Red Hot Chili Peppers
Behind the Sun
Good Morning!
Today we’re listening to “Behind The Sun” by Red Hot Chili Peppers
When looking at Red Hot Chili Pepper’s career arc, 1987s The Uplift Mofo Party Plan represents the end of the early phase before things really took off for the band.
The first record came out like a rocket, a compressed ball of manic energy. Follow up Freaky Styley was a much smoother/funkier offering (relatively speaking, of course), partly down to Parliament’s George Clinton being behind the boards.
The Uplift Mofo Party Plan is a bit more rounded-again, relatively speaking. The jet-fueled pace and frenetic rhythm section are never more than a few notes away, but Anthony Kiedis evolves away from only rapping to try his hand at singing.
The result is “Behind the Sun,” the first of what would become a “tradition” of including a softer song on each record.
Through a few twists of fate, The Uplift Mofo Party Plan is the band’s third record, but the first one to actually feature all four founding members- Kiedis, bassist Flea, Drummer Jack Irons, and guitarist Hillel Slovak.
Sadly it would also be the last. Both Kiedis and Slovak fought heroin addiction during the recording of the record, with Kiedis decamping to Michigan to clean up. Slovak wasn’t as fortunate and lost his battle soon after the album’s release.
Slovak's passing would cause Irons to leave the band shortly afterward, closing the door on the band’s first era. Ultimately that would lead to Chad Smith replacing him on drums and then-18-year-old John Frusciante taking over on guitar.
The new additions would take the band further sound-wise and opened the door for the band’s next phase, starting with 1989’s Mother’s Milk and 1991’s Blood Sugar Sex Magik1.
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“I thought they needed a lot of arrangement help,” said Beinhorn, and he set about working to make the act more palatable. This included encouraging Kiedis to branch out more in his vocal technique to implement more outright singing, to which Kiedis was initially opposed. He recalls the development of “Behind the Sun,” a tune that fell outside the band’s usual stylistic leanings,
“[Beinhorn] worked a lot with me on the melody, knowing that it wasn’t my forte to get wrapped up in a pretty song.” Beinhorn put enough into the song to be awarded a writing credit, the only credit on the album to be awarded to a contributor outside the four core members, with the exception of “Walkin’ on Down the Road,” which was composed with Martinez rather than Irons, and the band’s reimagining of “Subterranean Homesick Blues” for which Bob Dylan was credited as the sole writer.
Read the rest of the review here.
Listen:
“Behind The Sun” by Red Hot Chili Peppers| The Uplift Mofo Party Plan, 1987
Click the record to listen on your platform of choice.
As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this track!
Thanks for being here,
Kevin—
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“Behind the Sun” was also re-released in 1992 as a single as part of the band’s “What Hits?” compilation.
Thanks for this Kevin :)
I remember reading Scar Tissue, it's amazing to read certain stories and where artistry comes from... these guys have seen a thing or two in their lives and they are still here to tell the tale!
Here's one of my faves RHCP's songs https://g.co/kgs/uMSvhU .
Ps: I recently listened to an episode of Joe Rogan's podcast in which Anthony was a guest, I recommend it, I love how candid, pure and down to earth he seems to be.
Great read as always !! I wonder if the lyrics in this song now are reflected in the new song "Black Summer"
The archer's on the run
And no one stands alone behind the Sun.
To me maybe it's the growth of the band reacting to the losses and gains over the years.
That one line no one stands alone behind the sun truly brought me right back to this song.