Red Hot Chili Peppers- Californication

After the disappointing 1995 album One Hot Minute, the Red Hot Chili Peppers brought back guitarist John Frusicante for their 1999 album Californication released on Warner Bros. Records. After a five year descent into a drug hell that left him near death, Frusicante kicked heroin and emotionally accepted an invitation back into the band in 1998. At that point, the Chili Peppers were at a pivotal point in their career. After the failed experiment with Dave Navarro on guitar, the next album appeared to be the one that would make or break their career. Enter Frusicante, who was the catalyst to the bands successful album Blood Sugar Sex Magik. It’s no shock that the Peppers have had their best selling albums with Frusicante on guitar, mostly because his style fit the band like no one else yet.

It’s been over 10 years since this album came out (went by REAL fast) and looking back at it, it really does seem like an album created by a band in transition. Frusicante was still in the process of recovering from his drug use both personally and professionally and singer Anthony Kiedis began using drugs again during the creation of the album/the tour that followed. Still, even with these issues surrounding the recording, the album still ranks as one of the top albums of 1999. Look past the hits and dive a bit deeper, you might be surprised with what you find.

My favorite song on the album is Right on Time. It shows off every member of the bands unique talents. Anyone who has heard the Peppers earlier work knows that Kiedis used to rap the songs as he was not the best singer before taking lessions. This song is a bit of a throwback as it combines Kiedis’s rapping with Flea’s funk-slap bass work. Chad Smith holds the beat with some furious drumming and Frusicante shows off his falsetto in the background that he would use more on subsequent albums.

Don’t get me wrong, the hits off the album are songs that will be played on the classic rock station in 20 years, but for a band coming off of/experiencing so much turmoil, it’s really a remarkable album. It was the beginnings of the band’s most successful period and really set the stage for what was to come in the years to follow. Simply put it was a great album that had very few low points.

Grade---A-