Californication

Not a big fan but listenable

Incredibly popular album with staying power. It would help if the vocals / lyrics weren’t mostly intolerable. I liked about half the songs at the time, can stand to listen to maybe 2 of the tracks 27 years later.

I’ve never actually heard this all the way through before, it started off really strong but did kind of drone off in the second half of the album

Some proper bangers on here though

3.5

This is a mixed bag, kind of like their other albums. Some really good songs and some extra tracks.

Just a week ago I said this was a better album than Blood sugar sex magik! This album is very nostalgic to me, and almost every song is a banger. Hearing it now, man the guitar/bass/drums just had so many good moments, but the front half feels more loaded than the back.

Highlights:
- around the world (what a groove)
- otherside (one of my faves for decades now, love the harmonies), scar tissue (guitars!)
- californication (iconic groove; I still use "the sun may rise in the east but at least it settles in a fine location" to know my cardinal directions)
- road trippin' (iconic line: "blue you sit so pretty west of the 1" when you go to big sur).

Good, but not great! This was a fun listen though

I listened to this album on purpose sometime last year and I remembered liking it. Much of the album was already familiar to me anyway because of the popularity of the songs in mainstream culture. The Chili Peppers have such a distinct sound that you really can't mix them up with anyone else (a funky mix of alternative rock).

One of each instrument (vocals, guitars, bass and drums) gives each element room to stand out. The guitar is dominant and busy; the bass is funky and groovy; the drums keep a fast beat; and the vocals are rapid fire. For those reasons, the songs are memorable and catchy. The front half of the album is amazing with no skips, and though the second half isn't as much so, it still holds its own. Memorable songs: "Californication" has such a lovely and longing-sounding guitar solo, "Otherside" is dark and moody; and "Porcelain" is just a beautiful song in general.

For most of my life I said these guys were my favorite band. If I had to reevaluate now that may not be the case, but I’ll always love this music. This may be the album I’ve listened to the most in my life.

Talented musicians, tedious music.

I definitely feel like the hate for RHCP in recent years has gotten really performative, similar to the hate for Nickelback, Coldplay, Kesha, and Imagine Dragons (not saying any of those are good, although Coldplay is pretty solid, and Kesha has some banger tunes. Glad she got a bit of a reappraisal).

I understand not liking them (and this album does have some stuff I won't defend), but the way people talk about them, you'd think Keidis personally stole their puppy and killed their car.

But yeah, this is a pretty good album, held up massively by the singles. Some decent deep cuts like This Velvet Glove and Road Trippin' (although mostly for the instrumentals). But then you got some unforgivably bad lyrics from Keidis on songs like Get On Top, I Like Dirt, Purple Stain, and Right On Time. Also just terrible singing from him on Porcelain. No defending that shit.

But yeah, with Around the World, Parallel Universe, Californication, Otherside, and Scar Tissue, a lot can be forgiven on this album. Just a murderer's row of some of RHCPs best songs.

Feel like if you cut this album down to a trim 38 to 42ish minutes, this could be a particularly great album. As it stands, its just pretty good, even with some atrocious songs on it.

Lastly, I get Rick Rubin is great with getting amazing performances out of bands, but at some point that man needs to answer for his crimes against listeners ears for constantly brickwalling every album he produces.

Well well welly well. Really just hitting all my of my mom’s childhood faves. Now, this album is what I consider a return to form after the victory lap of One Hot Minute, which followed the triumph of Blood Sugar Sex Magik, one of the best alt-rock albums ever made, and one of my favorite albums of the 90s. And this album does something pretty interesting, it just has all these absolutely beautiful riffs and guitar sounds, and Anthony Kiedis is actually much less of an obvious idiot a lot of the time. Because everyone knows Kiedis is an idiot, that’s part of the point of RHCP. But everyone’s also heard him at his best, in “Scar Tissue,” “Under The Bridge,” “Can’t Stop,” songs that have actually incredibly pleasant presence. The thing about the Peppers that I can’t say I feel about any other band is I’ve never heard a song of theirs that I didn’t want to like. You know, sometimes you hear a good song but it has an attitude that makes you dislike, but never with these guys. Sometimes their songs just aren’t great. I never want them to be though, and strangely I never expect them to be either.

