''Freaky Styley'' is the second studio album by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Red Hot Chili Peppers The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1982, consisting of Anthony Kiedis (vocals), Flea (musician), Flea (bass), John Frusciante (guitar), and Chad Smith (drums). Their music incorporates elements of a ...

, released on August 16, 1985, through

EMI America Records EMI America Records was launched in 1978 by EMI as their second label in the United States after Capitol Records, relying on Capitol only for pressing, distribution, and international liaison. In 1987, EMI America merged with Manhattan Records ...

. ''Freaky Styley'' marks founding guitarist

Hillel Slovak Hillel Slovak (; April 13, 1962 – June 25, 1988) was an Israeli-American musician, best known as the founding guitarist of the Los Angeles rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, with whom he recorded two albums. His guitar work was rooted in fun ...

's studio album debut, following his return to the band earlier in the year. The album is the last to feature drummer

Cliff Martinez Cliff Robert Martinez (born February 5, 1954) is an American musician and composer. Early in his career, Martinez was known as a drummer notably with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Captain Beefheart, Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band. Since th ...

. ''Freaky Styley'' was produced by George Clinton, of

Parliament-Funkadelic Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk) is an American musical collective, music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton (funk musician), George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament (band), Parliame ...

, and the sessions benefitted from Clinton's chemistry during recording. The music on the record draws influence from

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

, and

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

, while the lyrical content was inspired by the band members' lives in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

. " Jungle Man" and "Hollywood (Africa)" were released as promotional singles while "Catholic School Girls Rule" and "Jungle Man" had music videos made for them. Critics viewed the album as an improvement upon the band's debut album, praising ''Freaky Styleys musical experimentation and production. However, it did not achieve mainstream success and failed to enter the ''Billboard'' 200. The band embarked on the Infinity Tour to promote the album.

Background

Red Hot Chili Peppers were formed in 1982 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

by Fairfax High School alumni, vocalist

Anthony Kiedis Anthony Kiedis ( ; born November 1, 1962) is an American musician and lead vocalist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Kiedis and his fellow band members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. Kiedis spent his youth in ...

, guitarist

, bassist

Flea Flea, the common name for the order (biology), order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by hematophagy, ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult f ...

, and drummer

Jack Irons Jack Steven Irons (born July 18, 1962) is an American drummer. He is the founding drummer of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers until he departed in 1988 and is a former member of Pearl Jam and Eleven. Alongside his work with Red Hot Chili Pep ...

. Originally named Tony Flow & the Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem, the group was originally meant as a one-off band for playing only one show. However, after a positive crowd reception, the band changed its name to Red Hot Chili Peppers. The group was noticed by

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

, and the band signed with the record label. Slovak and Irons still considered the Peppers a side project, so they quit to focus on their band

What Is This? What Is This (known prior to 1980 as Anthym) was an American rock band that originated in Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, California. Formed by guitarist Hillel Slovak, drummer Jack Irons, vocalist Alain Johannes, and bassist Todd Stra ...

; that group had signed a record contract two weeks earlier. Kiedis and Flea subsequently recruited guitarist

Jack Sherman Jack Morris Sherman (January 18, 1956 – August 18, 2020) was an American guitarist, best known as the second guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, between Hillel Slovak's departure and return. He played on the band's debut album, and ...

and drummer

to complete the band's lineup for its self-titled debut album. The band was disappointed in the album's overall sound, thinking it was overly polished, as if it had "gone through a sterilizing Goody Two-shoes machine". During the tour in support of the band's first album, continuing musical and lifestyle tension between Kiedis and Sherman complicated the transition between concert and daily band life. Sherman was fired soon after, with Slovak returning to the Chili Peppers after growing tired of What is This?. Because the Peppers did not have a positive experience working with

Andy Gill Andrew James Dalrymple Gill (1 January 1956 – 1 February 2020) was an English musician and record producer. He was the lead guitarist for the rock band Gang of Four, which he co-founded in 1976. Gill was known for his angular, jagged style of ...

on their previous record, they began searching for a new producer for their next album.Kiedis, Sloman, 2004. p. 169 The first potential producer the band worked with was

Malcolm McLaren Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren (22 January 1946 – 8 April 2010) was an English fashion designer and music manager. He was a promoter and a manager for punk rock and new wave bands such as New York Dolls, Sex Pistols, Adam and the Ants, and ...

