Background
Faith No More's debut album We Care a Lot was released in 1985 through independent label Mordam Records. [3] In late 1986,Faith No More was signed to Los Angeles label Slash Records by Anna Statman. [4] The label had entered a distribution deal with Warner Bros. Records in 1982,ensuring a widespread release,distribution and marketing for the band's forthcoming album.
"We Care a Lot" and "Chinese Arithmetic" were released as radio singles in the fall of 1987,in promotion of the band's tour with Red Hot Chili Peppers. [5] Music videos were later made for the songs "We Care a Lot" (released in January 1988) and "Anne's Song" released (released in May 1988).
Songs
The title track was originally called "The Cheerleader Song". [6] It was written on Faith No More's first nationwide tour of the United States in 1986,as they were on their way from South Dakota to Portland,Oregon,and driving through Missoula,Montana. [6] Keyboardist Roddy Bottum became inspired to write the song when the band went to a truck stop for coffee. [6] He came up with the lyrics on the next leg of the journey,while sitting in the passenger seat of the band's Dodge. [6]
Regarding the song "Death March",singer Chuck Mosley said in 1988,"A friend of mine,doing a lot of drugs,just went out in the ocean and drowned. I used to be on the beach all the time and I got the feeling that he was so fucked up when he drowned that he doesn't even realise he's dead. He's out there,still swimming around. 'Death March' is someone talking to their dead lover,the soul lingering on." [7]
Unlike with the band's prior release We Care a Lot,much of the album has been played regularly with Mosley's replacement,Mike Patton. However,there is only one known performance of "Faster Disco" with Patton on vocals,at a 1990 concert in Kaiserslautern,Germany. [8] "Anne's Song" is one of three Mosley songs to have never been sung live by Patton,with the others being "Arabian Disco" and "New Beginnings",both from We Care a Lot. [8]
After the album's release,Faith No More joined fellow funk metal/punk band Red Hot Chili Peppers on The Uplift Mofo Party Tour. [9] Faith No More opened for the Red Hot Chili Peppers during the first two and a half months of the North American tour. [9] [10] [11] Guitarist Jim Martin recalled:"We were travelling in a box van with no windows. We drove all the way to the east coast for the first show. Flea asked me if we liked to smoke weed. I said:‘Yes’and he said:‘We're going to get along just fine’. We did something like 52 dates in 56 days." [12] The band's future singer Mike Patton later became involved in several controversies and disputes with Anthony Kiedis,frontman of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. [13] To further promote the album,Faith No More embarked on their first tour of the UK in 1988. [7]
The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1982, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, funk, punk rock, hard rock, hip hop, and psychedelic rock. Their eclectic range has influenced genres such as funk metal, rap metal, rap rock, and nu metal. With over 120 million records sold worldwide, the Red Hot Chili Peppers are one of the top-selling bands of all time. They hold the records for most number-one singles (15), most cumulative weeks at number one (91) and most top-ten songs (28) on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart. They have won three Grammy Awards, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, and in 2022 received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before September 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/rhythm guitarist Roddy Bottum and drummer Mike Bordin are the longest-remaining members of the band, having been involved since its inception. The band underwent several early lineup changes, and some major changes later. The lineup of Faith No More consists of Gould, Bordin, Bottum, lead guitarist Jon Hudson, and vocalist/lyricist Mike Patton.
Funk metal is a subgenre of funk rock and alternative metal that infuses heavy metal music with elements of funk and punk rock. Funk metal was part of the alternative metal movement, and has been described as a "brief but extremely media-hyped stylistic fad".
Michael Allan Patton is an American singer, songwriter, producer, and voice actor, best known as the lead vocalist of the American rock bands Faith No More and Mr. Bungle. Noted for his vocal proficiency, diverse singing techniques, wide range of projects, style-transcending influences, eccentric public image and contempt for the music industry, Patton has earned critical praise and influenced many contemporary singers. In addition to his most popular endeavor, Faith No More, Patton is also co-founder and lead vocalist of Mr. Bungle, and he has fronted and/or played with Tomahawk, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Fantômas, Moonchild Trio, Kaada/Patton, Dead Cross, Lovage, Mondo Cane, the X-ecutioners, and Peeping Tom. Consistent collaborators through his varied career include avant-garde jazz saxophonist John Zorn, hip hop producer Dan the Automator and classical violinist Eyvind Kang.
