Mother’s Milk 25th anniversary reissue coming up
Mother’s Milk is soon going to be old enough to be eligible for parliament in most countries. The 25th anniversary of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ last EMI release and the first to properly break into the mainstream is coming up next month and Christopher R. Weingarten of Rolling Stone caught up with Chad Smith and talked to him about how he got into the band and what are his memories of those days.
And just like it was hinted some months ago on a Billboard news blurb, a fancy reissue appears to be on the horizon; though it might just be a mere re-packing of everything released from this era so far.
So you were like 26 around this time?
Yeah, I just turned 27 in ’88 by the time I met them in December. Anthony and Flea were 26 — birthdays always within two weeks of us —and John was like, 18. He was brand new — never been in a band, playing in his favorite band, and he was just a ball of energy. I mean, at the time, everything we did was fast and hard and y’know, it was exciting. I didn’t know that much about the band — “Oh, yeah, y’know, the guys with the socks on their dicks and they’re kind of crazy.”
Are there any updates on that 25th Anniversary reissue of the record?
It’s coming; it’s coming down the pipes. Yeah, I think there’s some bonus goodies, as they like to put in there. I’m pretty sure I okayed a mix for a live show from Cleveland, around that time on the Mother’s Milk tour, that probably will go on as a bonus disc. I know it’s being re-mastered, but I think all the bonus tracks may have been out already; I’m not sure. We did have a couple things that weren’t finished that now people like to put out, a la Jimmy Page. I heard there’s an alternative version of “Stairway to Heaven” coming out. [Laughs] I don’t know, man. We did do a version of “Stairway to Heaven” for Mother’s Milk, so maybe we should put that out before he does. [Laughs].
You can read the whole interview on Rolling Stone (there is also a never-seen-before photo in the header). It is not clear in what formats the reissue will be available and if it will contain both video and audio material, but once more is known on this, you’ll be the first to know.
Until this is available for pre-order, you can still settle for a copy of the 2003 reissue with bonus tracks and the original, long version of Pretty Little Ditty. No, it’s not Butterfly.