, who had worked with the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

and

Bow Wow Wow Bow Wow Wow are an English New wave music, new wave band, created by manager Malcolm McLaren in 1980. McLaren recruited members of Adam and the Ants to form the band with then 13-year-old Annabella Lwin on lead vocals. They released their deb ...

. However, McLaren suggested they changed their style to play more simplified, 1950s-style rock and roll and make Kiedis the central character, a change the group vehemently opposed. After receiving comparisons from fans to

, the band indicated to

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a British multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company EMI in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succes ...

its desire to work with frontman George Clinton. The band contacted Clinton and sent him their debut album and demo tapes, and Flea and the band's manager, Lindy, traveled to Detroit to meet him. Clinton agreed to work with the band, and EMI paid him $25,000 to produce the album.Kiedis, Sloman, 2004. p. 170 The song "Blackeyed Blonde" was performed by the band in the 1985 skateboarding movie ''

Thrashin' ''Thrashin (released in the Philippines as ''Challenge to Win: Thrashin) is a 1986 American skater drama film directed by David Winters and starring Josh Brolin, Robert Rusler, and Pamela Gidley. The film features appearances from many famou ...

'' starring

Josh Brolin Josh James Brolin (; born February 12, 1968) is an American actor. A son of actor James Brolin, he gained fame in his youth for his role in the adventure film ''The Goonies'' (1985). After years of decline, Brolin had a resurgence with his starr ...

Recording

The band had already written approximately 70 percent of the album (mostly with Sherman, not Slovak) by the time the group traveled to

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

to record the album. Clinton decided that the band would spend a month with him before recording to bond and create ideas for new songs. Before renting a house of their own, the group members stayed in Clinton's house in the village of

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, about an hour away from

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, for a week. The band was excited to live with Clinton, but as soon as Kiedis moved in, he began experiencing severe

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

withdrawal, and became very ill. He attempted to offset his desire for heroin by using

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

instead, but his relief was short-lived.Kiedis, Sloman, 2004. p. 171 After a few days, however, his symptoms subsided and he was able to join the group in playing music and connecting with Clinton. The Red Hot Chili Peppers felt a strong chemistry with Clinton and enjoyed his quirky personality and storytelling abilities. After a week of living with him, the band moved into a house on a nearby golf course.Kiedis, Sloman, 2004. p. 172 ''Freaky Styley'' was recorded at United Sound Studios in Detroit. Martinez recalled that "George had a party atmosphere in the studio all the time, but a productive party atmosphere. You took care of business, but he made sure you had a lot of fun doing it."Mullen, 2010. p. 157 The band and Clinton began using copious amounts of cocaine together, which had a negative effect on the band's overall health. When the time came for Kiedis to record his vocals, he decided to abstain from cocaine use for two weeks, an experience he likened to "deciding to be celibate when you're living in a brothel."Kiedis, Sloman, 2004. p. 175 The track "Yertle the Turtle" incorporates several verses directly from

Dr. Seuss Theodor Seuss Geisel ( ;"Seuss"
'' Yertle the Turtle." As stated by Kiedis in his autobiography, ''

Scar Tissue "Scar Tissue" is the first single from American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers' seventh studio album, ''Californication'' (1999). Released on May 25, 1999, the song spent a then-record 16 consecutive weeks atop the US ''Billboard'' Hot Modern R ...

'', the spoken lyrics at the beginning and throughout the song saying "Look at that turtle go bro," were by George Clinton's drug dealer who demanded debts be paid by Clinton. Unable to repay the dealer, Clinton offered him a part in the album.

