Red Hot Chili Peppers producer Michael Beinhorn has claimed frontman Anthony Kiedis is “tone-deaf”.
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Beinhorn worked with the band during their early years, firstly on their 1987 LP ‘The Uplift Mofo Party Plan’ in 1987 and 1989 follow up ‘Mother’s Milk’.
In a recent AMA session on the grunge subreddit, the producer took a series of questions from fans who wanted to know more about his time with the band, including one in relation to ‘Knock Me Down’ from ‘Mother’s Milk’.
The track is a tribute to the band’s late guitarist, Hillel Slovak, who tragically died from a heroin overdose in 1988.
The single version of the song features both guitarist John Frusciante and Kiedis on vocals.
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A fan, who labelled it “one of my favourite songs” by the Chili Peppers, asked: “Why did John sing in that song? I know originally it was him and Anthony singing lead vocals, but Knock Me Down being a requiem for Hillel, why not only Anthony, the deceased’s best friend?”
In response Beinhorn revealed: “I’m glad you love ‘Knock Me Down’ so much – it was a major departure from the RHCP sound up till that point. John sang the song (or rather, his voice was louder in the mix) because the song was melodic and Anthony was/is tone-deaf (ie- he can’t hear pitch).”
He added: “At any rate, John essentially wrote the song, including the melody, so it wasn’t entirely inappropriate for him to song it (plus he somewhat idolized Hillel).”
The producer then said that he “never found out what they thought of the final mix”, but did recollect that Kiedis “freaked out – not in a good way” when he played him “the tracks with the finished guitars on them for the first time”. He also went on: “I think the band kind of disowned the record because of this.”
Red Hot Chili Peppers released their last material in 2022, after they welcomed guitarist Frusciante back into the line-up in 2019. They released two albums, ‘Unlimited Love’ and ‘Return Of The Dream Canteen’.
Speaking to NME at the time about what it was like to have the classic line-up back together, Kiedis said the band were determined to bring something new to the table.
“I really didn’t want to tell the same old story that we’ve been hearing for the last 50 years in rock music,” he explained. “I liked reaching out in 10,000 directions and seeing what was out there. We weren’t limiting ourselves but trying to tap into something that is honest and emotional.”
He added: “The biggest event, honestly, was John returning to the band. That was the most monumental change in our lives. And God was I down for anything and everything.”
Meanwhile, bassist Flea recently announced his debut solo album, ‘Honora’, as well as live tour dates in North America, the UK and Europe. Pre-order/pre-save the record here.
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