Which albums does John Frusciante actually play on? Seven of the thirteen, in three separate stretches, because he left the band and came back twice. Putting that answer on a wall, in order, is what a gift for Red Hot Chili Peppers fans is for.
Anthony Kiedis and Flea appear on every one of the thirteen studio albums, and on both 2003 reissues as well. Everybody else moves. That single fact is what makes this print worth giving rather than just hanging.
Red Hot Chili Peppers Discography Tube Map Art Print
Each guitarist gets a line of their own, which is what makes the comings and goings in this catalogue so readable.
Explore This Art PrintA Gift for Red Hot Chili Peppers Fans Starts With the Guitar Chair
Five names carry the guitar credit across the catalogue: Jack Sherman, Hillel Slovak, John Frusciante, Dave Navarro and Josh Klinghoffer. Two of them appear on exactly one studio album each. One of them appears on seven, in three separate stretches.
If the person you are buying for talks about Blood Sugar Sex Magik and Californication, they will read this print left to right looking for the gaps. If they came in through One Hot Minute, they will hunt for the lone Navarro entry and be pleased it is there.
Five Guitarists, Thirteen Studio Albums: Who Plays on What
| Album and year | Credited on guitar | What the credit actually says |
|---|---|---|
| The Red Hot Chili Peppers, 1984 | Jack Sherman | Guitar and backing vocals |
| Freaky Styley, 1985 | Hillel Slovak | Guitars, backing vocals, co-lead vocals on track 13 |
| The Uplift Mofo Party Plan, 1987 | Hillel Slovak | Guitar, sitar on "Behind the Sun", vocoder |
| Mother's Milk, 1989 | John Frusciante and Hillel Slovak | Frusciante on all tracks except 9, Slovak on track 9 |
| Blood Sugar Sex Magik, 1991 | John Frusciante | Electric and acoustic guitars, plus synthesiser on "If You Have to Ask" |
| One Hot Minute, 1995 | Dave Navarro | Guitars and backing vocals, his only studio album |
| Californication, 1999 | John Frusciante | First return, with acoustic guitar on "This Velvet Glove" and "Road Trippin'" |
| By the Way, 2002 | John Frusciante | Guitar, piano, keyboards, modular synthesiser, extra bass on "Don't Forget Me" |
| Stadium Arcadium, 2006 | John Frusciante | Guitars and mellotron, with Omar Rodríguez-López taking the solo on "Especially in Michigan" |
| I'm with You, 2011 | Josh Klinghoffer | Guitar, keyboards, six-string bass on "Happiness Loves Company" |
| The Getaway, 2016 | Josh Klinghoffer | Guitars, bass on track 12, piano on five tracks |
| Unlimited Love, 2022 | John Frusciante | Second return, electric guitar on tracks 1 to 16 and co-lead vocals on 16 |
| Return of the Dream Canteen, 2022 | John Frusciante | Guitar, keyboards, synthesisers, backing vocals |
John Frusciante's Line Stops Twice and Restarts Twice
His first credit is Mother's Milk in 1989 and it runs through Blood Sugar Sex Magik in 1991. Then it stops dead for One Hot Minute in 1995, and picks up again for Californication in 1999, By the Way in 2002 and Stadium Arcadium in 2006.
Then it stops again, for I'm with You in 2011 and The Getaway in 2016. It restarts for both 2022 albums. Two clean breaks, two returns, seven studio albums, and thirty-three years between his first credit and his most recent one.
That shape is the argument for giving this as a wall print rather than a card. Nobody recalls the sequence correctly, and a fan will stand there working out where the gaps fall. One footnote from the same era: the choir on "Under the Bridge" is credited as Gail Frusciante and her friends.
Mother's Milk Has Two Guitarists on It, and Three Drummers
Hillel Slovak died in June 1988. Mother's Milk was released in 1989, and he is still credited on it: guitar and backing vocals on track 9, the Hendrix cover, plus the back cover painting.
Track 9 also carries Jack Irons on drums, so that one song holds the previous line-up while the rest of the record holds the new one. Chad Smith is credited on drums for every track except 7 and 9, and track 7 goes to Philip "Fish" Fisher of Fishbone. Two of his bandmates, Angelo Moore and John Norwood Fisher, had already sung on The Uplift Mofo Party Plan two years earlier.