Composition

According to Jason Birchmeier of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, ''Freaky Styley'' is "the closest the Red Hot Chili Peppers ever came to straight funk." The album marks the return of guitarist

, and Kiedis observed that Slovak's playing evolved during his time away from the group in What Is This?, with the guitarist adopting a more fluid style featuring "sultry" elements as opposed to his original

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

techniques. The band also experimented with a more diverse variety of musical genres on ''Freaky Styley''. "Jungle Man" contains

-styled guitar, layered background vocals, and an "urgent, aggressive dance beat". "Catholic School Girls Rule" draws influence from

music, while "Blackeyed Blonde" has been described as "

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...

meets

Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, songwriter, composer, and actor. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records in the 1960s, serving as an in-house songwr ...

". The album features covers of "

If You Want Me to Stay "If You Want Me to Stay" is a 1973 hit single by Sly and the Family Stone, from their album ''Fresh''. Background Stone recorded the song without much input from the rest of the band; by the early 1970s, he had begun crafting most of his materi ...

" by

Sly and the Family Stone Sly and the Family Stone was an American band formed in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1966 and active until 1983. Their work, which blended elements of funk, soul music, soul, psychedelic rock, gospel music, gospel, and R&B, becam ...

, and "Africa" by

The Meters The Meters (later The Funky Meters) are an American funk band formed in 1965 in New Orleans by Zigaboo Modeliste (drums), George Porter Jr. (bass), Leo Nocentelli (guitar) and Art Neville (keyboards). The band performed and recorded their o ...

. Clinton helped with the vocal arrangements and provided his own vocals for a portion of "Hollywood (Africa)". ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who, Dave Schulps, and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

'' opined that the album was "more outrageous" than the group's debut but "easier to swallow as utilitarian

dance-rock Dance-rock is a dance- infused genre of rock music. It is a post-disco genre connected with pop rock and post-punk with fewer rhythm and blues influences. It originated in the early 1980s, following the decline in popularity of both punk and dis ...

". "Catholic School Girls Rule" was inspired by a sexual encounter Kiedis had with a fourteen-year-old Catholic school student in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

while on tour in 1984.Kiedis, Sloman, 2004. p. 159 "Jungle Man" was dedicated to Flea, whom Kiedis used to create a fictionalized persona of "this half-man, half-beast born in the belly of the volcano in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

coming to the world and using his thumb as the conductor of thunder on the bass." The lyrics of the band's cover of "Africa" by The Meters differ slightly from the original, intended to reflect the group's hometown of Hollywood. At the time, Flea listened repeatedly to the Meters and wanted to cover one of the group's songs, and Clinton suggested that the group use the opportunity to dedicate a song to Hollywood, saying, "What if you did the song 'Africa' but had Anthony do a rewrite so it's no longer 'Africa', but it's your 'Africa', which is Hollywood?"Kiedis, Sloman, 2004. p. 173

Artwork

The cover artwork features the band jumping in front of Michelangelo's ''

The Last Judgment The Last Judgment is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the ''Frashokereti'' of Zoroastrianism. Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God of all people who have ever lived, resu ...

''.

Critical reception

''Freaky Styley'' did not garner mainstream success and failed to enter the ''Billboard'' 200. In the liner notes to the 2003 remastered edition of the album, bassist

states:Liner notes to Freaky Styley remaster (2003) However, the album was more positively received by critics than the band's debut album. Jason Birchmeier of

felt that Clinton's production helped to make ''Freaky Styley'' an improvement over ''The Red Hot Chili Peppers'', and enjoyed Slovak's return, noting that the guitarist "makes a major contribution to practically every song". He further wrote that "the Peppers have a good clutch of songs to work with in addition to excellent production. And too, they seem relaxed and at ease here, playing quirky songs without any self-consciousness, a quality lacking on their debut." Ira Robbins of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' called the album "wilder, rougher, funnier and funkier" than ''The Red Hot Chili Peppers'', and opined that "the Chili Peppers are taking advantage of the current crossover free-for-all to universalize funk by expanding its limits and incorporating new ingredients without diluting the basic bump. Fed up with the empty calories of effete high-tech dance records? Freaky Styley is stick-to-the-ribs rock that puts meat back in the motion."

Greg Kot Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the ''Chicago Tribune'', where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and busines ...

was more critical in ''

The Rolling Stone Album Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...