Anyway. This album is incredible for the first half, and then it’s like… not as incredible. Passable. I will say though, it’s much more consistent than BSSM, and much more obviously oriented toward a summery sound. I listened to this the second to last day of my summer break, and I felt every bit of it. Also, Rick Rubin did a crazy good job on this album. Maybe even the best produced Peppers album. There also aren’t really any songs that I really dislike here, even if some don’t really blow me away. Really really love this album, beautiful, energetic, and vaguely melancholic.
9.8/10
DOES IT BELONG ON THE LIST: YES
REASON: Quality, cultural relevance, influence

I'm sure there's some universe out there where Red Hot Chili Peppers is actually fun to listen to, but in our reality, this album is bloated with the blandest margarine-tasting FM rock ever produced. Even the hits all sound the same. The song "Californication" is nice to listen to once in a while, but a whole album of "Californication" wannabes is too much. Some songs try to be different, like the ones incorporating rap elements, and some even manage to be fun and groovy, but the annoying whiny-ass voice ruins it all. The very last song, with its folk roots, is actually the nicest of the bunch.

Can't even say this album is bad, it's just the epitome of mid.

It’s a canonical experience: you like the singles so you buy the album and realize you hate the rest of the album. 27 years later, I’m still wondering who let Anthony Kiedis write these lyrics. (Okay I did like “savior,” too.)

𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 is an album I like more for what Flea and John Frusciante are doing than for the songs themselves. Their playing gives the record most of its personality, especially when the band slows down and lets the bass and guitar create some atmosphere.

Anthony Kiedis is the part that wears me down. On several of the singles, his nasal delivery, phrasing, and vocal melodies start to feel almost interchangeable, which makes the album more repetitive than it should be. Some of the later tracks break away from that formula and are more interesting because of it.

Even then, 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 feels oddly ordinary for an alternative-rock album from 1999. There were plenty of records around that time taking bigger risks or developing more distinctive sounds. Flea and Frusciante keep this one afloat, but not enough to make me want to return to it.

I felt so conflicted about this album. It starts extremely strong with some of RHCPs best songs with the first 6 tracks (minus track 5). It then dives off a cliff and because absolutely nothing till the last song which might be the best RHCP song there is. Feast and Famine. 3.5, also because they have one of the most annoying singers there is.

The first half or so is actually pretty strong, but the second half gets a bit repetitive and boring. Still probably their best album

Might be a 5 if I hadn’t heard the hits more time than my own voice. It’s also little long - but damn does Fleas bass flow.

starts hot but front loaded. right on time is the only one worth it on the second half

Jeg har altid syntes, at RHCP er så vanvittigt irriterende, så se bort fra mit rant, hvis du er fan

RHCP lyder sådan her https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE5JMEu5hZA

Man gad godt have fat i kraven på den tumpe, der har mastered det her album

Write an RHCP song without mentioning California challenge LEVEL IMPOSSIBLE

RHCP er Maroon 5, hvis de var lige så obsessed med deres hjemstavn

Kiedis er så utroligt irriterende, at jeg ikke kan begribe det

jeg bliver heated nu sorry

Burde det være 1 stjerne? Ja, det gjorde det nok, det virker bare så brutalt, at det skulle ligge nede ved Robbie Williams. Jeg lærte at spille soloen til Californication, da jeg var barn, så det trækker op.

2 stjerner for de stakkels Logitech 2.1 højttalere, der troligt har spillet det her gennem tiden

1.8

Despite Keidis, RHCP put out a very solid collection of funk, ballads and rock. Second only to Blood Sugar Sex Magik for me.