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Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication Audio CD

A fair review of the Red Hot Chili Peppers "Californication" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Red Hot Chili Peppers reviews here, or go back to the Red Hot Chili Peppers tabs.

Red Hot Chili Peppers Band: Red Hot Chili Peppers
Title: Californication
Rating:
Release Date: 1999-06-08
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Around the World 2: Parallel Universe 3: Scar Tissue 4: Otherside 5: Get on Top 6: Californication 7: Easily 8: Porcelain 9: Emit Remmus 10: I Like Dirt 11: This Velvet Glove 12: Savior 13: Purple Stain 14: Right On Time 15: Road Trippin'

BloodSugarSexMagik, Part 2.
Certainly John Frusciante's return is a major factor in this album's success, as is Rick Rubin's consistent production. A companion album to '91's "BloodSugarSexMagik", effectively wiping out their mid-90's album "One Hot Minute", which tanked commercially and critically. My one reservation is that the record is front-loaded: all the singles and strongest tracks appear at the beginning of the disc. Still, a solid alterna-rock album and one of their best so far, although not quite the classic that "BloodSugar" was.


Their best album
Most people credit the return of John Frusciante for the turnaround, and it's true he makes a big difference. After the lacklustre 'One Hot Minute', the Chili Peppers got their mojo back in the best possible way with 'Californication'; their best and most consistent album. Frusciante displays a surpising range of influences, varying his playing from metallic shredding to tender, melodic solo work. His diversity comes as a welcome change from the rather stiff Dave Navarro, whose style just wasn't suited to the band.

However, the remainder of the band have improved their approach as well. Anthony Kiedis' singing is much stronger, and there are some surprisingly strong backup vocals and harmonies on many tracks. Also, Kiedis' lyrics are a bit more thoughtful and emotional than before. And the band in general have re-thought their whole approach, clearly realising that the rather ham-fisted experimentation of 'One Hot Minute' was a dead end. On the surface, they seem to return to the sound of 'Blood, Sugar. . . ', but there is a clear development and maturity on display here, and some subtle twists and turns that work surprisingly well.

Basically there are four different styles on the album:

1) The old-school rap/funk/rock Peppers sound ('Around The World', 'Get On Top', 'Emit Remmus', 'I Like Dirt', 'Purple Stain', and 'Ride On Time'): A clear return to their early sound, but these songs are all given slightly different moods and feels. The frenetic 'Ride On Time' is different from the rock-oriented 'Emit Remmus', which is different again from the sexy/funky 'Purple Stain'. Reflecting the band's increased maturity, these songs are much more melodic than similar tracks from 'Blood, Sugar. . . '.

2) Mellow ballads ('Otherside', 'Porcelain', 'Road Trippin', 'Californication'): these are all strong songs, and work much better than 'My Friends', for example. Again, there are different feels to each of these; compare the intensity of 'Otherside' versus the very restrained 'Procelain'.

3) The mid-tempo songs with a more pop/rock influence ('Scar Tissue', 'Easily', 'This Velvet Glove'): really strong hooks and melodies in these songs. 'Scar Tissue' was a deserved hit, and the other two songs are hidden gems of the album.

4) While the band have basically airbrushed 'One Hot Minute' out of their history, hints of that album's sound are evident in the straightforward hard rock of 'Parallel Universe' and the vaguely prog-rock 'Saviour', with its shifting moods and tempos.

And everything works. The band sound equally comfortable on everything from the most frantic rap/metal to the tenderest ballads. There are literally no weak songs or awkward moments to be heard here. If you wanted to be really picky, you could argue that 'Porcelain' is a bit under-developed, and 'Ride On Time' something of a throwaway, but that's all. It's pretty much the perfect album, and it fits together well considering the diversity of the individual tracks.

With 'Californication', the Chili Peppers reminded everyone why they were one of the best rock bands of the 90's. The album also looks forward to the more sophisticated direction of 'By The Way'. This is simply one of the best albums of the decade, and is an essential purchase. .


If You got Greatest HIts dont bother with this
Everything that's worth listening to again and again is on their greatest hits, 4 or 5 great tracks on this album but others aren't worth listening to again.


Ignore the morons, this one's a CLASSIC
It quickly became my favorite album of that time. 1999's Californication was the first Chili Peppers album I ever owned. I immediatly went out to discover the rest of their back catalogue. Is it their best? I don't know. It's certainly a classic. Then again, so are Freaky Styley (RUN OUT and buy it if you don't already own it, the most forgotten and therefore underrated Chili Peppers album), Mother's Milk, Blood Sugar (although the most frequently over-hyped, over-rated RHCP), and I have to say, the blistering 28-track Stadium Arcadium. Sentimentally, Californication would have to be my favorite, though. Songs like Easily, Get on Top, This Velvet Glove, Parallel Universe, Right on Time, and Purple Stain, were not singles off of this album, but only God knows why. They are hard-rock treasures, and if all you've heard from this album is the singles (ie:scar tissue), you are committing a musical felony against yourself.


P.O.S.
Whenever anything from this lp comes on, I want
to kill myself. the place where I work has this album on an ipod
that plays continuously - along with about 250 other
songs. This is lazy music people! crapola.


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