertoire for the next decade or more. Kiedis' barking rap delivery drives the cover of Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues," and Flea's ahead-of-their-time slapping basslines stand out in "Behind the Sun" and "Walkin' on Down the Road," but Slovak and Irons brought things to the Chili Peppers that no one else ever has. The drummer's pounding funk backbeats left a blueprint for his successor, Chad Smith, and the manic intro to "Skinny Sweaty Man" sounds like Buddy Rich playing James Brown material. Slovak is at the height of his powers on the rap-rock reggae "Love Trilogy" and funky "Special Secret Song Inside," which gained some notoriety for its anatomical undertones. But Slovak would die of a heroin overdose the following year, with Irons quitting the band afterward from the depression of the loss. Kiedis and Flea would come to grips with their own drug habits and return with Smith and guitarist John Frusciante on Mother's Milk, breaking into the arena circuit with a hit cover of Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground" -- and leaving Kiedis and Flea to wonder what might have been. ~ Bill Meredith 1987's THE UPLIFT MOFO PARTY PLAN was the album in which the Red Hot Chili Peppers' sound came together. Producer Michael Beinhorn (who would later go on to produce such other alt-rock notables as Soundgarden and Hole) helped the Peppers incorporate more of a hard-rock approach to their already rich blend of funk and punk, with often explosive results. The songwriting is more focused this time around, while the playing is consistently energetic. Though the album is strong on the whole, selected highlights include "Fight Like a Brave," "Funky Crime," "Me and My Friends," "Backwoods," "Behind the Sun," "No Chump Love Sucker," and the X-rated "Special Secret Song Inside." This would be the best (and sadly, final) album to feature the Kiedis/Flea/Slovak/Irons lineup--Slovak died from a drug overdose in 1988, and Irons exited soon after, turning up several years later as the drummer for Pearl Jam.

Inspiring legions of imitators (especially among the rap-metal crowd), the Red Hot Chili Peppers combined biting rock guitar with funk rhythms and rap-influenced vocals for a thunderous, party-hearty sound. While the California band was popular on the alt-rock circuit in the late-'80s, they broke through to the mainstream and became superstars in the early '90s with a more mature sound that incorporated melodic ballads. Nevertheless, the band's stageshow continued to be just as unpredictable and outrageous as their music.

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