Red Hot Chili Peppers: Ranking Their Albums From Worst To Best

10. The Red Hot Chili Peppers

Considering the band's 1984 self-titled debut is universally considered their worst record, at first I wanted to be controversial for the sake of it and place this album higher. But I can't lie; it is easily the weakest of the ten studio releases. The Red Hot Chili Peppers is the sound of a band still finding their feet, with perhaps more raw energy than interesting musical ideas.

It opens strongly, with True Men Don't Kill Coyotes being an irresistible slice of funk-rock that marks the beginning of Anthony Kiedis' long-standing lyrical fascination with his native Los Angeles and evokes some interesting Native-American imagery. The problem is, the album never really shifts gears musically, and the flat production courtesy of Gang Of Four's Andy Gill and the then-limited vocals of Kiedis doesn't help matters, making it all sound rather samey. There's a couple of more experimental cuts in Mommy, Where's Daddy and closing instrumental Grand Pappy Du Daddy, but these still feel more like filler than a serious attempt at changing the formula.

The star of the show as far as this album goes is undoubtedly Flea, whose bustling basslines make up the foundation of all these songs. While Kiedis was still to develop as a vocalist and frontman, and guitarist Jack Sherman and drummer Cliff Martinez would soon be gone from the band, it's clear that Flea had serious musical pedigree from the start.