Search - Red Hot Chili Peppers :: Californication

2nd only to bssm!

jason | Myersville, Maryland | 01/16/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"go read my review for cali. under the non-import version! i'm just reviewing this to tell what the 3 bonus track are! the 3 are gong li/instrumental #1/how strong! gong li/instrumental can be found on the scar tissue single(s)and how stron can be found on the m.o.m. 3 comp. and the upcoming otherside cd single! i have all the singles plus this cd cause i love the peppers and have so much of their stuff! if you're looking for the better buy go with this cd cause by the time you buy the reg. version and the two singles you've alredy payed more money! but if you collect peppers stuff then get all of it!"

"Easily" their best release

finulanu | Here, there, and everywhere | 02/10/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have a theory about this group: everything they do comes down to John Frusciante. I'll admit I'm a bit of a purist when it comes to him and the group: I find One Hot Minute leaves me (dare I say it) rather cold (though "My Friends", "Aeroplane" and "Tearjerker" are several of their best songs), and I don't have much appreciation for what they put out before Frusciante signed up. But when he did? Now, that's something different. The five albums they put out with him range from good (Mother's Milk, By the Way) to great (Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Stadium Arcadium). And then there's this one, my favorite RHCP disc and the only one I'd give a full five stars to. Perhaps it could be argued that the disc suffers from a bit of a poor middle stretch - there's nothing wrong with "Porcelain", but like a real decorative porcelain vase it's pretty but shallow, "Easily" does boast an impressive vocal ("EVERYTHING MUST GO!") and chorus, but the lyrics are kind of stupid; "Emit Remmus" is a loser track no matter how you slice it, with the guitar sounding like it was put through a blender - but when the running time on an album pushes an hour you can only expect a few lesser songs. But that's all that keeps it down.

Now, let's talk about the good stuff. Three chart-toppers came off this album, and lemme tell you something: if I were to compile a list of my ten favorite Chili Peppers songs, they would all make the list. The best known is probably the title track, an intricate, amazingly melodic protest against sex, drugs, materialism, imperialism, and on and on. The lyrics are classic stuff, but what really makes it fly is the minimalist guitar solo, which I believe contains somewhere around forty notes (I've heard it so many times I've more or less got it memorized, see). "Otherside" is arguably my favorite Chili Peppers song ever. The chorus is heavenly, the simple riff is just perfect, that little "rockin'" bit is tremendous, and those harmonies in the coda are astounding. To top it all off, Anthony gives the vocal performance of a lifetime. "Scar Tissue" is also a competitor for my favorite - the slide guitar part is superb, and again Anthony's falsetto is excellent. The other hits are also memorable, and show the group trying on different styles they hadn't really attempted before: "Parallel Universe" is new wave, and "Road Trippin'" is a great acoustic ballad. Only the fantastic "Around the World" (and a few other album tracks) is funk-rock.

But there's more to it than just a few great singles. Just about everything is quite good, though nothing matches "Scar Tissue" and the rest. "Savior" comes close, a two-part track that goes from screaming rocker to gentle, bass-driven pop. I also like the ballad "This Velvet Glove", with some fine lyrics. As I said before, there isn't much funk here, but the funk's pretty good "Get On Top" may at first seem like another one of the primitive sex raps they put out back before Frusciante jumped on, but for one Anthony's vocals have matured considerably since then, and for another none of those songs featured a lyric as cool as "complications of a mastermind...". The jumpy, nervy "I Like Dirt" is a lot of fun, and the environmentalist lyrics are enjoyable if a bit stupid. "Purple Stain" is cool, with a propulsive bass line and hard-to-forget "We all live in Hollywood!" chorus. "Right on Time" isn't even two minutes long, but they pack a lot of hooks into it, and I like the ending, where John sings the title slowly while Anthony provides a much faster contrast.

This is one fine album, their most creative, consistent, accessible album. It's probably the first RHCP album to get outside of a compilation, actually."

If you don't have this yet, go out and get it!

jason | 11/21/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have been a die hard RHCP since i was little and i have to say that though some of the people in this universe dont believe that this is the best album RHCP has come out with, their saying that cause they haven't even listened to it! Take it from me, if you love RHCP then you definatly love this album cause it's the best! RHCP lives on forever~peace out ya'll"