Maps of Music

Freaky Styley (1985)

Where the lyrics of Freaky Styley take you, and where it was really made.

This album never entered the Billboard 200, yet its cover shows the band jumping in front of Michelangelo's The Last Judgment.

Key places

Where Freaky Styley was recorded (1985)

Recording site United Sound Studios — Freaky Styley was recorded at United Sound Studios in Detroit. The band first stayed a week at Clinton's house in Brooklyn, Michigan, then moved into a rented house on a nearby golf course. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Freaky Styley: second studio album by Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Released 16 August 1985 through EMI America Records
• Marks the studio album debut of founding guitarist Hillel Slovak, who had rejoined the band earlier in 1985
• Last album to feature drummer Cliff Martinez
• Produced by George Clinton of Parliament-Funkadelic, whose chemistry with the band helped the sessions
• Music draws on funk, punk rock and psychedelic rock
• Lyrics were inspired by the band members' lives in Hollywood
• "Jungle Man" and "Hollywood (Africa)" were released as promotional singles

Background

• Band formed in 1982 in Los Angeles; the debut album's polished sound disappointed the members
• After a poor experience with producer Andy Gill on the previous record, the band looked for a new producer
• Malcolm McLaren was the first candidate, but he pushed a simpler 1950s-style rock and roll sound with Kiedis as the central figure, which the band strongly opposed
• Fans compared the band to Parliament-Funkadelic, and the band asked EMI to work with frontman George Clinton
• Flea and manager Lindy traveled to Detroit to meet Clinton, who agreed to produce the album
• EMI paid Clinton $25,000 to produce the album
• The Infinity Tour was launched to promote the album

Recording

• Recorded at United Sound Studios in Detroit
• About 70 percent of the album was already written, mostly with Sherman rather than Slovak, before the band went to Michigan
• Clinton had the band spend a month with him before recording to bond and develop new song ideas
• Kiedis suffered severe heroin withdrawal after moving into Clinton's house and became very ill
• Kiedis abstained from cocaine for two weeks while recording his vocals

Cover

• The cover shows the band jumping in front of Michelangelo's The Last Judgment

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in Los Angeles in 1982 by Anthony Kiedis, Hillel Slovak, Flea, and Jack Irons, classmates at Fairfax High School.
• First performed on December 16, 1982 at the Grandia Room club on Hollywood Boulevard, in front of about 30 people.
• Changed the name to Red Hot Chili Peppers in March 1983.
• Released the self-titled debut album in August 1984, which sold 300,000 copies.

Members

• Current: Flea (bass, backing vocals, trumpet), Anthony Kiedis (lead vocals), Chad Smith (drums, percussion), John Frusciante (guitars, backing vocals, keyboards).
• Former members include Hillel Slovak (guitar, died of a heroin overdose in 1988), Jack Irons (drums), Dave Navarro (guitar, 1993–1998), and Josh Klinghoffer (guitar, 2009–2019).

Career

• Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991) was the first major commercial success; "Under the Bridge" reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100.
• Californication (1999) became the band's biggest commercial success, with over 16 million copies sold worldwide.
• Stadium Arcadium (2006) was the first album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 chart and won Grammy Awards.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on March 31, 2022.
• Over 120 million records sold worldwide.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Critics viewed the album as an improvement on the band's debut, praising its musical experimentation and production
• Jason Birchmeier of AllMusic felt Clinton's production made the album better than the debut and praised Slovak's return
• Ira Robbins of Rolling Stone called the album wilder, rougher, funnier and funkier than the debut
• Trouser Press said the album was more outrageous than the debut but easier to take as utilitarian dance-rock

Reappraisal

• Greg Kot in The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004) was more critical, arguing the album had no memorable songs and that the band's funk-monkey act hid real musical weaknesses
• Flea's liner notes to the 2003 remastered edition called the album too obscure for mainstream popularity but a definitive and substantial musical statement

Records

• Did not achieve mainstream success
• Failed to enter the Billboard 200
• Promoted through the Infinity Tour

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The band spent a month with Clinton before recording, working on bonding and new song ideas
• The track "Yertle the Turtle" uses several verses from Dr. Seuss' poem of the same name
• The spoken voice on "Yertle the Turtle" came from Clinton's drug dealer, who demanded payment of debts, and Clinton offered him a part on the album
• "Catholic School Girls Rule" was inspired by a sexual encounter Kiedis had with a fourteen-year-old Catholic school student in New Orleans during a 1984 tour
• "Blackeyed Blonde" was performed by the band in the 1985 skateboarding movie Thrashin' starring Josh Brolin

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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