The album also features founding members Anthony Kiedis on vocals and Flea on bass, as well as Cliff Martinez on drums.

Anthony Kiedis was disappointed with the overall sound, thinking that it lacked the raw energy of the band's original 1983 demo tape.

[6][7] In his 2004 autobiography Scar Tissue, Kiedis recalled, "One day, I got a glimpse of Gill's notebook, and next to the song 'Police Helicopter', he'd written 'Shit.'

It embodied the spirit of who we were, which was this kinetic, stabbing, angular, shocking assault force of sound and energy.

"[7] Flea expressed similar misgivings in a June 2023 interview with the Los Angeles Times: "I always regret the way we made the first one.

The album received college airplay and MTV rotation, and built the band's fan base.

[7] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic later wrote that "their first effort didn't quite gel into a cohesive album".