Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Covers

Boasting impressively diverse material, Red Hot Chili Peppers' 2012 EP Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Covers opens with a beach blanket–friendly rendition of “A Teenager in Love" by Dion & The Belmonts. It sounds like a spot-on re-creation of the tune, right down to the flawless doo-wop vocals. Frontman Anthony Kiedis exercises restraint in his singing, performing Dion DiMucci’s parts with such a studied finesse that you can actually envision Kiedis doing this while keeping his shirt on. His shirtless inflections and Flea’s fretboard-slapping return for a cover of The Ramones’ “Havana Affair,” which sounds like a Blood Sugar Sex Magik–era Chili Peppers tune played with Joey Ramone’s lyrics. The band reverently extracts their unique take on funk from a cover of The Stooges’ proto-punk staple “Search and Destroy” before turning Neil Young’s “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere” into something that would well accompany a summertime coming-of-age film set on Venice Beach. The Chili Peppers perform The Beach Boys' “I Get Around” with the same discipline exercised on “A Teenager in Love.”