The Real Thing is the third studio album by American rock band Faith No More, released on June 20, 1989, by Slash and Reprise Records. It is the first album to feature singer Mike Patton, following the dismissal of previous vocalist Chuck Mosley. On this album, Faith No More continued to advance their sound range, combining funk metal, rap metal and alternative rock.
Anthony Kiedis is an American musician and a founding member and lead vocalist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Kiedis and his fellow band members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.
Charles Henry Mosley III was an American musician, singer and songwriter, who was the frontman for Faith No More from 1984 to 1988. During his tenure with the band, they released two albums, We Care a Lot and Introduce Yourself.
Hillel Slovak was an Israeli-American musician, best known as the founding guitarist of the Los Angeles rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, with whom he recorded two albums. His guitar work was rooted in funk and hard rock, and he often experimented with other genres, including reggae and speed metal. He is considered to have been a major influence on Red Hot Chili Peppers's early sound.
Mother's Milk is the fourth studio album by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on August 16, 1989 by EMI Records. After the death of founding guitarist Hillel Slovak and the subsequent departure of drummer Jack Irons, vocalist Anthony Kiedis and bassist Flea regrouped with the addition of guitarist John Frusciante and drummer Chad Smith. Frusciante's influence altered the band's sound by placing more emphasis on melody than rhythm, which had dominated the band's previous material. Returning producer Michael Beinhorn favored heavy metal guitar riffs as well as overdubbing. Frusciante perceived Beinhorn's taste as excessive, and as a result, the two constantly fought over the album's guitar sound.
The Uplift Mofo Party Plan is the third studio album by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on September 29, 1987, by EMI Manhattan. Due to prior obligations resulting in temporary personnel changes following the band's formation in 1983, The Uplift Mofo Party Plan is the only studio album to feature all four founding members of the band on every track: vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, guitarist Hillel Slovak and drummer Jack Irons. This is also the last album with Slovak before his death from a drug overdose in 1988, and the only full-length album to feature Irons. "Fight Like a Brave" was released as the album's only single, although "Me and My Friends" received minor radio airplay. In 1992, "Behind the Sun" was released as a single and music video to promote What Hits!?.
James Blanco Martin is an American guitarist who played with the rock band Faith No More from 1983 to late 1993.
California is the third studio album by American experimental rock band Mr. Bungle. It was released on July 13, 1999, through Warner Bros.
We Care a Lot is the debut studio album by American rock band Faith No More, originally released in 1985 and distributed through Mordam Records. On the original vinyl release, the band is credited as Faith. No More. on the album's liner notes, back cover, and on the record itself.
"We Care a Lot" is a song by American rock band Faith No More. There are three versions of the song, all of which have been officially released over three different albums. The original was recorded for and released on the band's first studio album, We Care a Lot. A re-recorded version, with new lyrics, was included on the album Introduce Yourself and was the lead single, reaching number 53 on the UK Singles Chart. The live version, without original singer Chuck Mosley, was included on the live album and video Live at the Brixton Academy and was also released as a single in 1991. It was the second most frequently-played song during the band's live performances, behind "Epic". "We Care a Lot" featured different lyrics and ad-libs when performed by Mike Patton, much like performances of "Chinese Arithmetic".
Epic And Other Hits is a compilation album released by Faith No More in 2005. Despite the album's title, only a handful of songs on it are actual hits, even though the band had other hits which do not appear here.
"Anne's Song" is a 1988 single by American band Faith No More, taken from their 1987 album Introduce Yourself. Written by band members Billy Gould and Roddy Bottum, the song describes an acquaintance of theirs from New York, and her circle of friends. The single was produced by Matt Wallace and Steve Berlin and released by Slash Records.
The Uplift Mofo Party Tour was a concert tour by Red Hot Chili Peppers to support their third studio album The Uplift Mofo Party Plan. Founding drummer, Jack Irons returned to the band the previous year to finish out the band's tour and record the next album, The Uplift Mofo Party Plan, which ended up being the only album and full tour to feature the four founding band members: Anthony Kiedis, Flea, Hillel Slovak and Irons. It was the band's biggest tour at the time and featured their first trip to Europe. Kiedis, who started to develop a major drug problem on the previous tour, started to fall deeper into his addiction and Slovak's addiction to heroin only grew stronger as well. Slovak died of a heroin overdose a few weeks after the end of the tour on June 25, 1988. The surviving three members regrouped for a small boat trip with then manager, Lindy Goetz. It was there that Irons decided he could no longer deal with being in the band and Slovak's death was too hard for him to handle so he decided to quit the band again, this time for good.
