Disco de Red Hot Chili Peppers: “Under the Covers: Essential Red Hot Chili Peppers”

If you are a casual Chili Peppers fan (as in somebody who only owns the basics, like 'What Hits!?,' 'Greatest Hits' or maybe a studio album or two), than I will tell you right away to avoid this. This is not for you.

Now that I have that off my chest, if you are RHCP collector, than you will love 'Essential-Under The Covers.' Remixes, album tracks, live tracks, and rarities are all here. The cover of 'Higher Ground,' which was originally recorded by R&B legend Stevie Wonder in the early '70s is one of the RHCP most famous recordings, so obviously it's here.

Also here are their amazing take on Jimi Hendrix's 'Fire' (trust me when I tell you, they make the song their own), and The Meters' 'Hollywood (Africa),' (The Meters original name for the song was just 'Africa').

The remixes are also pretty good, and also very interesting. The remix of 'Higher Ground' is interesting, and it's nice to finally see it on a compilation, but compared to the 1989 'Mother's Milk' album version, the album version is better every time.

The live tracks are where things get interesting. My personal favorite live track here is their version of country legend Hank Williams' classic 'Why Don't You Love Me.' To be honest, when I first saw this track on a Chili Peppers CD, I didn't have high expectations. But, the Peppers, once again, made the song their own, turning a country music standard into a funky, alternative song.

Again, if you are a casual fan or a new fan, I would not buy this. This was not made for casual fan or a new fan that is just starting his/her Chili Peppers collection. But, if you are a collector or a huge fan like myself who have seen the Peppers in concert or collect their albums and singles, than 'Under The Covers' is made for you.

Overall, I highly recommend this album to Peppers collectors like myself. But, the price of this album may irritate people. The reasoning for the high price is this a collector's item. My advice is buy it now before it goes away completely (it is long out of print).

This is highly recommended for the huge and die-hard Chili Peppers fans, but once again, I can't say it enough, casual fans and new fans should not start here. If you are a new or casual fan, I suggest buying either Capitol's 'What Hits!?' album if you want a close look at their career from 1984-1991, or Warner's 'Greatest Hits' album, which focuses on their career from 1989-2003.

Highly recommended for the die-hard Chili Peppers fans. It's great if you like the Peppers like I do.

ENJOY!!!

A collection of covers by the Red Hot Chili Peppers-- mostly previously released-- blending studio and live recordings, "Under the Covers" makes for a unique and fun portrait of the band.

The Peppers are a fearless cover band, tackling everything from Hank Williams to Robert Johnson to Jimi Hendrix to Sly and the Family Stone without flinching. One thing that can be said about them is that they make everything their own-- even though this was recorded over a span of eight years, there's a remarkable sense of consistency to the sound and the music, with everything being assimulateed into the Chili Peppers' funk/punk sound-- Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" sits comfortably next to Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground". There's a remarkably high level of consistency. But more importantly, it's still really quite listenable.

But nonetheless, it's important to note that most of this material is available elsewhere, with seven tracks drawn from albums (and one further added as a bonus track to an album) and four b-sides (including the one added to "Mother's Milk"). That leaves basically two previously unreleased songs-- it's hard to justify spending an enormous amount of money for this, and it causes me to dock the rating because this lacks value.

Admittedly, nothing will deter fans, but if you're more casual, this is only worth getting if you have cash to blow or see it cheap.

Their energy permeates every song, especially the covers! Once you hear them you can never go back. I love Stevie, but higher ground is just that.