Mothers Milk was the first album to feature a completely different line up.
 
Although Kiedis and Flea remain from the original Peppers, their guitarist Hillel Slovak tragically died from a heroin overdose shortly after their previous album, and their drummer Jack Irons went into a depression and left, due to the death of Slovak.
 
So after deciding whether or not to carry on with the band, Kiedis and Flea thankfully kept it going. They enlisted a young guitarist who was a massive fan of the band, John Frusciante. His energy and enthuiasm won him the role, and he could already play all of their songs anyway. On drums, they found Chad Smith, who, although seeming to be out of place with his heavy rock image, fitted in perfectly.The album contains Flea's trademark funky slap bass throughout, and Kiedis's rap style vocals, but it brings in new energy from Frusciante and Smith.