MOTHER'S MILK

'''Mother's Milk''' is the fourth studio album by Red Hot Chili Peppers. It was released on August 16, 1989. It has sold 2 million copies and achieved double-platinum certification. Vocalist Anthony Kiedis disproves the rumors that the phrase "mother's milk" is a reference to heroin in his autobiography ''Scar Tissue''.
''Mother's Milk'' peaked at #52 on ''Billboard Top 200'' album chart and it was certified gold by mid-1990 and platinum in 2005.
After a long absence of not playing ''Mother's Milk'' songs due to Frusciante's dislike of his guitar work on the album, the band has begun playing songs from the album again on their ''Stadium Arcadium'' world tour.

Contents

Background

Recording and production

Track listing

Bonus tracks on 2003 remastered version

B-sides, outtakes and non-album tracks

Selected quotes regarding ''Mother's Milk''

Charting singles

Personnel

References

Notes

Background

Before the album was recorded, guitarist Hillel Slovak died on June 25, 1988 which caused drummer Jack Irons to leave the band. After temporarily employing former P-Funk guitarist DeWayne "Blackbyrd" McKnight and Dead Kennedys drummer D. H. Peligro, guitarist John Frusciante and drummer Chad Smith were chosen to replace them. Originally the album was planned as ''The Rockin' Freakapotamus'', but after Slovak's death the recordings were stopped. Now "The Rockin' Freakapotamus" is the name of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' fan club.

Recording and production

Not everything was smooth sailing during the recording sessions in ''Mother's Milk''. Frontman Anthony Kiedis noted in his autobiography that Frusciante and producer Michael Beinhorn often fought over the former's guitar work. As such the overall guitar sound on the album is almost overpowering, often drowning out the sound of the other instruments and in particular Kiedis' vocals (This is clearly evident at the end of "Nobody Weird Like Me".)
The Chilis turned to producer Rick Rubin for their next album, ''Blood Sugar Sex Magik'', who had a different approach to recording.

Track listing

All songs written by Red Hot Chili Peppers unless otherwise noted.
#"Good Time Boys" – 5:02
#"Higher Ground" (Stevie Wonder) – 3:23
#"Subway to Venus" – 4:25
#"Magic Johnson" – 2:57
#"Nobody Weird Like Me" – 3:50
#"Knock Me Down" – 3:45
#"Taste the Pain" – 4:32
#"Stone Cold Bush" – 3:06
#"Fire" (Jimi Hendrix) – 2:03
#"Pretty Little Ditty" – 1:37
#"Punk Rock Classic" – 1:47
#"Sexy Mexican Maid" (Peligro, Flea, Frusciante, Kiedis, Smith) – 3:23
#"Johnny, Kick a Hole in the Sky" – 5:12

Bonus tracks on 2003 remastered version

#

"Song That Made Us What We Are Today" (demo) – 12:56
#"Knock Me Down" (original long version) – 4:44
#"Sexy Mexican Maid" (original long version) – 3:59
#"Salute to Kareem" (demo) – 3:24
#"Castles Made of Sand" (live) (Hendrix) – 3:19
#"Crosstown Traffic" (live) (Hendrix) – 2:53
Pretty Little Ditty was also expanded to 3:08 on the remastered version, and more percussion and drums were added.

B-sides, outtakes and non-album tracks

Song	Length	Release(s)
"Show Me Your Soul"	4:22	★ B-side of "Knock Me Down" and "Taste the Pain" ★ ''Pretty Woman'' movie soundtrack ★ ''What Hits!?''
"Politician (Mini-rap)"	0:11	★ B-side of "Higher Ground"

Selected quotes regarding ''Mother's Milk''

In an 2002 interview, John Frusciante stated:

Charting singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1989	"Higher Ground"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	26
1989	"Higher Ground"	Modern Rock Tracks	11
1989	"Knock Me Down"	Modern Rock Tracks	6

Personnel

★ Flea – bass, vocals

★ John Frusciante – guitar, vocals

★ Anthony Kiedis – vocals, cover art concept

★ Chad Smith – drums

★ Fish – drums (on "Taste the Pain")

★ Jack Irons – drums (on "Fire")

★ Hillel Slovak – guitar (on "Fire"), paintings

★ Dave Coleman – cello

★ Patrick English – trumpet

★ Michael Beinhorn – producer, engineer

★ Eddie DeLena – engineer

★ Felix Pappalardi – producer

★ Garth Richardson – engineer

★ Dave Jerden – mixing

★ Vicki Calhoun – background vocals

★ Bruno Deron – background vocals

★ Merrill Ward – background vocals

★ Joel Virgel Viergel – background vocals

★ Wag – background vocals

★ Jack Sherman – background vocals

★ Aklia Shin – background vocals

★ Kristen Vigard – background vocals

★ Julie Ritter – background vocals (formerly of Mary's Danish)

★ Iris Parker – background vocals

★ Gretchen Seager – background vocals (formerly of Mary's Danish)

★ Henry Marquez – art direction, design

★ Peter Shea – art direction, design

★ Nels Israelson – photography

References

★ Scar Tissue, , Anthony, Kiedis, Hyperion, ,

Notes