Greatest Hits [PA]

Performer: Red Hot Chili Peppers
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Red Hot Chili Peppers: Anthony Kiedis (vocals); John Frusciante (guitar); Flea (bass); Chad Smith (drums). Compilation producers: Rick Rubin, Michael Beinhorn. Although the Red Hot Chili Peppers have received the hits treatment before (most notably on 1992's WHAT HITS?), this compilation serves to highlight the band's peak years with guitarist John Frusciante, both before his sudden departure in 1992 and after his lauded return for 1999's CALIFORNICATION. (The group's intriguing-yet-mismatched union with Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro yields only one track, "My Friends.") The Chili Peppers are best known for their energetic punk-funk anthems but their mainstream breakthrough, the gently building ballad "Under the Bridge" opens GREATEST HITS. It's followed in short order, however by the boisterous, slaphappy "Give It Away." Other Peppers high points include the beautifully melancholy "Scar Tissue," the hard-to-find "Soul to Squeeze," the folky "Breaking the Girl," and the only pre-1990s track--the group's wonderfully rocked-out cover of Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground." Of course, this HITS collection includes the seemingly requisite (and quite good) two new tracks--the driving "Fortune Faded" and the dreamy "Save the Population." GREATEST HITS effectively chronicles the Peppers' transition from goofy party boys to mature, highly inventive rock band.

Entertainment Weekly (11/14/03, pp.126-7) - "...[This collection culls] the good stuff..." - Rating : B+ Q (1/04, p.142) - 4 stars out of 5 - "It's an astonishing feat of creative solidity."

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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