Maps of Music

The Uplift Mofo Party Plan (1987)

Where the lyrics of The Uplift Mofo Party Plan take you, and where it was really made.

Label executives reportedly openly hated the Red Hot Chili Peppers, yet this album became the first of the band's records to enter the Billboard 200, peaking at number 148.

Key places

Studio B at Capitol Records Building (1987)

Recording site Capitol Studios — The album was recorded in Studio B on the ground floor of the Capitol Records Building in Hollywood. The band worked here during the sessions in which Kiedis's drug relapse disrupted progress. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• The Uplift Mofo Party Plan is the third studio album by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Released on September 29, 1987, by EMI Manhattan
• The only studio album with all four founding members on every track: Anthony Kiedis, Flea, Hillel Slovak and Jack Irons
• The last album with Slovak before his death from a drug overdose in 1988
• The only full-length album to feature Irons
• 'Fight Like a Brave' was the only single; 'Me and My Friends' received minor radio airplay
• 'Behind the Sun' was released as a single and music video in 1992 to promote What Hits!?
• The album mixes the band's funk rock style with reggae and heavy metal influences

Background

• After signing with EMI in 1983, Slovak and Irons left to focus on their group What Is This?
• Kiedis and Flea hired Jack Sherman and Cliff Martinez; the 1984 debut was made with that line-up
• Slovak replaced Sherman, and Freaky Styley (1985), produced by George Clinton, was his first studio album with the band
• In early 1986 EMI gave the band a budget of $5,000 for a demo tape
• Keith Levene, former Public Image Ltd. guitarist, was chosen as producer because he shared the members' interest in drugs
• After Martinez was fired, Jack Irons rejoined, the first time all four founding members had been together since 1983
• Kiedis entered rehabilitation during preparation for the album, and wrote the lyrics to 'Fight Like a Brave' on the flight home after leaving the clinic

Recording

• Michael Beinhorn, a former producer, was brought in by EMI and encouraged the band to widen its musical range
• Beinhorn first met the band at Tipitina's, a club in New Orleans
• The album was recorded in Studio B of Capitol Studios in Hollywood
• Kiedis's relapse disrupted the early sessions, and he often disappeared while the band worked
• Slovak's melodic riff, which differed in style from the band's earlier work, grew into the song 'Behind the Sun'

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

• The album received mixed reviews from critics upon its release.
• Los Angeles Times: Duncan Strauss described the album as 'hit-and-miss', praising the tender tunefulness of 'Behind the Sun' but finding most songs wear thin quickly
• AllMusic: Bill Meredith observed that the energy of the four friends back together jumps out of the opening anthem 'Fight Like a Brave' and the experimental 'Funky Crime'
• Consequence of Sound: Blaine Sayers praised Slovak's guitar work and said Slovak could rock with the best thrash metal bands of the 80s
• The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004): Greg Kot was less impressed, writing that the album was a minor improvement over the band's last two efforts
• Kot felt the group's offbeat humor detracted from the album, saying it would not merit an audience in a high-school locker room

Reappraisal

• Les Claypool ranked The Uplift Mofo Party Plan as his favorite Red Hot Chili Peppers album
• Claypool added that the music helped influence the sound of Primus

Records

• The album was the band's first to enter the Billboard 200, where it peaked at number 148
• It was far more successful than any of the band's previous releases
• It has since been certified Gold in the United States
• Mother's Milk reached Gold first, but this album became the band's earliest effort to do so
• 'Behind the Sun' was released as a single in 1992 and peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart
• 'Fight Like a Brave' was the lead single, but it failed to make an impact on any Billboard chart

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The band filmed a music video for the lead single 'Fight Like a Brave', but the song failed to make an impact on any Billboard chart.
• EMI refused to release the album unless the band changed the name of 'Party on Your Pussy'; the band renamed it 'Special Secret Song Inside'.
• Slovak used a talk box on 'Funky Crime', singing into a tube while playing to create psychedelic effects.
• Kiedis wrote 'Me and My Friends' while driving home from San Francisco with his childhood friend Joe Walters.
• Les Claypool ranked The Uplift Mofo Party Plan as his favorite Red Hot Chili Peppers album, adding that the music helped influence the sound of Primus.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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