Unitron For the longest time I wasn't even familiar with much of The Red Hot Chili Peppers' pre-alt rock stardom days apart from a few songs. The ballad of Under the Bridge from the band's classic Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magik album catapulted the band into the mainstream and perhaps that drove them further and further away from their super funky origins with each passing album.

I love Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magik, but lately I'd say I prefer most of the band's first four albums. In the 80's, it seems as if each of their albums were pretty different from each other, and their self-titled debut is the strangest of them all. I'd describe it as a funk rock/post-punk hybrid, with the occasional metal riff or unexpected atmospheric rock excursion. They probably were coming from a post-punk background, similar to Faith No More's beginnings. Many post-punk and new wave bands were no strangers to funk, these bands just took it to new levels.

The songwriting isn't quite at its peak like with the next four albums, but there's definitely some of the band's strongest songs within. True Men Don't Kill Coyotes, Buckle Down, Get Up and Jump, the heavy proto-funk metal Green Heaven, and the brisk punky Police Helicopter are my favorites. True Men Don't Kill Coyotes is the closest to post-punk/new wave and would not sound out of place on an early Talking Heads album. Grand Pappy Du Plenty is an atmospheric post-rock finale, and I think it surprisingly fits in as a closer to the raw yet surreal atmosphere that the album creates.

While the pure funk rock of Freaky Styley and glam funk metal Mother's Milk are my favorites from the Chili Peppers, the band's debut is an excellent and interesting start.

martindavey87 The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ 1984 self-titled debut shows us a completely different group to the one that would go on to become one of the biggest acts on the planet. It’s interesting to see how a band could come from such obscure and absurd beginnings, yet, through changing and evolving their sound, have managed to become mainstream superstars.

But alas, here we are; ‘The Red Hot Chili Peppers’.

Completely “out there” is one way to put it. For this album is really a smorgasbord of funky melodies and riffs thrown together in an almost incoherent fashion. Sure, the band would help pioneer what could describe as funk rock, but this right here is mostly a mess of ideas barely strung together by drugs and alcohol.

The album has a very raw production and rather directionless songwriting. However, there’s an abundance of energy, which shows a band who are clearly enjoying what they’re doing. And there’s one or two very (and I do mean very) brief moments that actually shine. ‘Get Up and Jump’, ‘True Men Don’t Kill Coyotes’ and ‘Out in L.A.’ are all relatively decent offerings. Though not overly memorable when compared to later material, there’s still something of merit here that shows a group of capable musicians who just need to tweak and refine their sound.

If you’re coming here expecting huge radio hits then this is not the album for you, and you’re better off sticking with later releases. But ‘The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ is an interesting look to see how the Peppers started out, and if nothing else is worth at least one listen to demonstrate that it’s possible for even the most unlikeliest bands to find commercial success.