'' (2004), believing that like the group's debut album, ''Freaky Styley'' had "not a single memorable song" while the band's "funk-monkey shtick camouflaged serious musical deficiencies".

Tour and Jack Irons return

The tour for ''Freaky Styley'' known as the Infinity Tour began in 1985. Both Kiedis and Slovak were beginning their long (and in Slovak's case soon to be fatal) battles with drugs on this tour. The band decided to begin recording their third album in the spring of 1986 but by this time drummer Cliff Martinez decided he just didn't have the heart to continue, though rather than quitting, Kiedis and Flea fired Martinez. To the band's amazement, founding drummer

decided to return and for the first time since 1983 the original lineup was together. Together, the reunited lineup finished the remainder of the ''Freaky Styley'' tour. Following the end of the tour, Kiedis's drug problems were so bad that he was briefly fired from the band.

Track listing

Personnel

Red Hot Chili Peppers *

– lead vocals *

– guitars, backing vocals, co-lead vocals (track 13) *

– bass, backing vocals *

– drums Additional musicians * Benny Cowan – trumpet (tracks 2–5, 8, 14) *

Maceo Parker Maceo Parker (; born February 14, 1943) is an American funk and soul jazz saxophonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s, Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s and Prince in the 2000s. Parker was a prominent soloist on many of ...

– saxophone (tracks 2–5, 8, 14) *

Fred Wesley Fred Wesley (born July 4, 1943) is an American trombonist who worked with James Brown in the 1960s and 1970s, and Parliament-Funkadelic in the second half of the 1970s. Biography Wesley was born the son of a high school teacher and big band le ...

– trombone (tracks 2–5, 8, 14) * Larry Fratangelo – percussion * Steve Boyd – backing vocals * George Clinton – backing vocals * Shirley Hayden – backing vocals * Robert "Peanut" Johnson – backing vocals * Lous "Bro" Kabbabie – backing vocals *

Pat Lewis Patsy Ruth Lewis (October 23, 1947 – September 2, 2024) was an American soul singer and backing vocalist from the 1960s. Lewis was inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame twice; as a solo artist in 2015 and as a member of Isaac ...

– backing vocals * Mike "Clip" Payne – backing vocals *

Garry Shider Garry Marshall Shider (July 24, 1953 – June 16, 2010) was an American musician and guitarist. He was musical director of the P-Funk All-Stars for much of their history. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, with fifteen ...

– backing vocals * Joel Virgel – backing vocals * Andre Foxxe – backing vocals * Uncredited – backing spoken vocals (track 14) Production * George Clinton – producer * Greg Ward – engineer, mixing * John Bauer – second engineer * Jim "JB" Baurlein – mixing ("Sex Rap") * Red Hot Chili Peppers – mixing ("Sex Rap") *

Bruce Nazarian Bruce Nazarian (March 27, 1949 – October 9, 2015) was an American funk and rock musician, recording artist and music producer from Detroit, Michigan. Nazarian was an Apple Certified Trainer and Certified Pro on various professional application ...

– mixing ("Yertle the Turtle") * Jim Vitti – mixing ("The Brother's Cup" and "Blackeyed Blonde") * Fred Wesley – horn arrangements * Ron McMaster – remastering Additional personnel * Nels Israelson – photography * Henry Marquex – art direction * Peter Shea – design *

Muruga Booker Steven Bookvich (born December 27, 1942), known as Muruga Booker, is an American drummer. Biography Booker was born in Highland Park, Michigan, on December 27, 1942, at Highland Park General Hospital, and is of Serbian descent. His father, ...

– massages *

– composer *

– composer ("Hollywood (Africa)") *

Sly Stone Sylvester Stewart (March 15, 1943 – June 9, 2025), better known by his stage name Sly Stone, was an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He was the frontman of Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the development ...

– composer ("If You Want Me to Stay")

Certifications

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

* {{Authority control 1985 albums Red Hot Chili Peppers albums EMI America Records albums Albums produced by George Clinton (funk musician) Funk albums by American artists Psychedelic funk albums Dance-rock albums