The Red Hot Chili Peppers'
Greatest Hits is a compelling listen, culling tracks from the band's 1989 breakthrough,
Mother's Milk, to its melodic 2002 release,
By the Way. In some ways, one could view this as the best of the
John Frusciante years, charting most of the band's work with the talented guitarist after the death of original member
Hillel Slovak. The tracks here are all hits, including such stellar singles as "Give It Away," "Under the Bridge," and
Frusciante's first single after his phoenix-like resurrection from heroin addiction, "Scar Tissue." It should be noted, though, that as a Warner-issued hits collection such fan favorites as "Taste the Pain" and the touchstone antidrug anthem "Knock Me Down" -- both from the 1989 EMI release
Mother's Milk -- aren't included. (Similarly, nothing from
the Chili Peppers' rambunctious early efforts -- including 1984's
Red Hot Chili Peppers, 1985's
Freaky Styley, and 1987's
The Uplift Mofo Party Plan -- appears on this hits collection.) Nonetheless,
Greatest Hits still portrays the band as one of the most consistently brilliant groups of its generation. Helping to paint this picture are such solid cuts as the group's searing, albeit overplayed, 1989 cover of
Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground" as well as its rarely available addition to the Coneheads movie soundtrack, "Soul to Squeeze." Not surprisingly, "My Friends" is the sole cut to make it from the band's disappointing one-off effort with
Jane's Addiction guitarist
Dave Navarro,
One Hot Minute. Throw in two new tracks ("Fortune Faded" and "Save the Population") that easily match the quality of the material collected here, and you've got one of the most consistently listenable
Chili Pepper releases since
Blood Sugar Sex Magik. For fans who gave up after
Frusciante left the band,
Greatest Hits is the perfect reintroduction. ~ Matt Collar