What Hits!?

What Hits!?
Greatest hits album by Red Hot Chili Peppers
Released September 29, 1992
Recorded 1984–1991
Genre Funk rock, alternative rock
Length 67:28
Language English
Label EMI
Producer Various
Red Hot Chili Peppers chronology
Blood Sugar Sex Magik
(1991)		 What Hits!?
(1992)		 Live Rare Remix Box
(1994)
Singles from What Hits!?
  1. "Behind the Sun[1]"
    Released: November 9, 1992
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
Rolling Stone[3]

What Hits!? is a "best-of" compilation album by Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on September 29, 1992 by EMI. The album contains tracks from the band's first four albums as well as "Under the Bridge" from their fifth album, 1991's hit Blood Sugar Sex Magik and the Pretty Woman soundtrack contribution/single B-side "Show Me Your Soul". "Behind the Sun" was released as a single and music video to accompany the release of this compilation. The song originally appeared on the band's 1987 album The Uplift Mofo Party Plan.

Background

This album was released on EMI/Capitol records through a deal with Warner Bros. Records. The band had left EMI for Warner in 1991 where they would record their biggest album at the time, 1991's Blood Sugar Sex Magik. EMI, who owned the rights to the band's first four albums decided to cash in on the band's newfound mainstream success. The two labels however agreed that each label would allow the usage to one song recorded during the Peppers career on each label so each company could produce a greatest hits compilation. EMI chose the band's biggest hit single at the time, "Under the Bridge" for What Hits!? and Warner Bros. chose "Higher Ground", the band's most successful single for EMI for the band's 2003 compilation Greatest Hits.

The title of the compilation is a joke alluding to the relative lack of success achieved by the Red Hot Chili Peppers during their tenure with EMI, highlighting the irony that many of the tracks included on what is supposed to be a 'greatest hits' compilation were generally singles that peaked notably low in the charts, arguably too low to be considered 'hits' (and even in some cases, such as "The Brothers Cup," "Backwoods," and "Johnny, Kick a Hole in the Sky", were never released as singles at all with the latter song never even being performed live). Most of the material released on this album were songs taken from Freaky Styley (1985) and Mother's Milk (1989). In 1987, the band pleaded with the label to release "Behind the Sun" as a single however EMI deemed the song not worthy enough however thanks to the band's mainstream success in 1991/1992, the label now felt it was time to cash in and release the more melodic sounding song as a single.

In 2013, after EMI was absorbed by the Universal Music Group, What Hits!? saw a re-release as part of UMG's Icon compilation series.[4]

Track listing

  1. "Higher Ground" (Stevie Wonder) – 3:21
  2. "Fight Like a Brave" – 3:47
  3. "Behind the Sun" – 4:45
  4. "Me & My Friends" – 3:05
  5. "Backwoods" – 3:06
  6. "True Men Don't Kill Coyotes" – 3:36
  7. "Fire" (Jimi Hendrix) – 2:01
  8. "Get Up and Jump" – 2:50
  9. "Knock Me Down" – 3:43
  10. "Under the Bridge" – 4:24
  11. "Show Me Your Soul" – 4:22
  12. "If You Want Me to Stay" (Sly and the Family Stone) – 4:06
  13. "Hollywood (Africa)" (The Meters) – 4:58
    • From the 1985 album Freaky Styley.
    • Listed as simply "Hollywood" on packaging
  14. "Jungle Man" – 4:04
  15. "The Brothers Cup" – 3:24
  16. "Taste the Pain" – 4:34
  17. "Catholic School Girls Rule" – 1:55
  18. "Johnny, Kick a Hole in the Sky" – 5:10

Video

What Hits!?
Video by Red Hot Chili Peppers
Released September 29, 1992
Recorded 1984-1991
Genre Funk rock
Length 60 minutes
Label EMI
Red Hot Chili Peppers chronology
Funky Monks
(1991)		 What Hits!?
(1992)		 Off the Map
(2001)

A VHS and later, DVD version of What Hits!? was also released. The video collection supersedes the 1990 video collection Positive Mental Octopus. A music video for the single "Behind the Sun" was created for this video collection and received airplay at the time on MTV. The video, which was made without the band's involvement, reuses footage from the band's "Higher Ground" music video along with newly added animation.

What Hits!? contains the following music videos:

  1. "Behind the Sun"
  2. "Under the Bridge"
  3. "Show Me Your Soul"
  4. "Taste the Pain"
  5. "Higher Ground"
  6. "Knock Me Down"
  7. "Fight Like a Brave"
  8. "Jungle Man"
  9. "True Men Don't Kill Coyotes"
  10. "Catholic School Girls Rule"
  11. "Fire (live)"
  12. "Stone Cold Bush" (live)
  13. "Special Secret Song Inside" (live)
  14. "Subway to Venus" (live)

What Promo Hits!?

Prior to the album's release, EMI released a very rare five-song CD sampler titled What Promo Hits!?. The sampler was released to radio stations and not for public sale.[5]

  1. "Higher Ground"
  2. "If You Want Me to Stay"
  3. "Under the Bridge"
  4. "Taste the Pain"
  5. "Behind the Sun"

Personnel

Red Hot Chili Peppers
Additional musicians
Recording personnel

References

  1. ↑ "RHCP Timeline". redhotchilipeppers.com.
  2. ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/album/r16304
  3. ↑ "Red Hot Chili Peppers: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2012-05-10.
  4. ↑ Icon: What Hits!
  5. ↑ Red Hot Chili Peppers - What Hits!? (CD) at Discogs
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