ROCK HALL INDUCTIONS: THE RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS

The current lineup w/ ex-drummers Jack Irons & Cliff Martinez
photo courtesy of WNCX in Cleveland 

I was fortunate enough to have attended this year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.  See my full report for CBS Local Digital here.

One of the highlights for me was the induction of The Red Hot Chili Peppers, a band I've been a fan of for more than two decades.

I was curious which members of the band would be inducted, and who would show up.  There are basically two classic lineups: first, Anthony Kiedis, Flea, drummer Jack Irons and the late Hillel Slovak on guitar. And second, the most popular lineup, Anthony, Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante, who quit the band for the second time a few years back. All six of those guys got in.

But I was wondering about the lineup from their first album: Anthony, Flea, drummer Cliff Martinez (who recently scored the film Drive) and guitarist Jack Sherman. Plus, guitarist Dave Navarro, who replaced Frusciante the first time he left, and Josh Klinghoffer, who is in the band now. Oddly, Martinez was inducted but Sherman wasn't.  If their 1984 self-titled debut is considered to be such a milestone in the band's career, why wouldn't everyone from the album be inducted?  I think the answer lies in that Martinez left under good terms, while Sherman was fired, and I think he later sued the band. The thing is, management shouldn't be deciding who is included, they shouldn't be able to re-write that history.

THE RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS - A BEGINNER'S GUIDE

I was really excited to hear that The Red Hot Chili Peppers are one of the artists being inducted into the Rock and Roll of Fame in 2012. I've been a fan for over twenty years: I was turned on to them in about 1989 when they released Mother's Milk. I have gotten every album since on release day (if not earlier), and I picked up all of their earlier albums too. The band has been though so much -- death, addiction, near implosion -- but somehow their music makes me feel good to be alive.

In the next few weeks, I hope to have a guest blogger write a real life testimonial about the band.  But I thought I'd give a quick primer on the group.  I'm curious which members will be part of the induction. Obviously singer Anthony Kiedis and bassist Flea.  I'm sure the guys from their most successful lineup, drummer Chad Smith and guitarist John Frusciante. And I kind of figure that original members -- the late guitarist Hillel Slovak and drummer Jack Irons (who later joined Pearl Jam) - may get in. But I wonder if Dave Navarro, who was in the band for one album (1995's well titled One Hot Minute) will be included. Or their newest member, guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, who is on their new album, I'm With You. (The Chili Peppers are managed by the same company that manages Metallica -- and when Metallica were inducted, bassist Robert Trujilio was included, even though he had only played on one album, Death Magnetic). Anyway, if you're just looking to get into the band, here are my recommendations:

The Compilations: the band's career took off when they signed to Warner Brothers Records for their 1991 LP, Bloodsugarsexmagik. 2003's Greatest Hits covers the WB era, which is mainly the Kiedis/Flea/Smith/Frusciante lineup. It has their most well known material. But if you're interested in their early stuff, which they recorded for EMI, check out 1992's What Hits!?, which mostly features the Kiedis/Flea/Irons/Slovak lineup (as well as some tunes from Mother's Milk, which was Smith and Frusciante's first album with the band).   They have yet to release any kind of career spanning collection, nor do they have any box sets.

The Classic Album(s): 1991's Bloodsugarsexmagik. I'm going to do a "#20yrslater" post on that album soon, it is such an incredible record. I'm sure the guys in the band think it is their best, it's certainly the album that made them stars, and it also made people take them more seriously.  I think the aforementioned What Hits!? does a great job of covering the Slovak/Irons era, but the best single LP from that time is 1987's Uplift Mofo Party Plan. Another classic is the group's reunion album with Frusciante, 1999's Californication.

But honestly, I have a hard time not liking anything by them. I also love Freaky Styley, Mother's Milk, By The Way and even the album with Navarro, One Hot Minute.

BAD NEWS: NME REPORTS FRUSCIANTE QUIT RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS

Few posts in the history of No Expiration have bummed me out as much as this one: NME reports that John Frusciante has quit The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Again. The first time was in 1992, after the release of the band's all-time classic, BloodSugarSexMagik as they were about to headline the second Lollapalooza tour. They did that tour with a guitarist named Arik Marshall who didn't last past the tour (he went on to play in Macy Gray's band). After that, they got a guy named Jesse Tobias, who didn't last long at all (no shows, no released recordings) (he went on to play for Alanis Morissette and Morrissey). After that was former Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro, who they actually recorded an album (1995's One Hot Minute, not a bad album but it paled in comparassion to the Frusciante-era albums). Navarro wasn't into the band, and quit, and it looked like that was it for the band. During that time, Frusciante was a huge drug addict and this has been well documented. But he got healthy and rejoined the Chili Peppers rejuvinating everyone involved, and they put out the classic 1999 album Californication, the really good 2002 By The Way and the still good 2006 double album Stadium Arcadium.

Frusciante wasn't the band's original guitarist - he replaced the late Hillel Slovak - but I think they made their best music with him (with all due respect). NME reports that Frusciante is being replaced by Josh Klinghoffer, who collaborated with Frusciante on lots of his solo projects, and even toured as an extra musician with the Chili Peppers on their last tour. So, at least he is a friend of the band, it seems more organic than their process last time. Josh has also played with PJ Harvey, Beck and Gnarls Barkley, among others.

I wonder when the band will start working on their next record: that's going to be a tough one for sure.