"Taste the Pain" is a song by the

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, funk ...

from the album '' Mother's Milk'', and was the third and final single from that album. The music video was filmed with the band playing in an art room, where artists are in the middle of painting a mural artwork, directed by Tom Stern and

Alex Winter Alexander Ross Winter (born July 17, 1965) is a British-American actor and filmmaker. He played the slacker Bill in the 1989 film '' Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure'' and its sequels ''Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey'' (1991) and '' Bill & Ted Face ...

. The song was recorded after

Chad Smith Chad Gaylord Smith (born October 25, 1961) is an American musician who has been the drummer of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers since 1988. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. Smith is also the drummer of the ...

joined the band as the drummer, however, on this record, drums are played by Fishbone's Philip "Fish" Fisher and was the first song

John Frusciante John Anthony Frusciante (; born March 5, 1970) is an American musician, best known as the guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers across three stints since 1988. He has released 11 solo albums and 7 EPs, ranging in style from acoustic guitar to e ...

recorded with the band. When the song is played backwards, the voice heard at the start is Anthony Kiedis clearly singing the chorus. This song also features a

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

solo by

Flea Flea, the common name for the order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult fleas grow to about long, a ...

. A slightly longer version of the song was featured on the soundtrack for the film '' Say Anything...'' starring Kiedis's girlfriend at the time, Ione Skye. The single contained two original B-sides. " Show Me Your Soul" was recorded during the ''Mother's Milk'' sessions and was also later released as a single in 1990 when it was featured on the soundtrack for the film '' Pretty Woman''. "Millionaires Against Hunger" was recorded during sessions for 1985's ''

Freaky Styley ''Freaky Styley'' is the second studio album by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released August 16, 1985 on EMI America. ''Freaky Styley'' marks founding guitarist Hillel Slovak's studio album debut, following his return to the band ear ...

''. The single reached number twenty-nine in the UK—the highest position for the band up to that point.

Live performances

Despite being a popular single for the band, the song was rarely performed by the band and it hasn't been performed since 1990 during the Mother's Milk tour.

Track listing

;7" radio promo single (1989) # "All for Love" by Nancy Wilson # "Taste the Pain" by Red Hot Chili Peppers ;"Unbridled Funk and Roll 4 Your Soul!" limited edition CD single (1989) # "Taste the Pain" (album version) # "Millionaires Against Hunger" # "Castles Made of Sand" (live; unreleased) # "Higher Ground" (Daddy-O Mix) ;1990 UK cassette single (1990) #"Taste the Pain" #"Show Me Your Soul" ;1990 UK CD single (1990) #"Taste the Pain" (single version) #"Taste the Pain" (LP version) #"Show Me Your Soul" (unreleased) #"Nevermind" ;12" pop-out sleeve (1990) #"Taste the Pain" (album version) #"Show Me Your Soul" (unreleased) #"If You Want Me to Stay" #"Nevermind" ;7" single (1990) #"Taste the Pain" (album version) #"Show Me Your Soul" (unreleased) ;7" limited edition square disc single (1990) #"Taste the Pain" (album version) #"Show Me Your Soul" (unreleased) #"Castles Made of Sand" (live; unreleased) ;7" promo single (1990) #"Taste the Pain" (album version) #"Castles Made of Sand" (live; unreleased) #"Special Secret Song Inside" (live; unreleased) #"F.U." (live; unreleased)

Charts

Personnel

Red Hot Chili Peppers * Anthony Kiedis – lead vocals *

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

– bass,

Additional musicians * Philip "Fish" Fisher – drums *Dave Coleman –

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taste The Pain Red Hot Chili Peppers songs 1989 singles Songs written by Flea (musician) Songs written by John Frusciante Songs written by Anthony Kiedis 1989 songs EMI Records singles Song recordings produced by Michael Beinhorn Music videos directed by Alex Winter Music videos directed by Tom Stern