What Hits!?

Performer: Red Hot Chili Peppers
Distributor: EMI Music Distribution

Notes: Red Hot Chili Peppers: Anthony Keidis (vocals); Hillel Slovak, John Frusciante (guitar); Flea (bass); Jack Irons, Chad Smith (drums). Producers include: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Andy Gill, Rick Rubin, Norwood Fisher, George Clinton. After the Red Hot Chili Peppers left EMI for Warner Bros. and hit the big time with "Under the Bridge," their former label gathered most of the best tracks from the group's first four albums for the compilation What Hits!? Since Blood Sugar Sex Magik, the Peppers' most popular album, was recorded for Warner, none of its songs are present -- with the exception of "Under the Bridge," which was somehow licensed for use. What Hits!? does a pretty good job of sifting through the Peppers' uneven discography and picking out the best moments, making it a very useful sampler; it also contains "Show Me Your Soul," the band's contribution to the Pretty Woman soundtrack. ~ Steve Huey Since their departure from EMI for Warner Bros. after 1989's MOTHER'S MILK, the Red Hot Chili Peppers' former label has issued several collections (including 1994's OUT IN L.A., 1998's ESSENTIAL), with the best of the bunch being the 1992 WHAT HITS? compilation. While it's not a thorough greatest-hits collection (only one song from their post-EMI years is included, "Under the Bridge"), it is highly recommended to Chili Peppers newcomers who are unfamiliar with the music from their formative years. Such punk-funk classics as "Higher Ground," "Fight Like a Brave," "Get Up and Jump," "Taste the Pain," "Knock Me Down," and the psychedelic "Behind the Sun" are standouts. At 18 tracks in length, one gets a solid introduction to the Peppers with WHAT HITS?

Alternative Press (2/93, p.42) - "...their pre-Mother's Milk, pre-dead guitarist era was little short of riotous, and if the records don't quite show that, on camera there's more mugging, mobbing and mayhem than you could shake a well-stuffed sock at..." NME (Magazine) (10/24/92, p.37) - "..a most excellent compilation.."

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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