‘333’ by Flea

Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea was planning on a solo album during the band’s One Hot Minute (1995) era. That was shelved, but he eventually released a 2012 EP, Helen Burns, to benefit his Silverlake Conservatory of Music. The title track features Patti Smith, who wrote a poem for the prologue of Flea’s memoir, Acid for the Children.

‘333’ opens the EP with trumpet and synths. The first trumpet riff seems to hint at more energy to come but it’s not until 3 minutes in that Flea’s manic, programmed drums and synths let loose. Ex-bandmate and Peppers founding member Jack Irons contributes a snare roll from 4:40, which ushers in a softer section.

‘American Ghost Dance’ by Red Hot Chili Peppers

Perhaps the Peppers’ funkiest album, 1985’s Freaky Styley was produced by their idol George Clinton, who leant his voice to several tracks (and wrote a few lines, uncredited). Original guitarist and founding member Hillal Slovak rejoined after focusing on his other band, What Is This?.

Clinton recruited P-Funk hornsters Fred Wesley, Maceo Parker and Benny Cowan for six tracks, including highlight ‘American Ghost Dance’. Irresistibly funky, it’s still one of Flea’s grooviest bass lines decades later – so good that it was revisited and tweaked for 2006’s ‘Hump De Bump’. Early on in the band, Flea’s penchant for filling space with breathless flurries of notes provided energy but lacked variations in rhythm. Here though, he plays with a maturity that would be developed further on 1991’s Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Flea hits the One hard and leaves enough space elsewhere for his notes to have impact.

Anthony Kiedis’ lyrics are similarly mature. While even the Chilis’ self-titled debut had deeper moments like ‘Green Heaven’ – an ode to the beauty of nature and protest against racism and brutality – ‘Ghost Dance’ was a progression on Kiedis’ early efforts. Rallying against white people’s invasion and slaying of Native American land and people, Kiedis sing-raps with bustling energy, almost growling the line “But the burning flame, it turns to burning pain.” He emphasises certain syllables in time with Flea’s accents. With Wesley’s horn arrangement providing extra spice, some restrained but deliciously funky guitar from Slovak, and Cliff Martinez’s subtly syncopated hi-hat complimenting the bassline, ‘Ghost Dance’ was one of the Peppers’ finest 1980s originals. (For more groovy goodness, check out Clinton joining the band for an early version of Ghost Dance.)

‘Wolves’ by Wu-Tang Clan featuring George Clinton

For their 2007 album 8 Diagrams, Wu-Tang Clan recruited George Clinton. Wu-Tang were one of the few classic ’80s or ’90s hip-hop artists not to repeatedly sample Clinton’s P-Funk. Clinton does two of his favourite things: twists a fairy tale for original lyrics, and talks about dogs. RZA, by this point, had become a master of constantly varying beats, with the drum patterns generally reliable but every supporting instrument shifting and colouring each verse (courtesy of U-God, Method Man, and Masta Killa) differently. The trumpets at the end of verses give an unusual brightness to Wu’s sound, but the insistent backing vocals and strings are more familiarly eery. After George’s third chorus, he sings a bridge: “I’m like the St. Bernard to ya, baby / When you’re lost out in the snow.”

‘The Heart Gently Weeps’ by Wu-Tang Clan featuring Erykah Badu, Dhani Harrison, and John Frusciante

On another track from 8 Diagrams, Wu-Tang Clan adapted The Beatles’ classic ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’. Wu’s version features original guitar and percussion by George Harrison’s son, Dhani Harrison, as well as Chili Pepper John Frusciante. While not as famous as Prince’s pyrotechnics during a live version of the song, Frusciante’s electric adds plenty of moodiness, and Dhani’s acoustic melds well with RZA’s compressed drums. Method Man’s snappy, vowel-heavy third verse pairs particularly well with the instrumentation. Erykah Badu sings the chorus with similar epicness to the original. While Beatles purists may cringe at Ghostface Killah using George Harrison’s vocal melody to sing “That bitch is crazy”, the Wu’s street stories add an intriguing twist that George probably never imagined.

‘Any Road’ by George Harrison

Dhani collaborated with George Harrison on the latter’s 2002 album, Brainwashed. On the opening track, ‘Any Road’, George plays acoustic and slide guitar and Dhani electric. During the bridge (1:17), both guitarists play off the lead vocal with bluesy phrases.

The chorus’s “Ah, yeah” harmony on the One is very Beatles. The main lyric is an interesting one worth repeating: “If you don’t know where you’re going / Any road will take you there”. It’s more ambiguous than the jubilant chord progression and strumming.

‘Happiness Is A Warm Gun’ by The Beatles

There’s little predictability during ‘Happiness Is A Warm Gun’, but then there was little predictability across The Beatles, commonly referred to as The White Album (1968). Everything is slightly disorientating: from Ringo Starr’s punchy drums, to that first demented electric guitar chord (0:14), to John Lennon’s constant shifts in vocal tone from section to section, and his adding “mama” to the titular lyric (1:44) – just as the song has briefly calmed with a key change back to the more soothing chorus progression. The basic track was reportedly built from takes 53 and 65, and the song was completed at 5am one morning, perhaps explaining some of the unorthodox decisions and delivery.