What Hits!?
| What Hits!? | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||
| Greatest hits album by Red Hot Chili Peppers | ||||
| Released | September 29, 1992 | |||
| Recorded | 1984–1991 | |||
| Genre | Funk rock, alternative rock | |||
| Length | 67:28 | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Label | EMI | |||
| Producer | Various | |||
| Red Hot Chili Peppers chronology | ||||
|
||||
| Singles from What Hits!? | ||||
|
||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| Rolling Stone |  |
| What Hits!? | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||
| Video by Red Hot Chili Peppers | ||||
| Released | September 29, 1992 | |||
| Recorded | 1984-1991 | |||
| Genre | Funk rock | |||
| Length | 60 minutes | |||
| Label | EMI | |||
| Red Hot Chili Peppers chronology | ||||
|
||||
What Hits!? is a "best-of" compilation album by Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on September 29, 1992 by EMI. The album contains tracks from the band's first four albums as well as "Under the Bridge" from their fifth album, 1991's hit Blood Sugar Sex Magik and the Pretty Woman soundtrack contribution/single B-side "Show Me Your Soul". "Behind the Sun" was released as a single and music video to accompany the release of this compilation. The song originally appeared on the band's 1987 album The Uplift Mofo Party Plan.
This album was released on EMI/Capitol records through a deal with Warner Bros. Records. The band had left EMI for Warner in 1991 where they would record their biggest album at the time, 1991's Blood Sugar Sex Magik. EMI, who owned the rights to the band's first four albums decided to cash in on the band's newfound mainstream success. The two labels however agreed that each label would allow the usage to one song recorded during the Peppers career on each label so each company could produce a greatest hits compilation. EMI chose the band's biggest hit single at the time, "Under the Bridge" for What Hits!? and Warner Bros. chose "Higher Ground", the band's most successful single for EMI for the band's 2003 compilation Greatest Hits.
The title of the compilation is a joke alluding to the relative lack of success achieved by the Red Hot Chili Peppers during their tenure with EMI, highlighting the irony that many of the tracks included on what is supposed to be a 'greatest hits' compilation were generally singles that peaked notably low in the charts, arguably too low to be considered 'hits' (and even in some cases, such as "The Brothers Cup," "Backwoods," and "Johnny, Kick a Hole in the Sky", were never released as singles at all with the latter song never even being performed live). Most of the material released on this album were songs taken from Freaky Styley (1985) and Mother's Milk (1989). In 1987, the band pleaded with the label to release "Behind the Sun" as a single however EMI deemed the song not worthy enough however thanks to the band's mainstream success in 1991/1992, the label now felt it was time to cash in and release the more melodic sounding song as a single.
...
Wikipedia