Jack Sherman turns up on that album too, five years after being replaced, credited with backing vocals on tracks 1 and 2 only. That is the sort of detail that makes an A1 print worth it for a serious fan, because at 594 x 841mm the one-track credits are readable from a normal standing distance.
George Clinton Sang on Freaky Styley, So He Is On It
George Clinton produced Freaky Styley in 1985 and is also credited with backing vocals on it, which is why he earns a line. My rule is simple and I apply it every time: a producer only gets a line on the map if they are also credited playing or singing something. Rick Rubin produced seven of the thirteen studio albums, from Blood Sugar Sex Magik in 1991 to both 2022 records, appears nowhere in the musician credits, and so gets nothing.
Michael Beinhorn produced two albums but is only credited singing on The Uplift Mofo Party Plan, so he earns exactly one. Brendan O'Brien earns his on Blood Sugar Sex Magik for Mellotron, Hammond B-3 organ and toy celeste, and Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton earns his on The Getaway for mellotron, organ and synthesisers.
The same rule catches the twelve names listed on Stadium Arcadium with no instrument attached to them at all. No credited part, no line, however famous the record.
The Busiest Station on the Print Is Mother's Milk
Mother's Milk in 1989 is the busiest studio album in the catalogue with twenty-five credited musicians, mostly a wall of backing vocalists on tracks 1 and 2. Two years later Blood Sugar Sex Magik has seven, and Californication has six.
Unlimited Love in 2022 is the smallest of the lot at five: Kiedis, Flea, Frusciante, Chad Smith and one percussionist. The band's two most loved records were made in the two emptiest rooms, which is a genuinely satisfying thing to point at when the print is on a wall.
Lenny Castro Has Played on Records by Three Different Chili Peppers Guitarists
Castro is credited on percussion on One Hot Minute in 1995, Stadium Arcadium in 2006, I'm with You in 2011, Unlimited Love in 2022 and Return of the Dream Canteen in 2022. That is five albums across twenty-seven years, spanning the Navarro, Frusciante and Klinghoffer eras, and it is more albums than Sherman, Navarro and Klinghoffer manage between them.
Keith Barry is another worth chasing: the 1984 debut for horn arrangements and viola, Mother's Milk in 1989 for tenor saxophone, One Hot Minute in 1995 for violin on "Tearjerker". His name is spelled three different ways across those three credit lists.
The guest cameos are the fun part for a casual fan. Elton John plays piano on track 6 of The Getaway, Billy Preston plays clavinet on "Warlocks", John Lurie plays harmonica on the title track of One Hot Minute, and Pete Weiss is credited with a Jew's harp on "Give It Away".
What People Ask Me About the Guitar Chair
Does the map show which albums Frusciante actually plays on?
Yes, that is the point of it. His line runs, stops, runs, stops and runs again, and you can trace all seven of his albums without reading a word of text.
Is Hillel Slovak on it?
He is, across Freaky Styley, The Uplift Mofo Party Plan and Mother's Milk, where his credit is limited to a single track and the back cover painting.
What about the 2003 reissues?
I research them but I keep them separate from the studio albums, because they carry credits the original releases do not. The reissued debut lists Slovak on guitar and talk box and Jack Irons on drums, neither of whom is on the 1984 album as first released.
Is Dave Navarro's one studio album readable at the smaller size?
Navarro's only entry sits between Blood Sugar Sex Magik and Californication, and at A2 (420 x 594mm) that run and every headline name read clearly without leaning in. A1 at 594 x 841mm is the one for a milestone birthday, because the single-track credits like Omar Rodríguez-López and Philip "Fish" Fisher stay legible across a room.
Buying the Chili Peppers Print
Every print is a Giclée on 230gsm textured matte fine art paper, archival and acid-free, with prices from £42. You can order it unframed or in a black wood frame, in A2 (420 x 594mm) or A1 (594 x 841mm).
The print is here: Red Hot Chili Peppers discography map print. If you are buying for someone whose shelf runs wider than one band, these are the three that Chili Peppers buyers reach for most often: the Nirvana and Foo Fighters map, the Foo Fighters map and the Muse map.
You will find the rest of the range in the Music Wall Art Prints collection.
