Mother's Milk (album)

Mother's Milk
a black and white photograph of the band sprawled across the arms of a proportionately larger naked woman. A rose conceals one of her nipples while singer Anthony Kiedis' standing body conceals the other.
Studio album by
Red Hot Chili Peppers
ReleasedAugust 16, 1989 (1989-08-16)
RecordedMay 1987, November 1988 – March 1989
StudioOcean Way and Image (Hollywood)
Genre
Length44:52
LabelEMI USA
ProducerMichael Beinhorn
Red Hot Chili Peppers chronology
The Abbey Road E.P.
(1988) 		Mother's Milk
(1989) 		Blood Sugar Sex Magik
(1991)
Singles from Mother's Milk
  1. "Higher Ground"
    Released: April 8, 1989[1]
  2. "Knock Me Down"
    Released: August 22, 1989[1]
  3. "Taste the Pain"
    Released: October 14, 1989[1]

Mother's Milk is the fourth studio album by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on August 16, 1989 by EMI Records. After the death of founding guitarist Hillel Slovak and the subsequent departure of drummer Jack Irons, vocalist Anthony Kiedis and bassist Flea regrouped with the addition of guitarist John Frusciante and drummer Chad Smith. Frusciante's influence altered the band's sound by placing more emphasis on melody than rhythm, which had dominated the band's previous material. Returning producer Michael Beinhorn favored heavy metal guitar riffs as well as overdubbing. Frusciante perceived Beinhorn's taste as excessive, and as a result, the two constantly fought over the album's guitar sound.

Mother's Milk was a greater commercial success than the band's first three albums, peaking at number 52 on the US Billboard 200. It received widespread airplay for the three singles which are the cover of Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground", "Knock Me Down" and "Taste the Pain", and it became their first gold record in early 1990. Although it was not met with the same positive critical reception that its predecessor The Uplift Mofo Party Plan (1987) had garnered, Mother's Milk was the first step for the band in achieving international success and, according to Amy Hanson of AllMusic, "turned the tide and transformed the band from underground funk-rocking rappers to mainstream bad boys with seemingly very little effort."[2]

  1. ^ a b c "NME Express". Archived from the original on February 6, 2015.
  2. ^ Hanson, Amy. "Mother's Milk album review". Allmusic. Retrieved November 19, 2008.