Reviews (page 13 of 15)
Easy listen, better in concert. Not many occasions where I am in the mood for this.
Decent - a little long for me. Very 90s feeling.
The only good Chili Peppers album is Blood Sugar Sex Magik, which this album is not.
“I’ve never been, like, running to Kiedis to answer life’s questions.” – Pat Finnerty
Sweet, sweet nonsense with a side of tinnitus. There is very little there here. Not to say I don't enjoy this (ninth-grade me REALLY enjoyed it)! Why does it feel like RHCP never lived up to their collective potential? Why is Ethan Risser selling home security systems in a Ponzi scheme? Well, some very talented people are destined to accidentally make a ridiculous side quest their main adventure. If you think about this as funding for John's solo albums, it gets a thousand times better, lol.
Nothing crazy about it
The musicians in this band are all extremely talented. However, I do not like the "funk rock made for radio hits" style. The guitarist, bassist, and drummer have all done different projects I like, but I just don't think this style of music is great, especially when distilled down to the lowest common denominator for radio hits. Also, I have never been able to stand the singing, even if he was saying intelligent or actually good lyrics (which isn't always a deal-breaker for me). That all being said, the production is obviously very good, especially with the remaster, and there are some parts of the music I do like, but it's just parts of songs, and it always goes back to the main parts of the song being the stuff I don't like.
This got rid of a lot of what I liked about Blood Sugar Sex Magik (the funky drums and guitar) while keeping a lot of the stuff I hated (goofy lyrics). Oh well, at least a lot of the white-boy rapping was dropped too. BSSM was weird and sometimes annoying, but at least it was never bland like Californication often got. I can't really rate this a one; I have too much nostalgia for the singles on here since my older cousin would play them all the time in the car, but overall not an album I was gripped by.
3 days in a row of mediocre radio rock. I really paid 20 1999 dollars for this? The bass, guitar, and drums are all pretty good. There were also some memorable music videos that came from this album. Otherwise I just feel meh about it. Kiedis just ruins what could otherwise be a good, even great band. Judging from the other reviews on this I don’t think I’m letting my memories of being a cringey teenager bias me too much. It’s really an indictment of the recording industry that this was one of the biggest albums at the turn of the millennium.
I've never really liked RHCP. I haven't voluntarily listened to them in decades. The opening notes of Scar Tissue and Otherside sound like me trying to find another radio station in my 96 Honda Civic.
AROUND THE WORLD: i loveeeeee the riffs and rap-style lyric delivery PARALLEL UNIVERSE: the drums clearly shine in this song, the guitar solo at the end is so fire SCAR TISSUE: the way he sings push-up bra scratches my brain, i like it OTHERSIDE: more sad, but the pacing of lyrics in the beginning with such a beautiful riff is gorgeous GET ON TOP: "right on" is soooo cringy, shows the age of the album CALIFORNICATION: clever play on words, clearly the song that they put the most time in so far on the lyrics EASILY: feels punk PORCELAIN: very modern, slow, i like EMIT REMMUS: interesting title and i like the contrast between american man and english woman I LIKE DIRT: cheeky and funny while still being poetic THIS VELVET GLOVE: good riff at the beginning but this feels like every other song i've listened to on this album SAVIOR: varies throughout the song and is a clear standout - like the bridge, yes ma'am PURPLE STAIN: these lyrics are lowkey making me throw up like dude idc about what you do at night but i do like the "we all live in hollywood part" that's fun RIGHT ON TIME: holy whiplash oh my gosh this is better then coffee for waking someone up and not in a good way ROAD TRIPPIN': croony FAT DANCE: ew OVER FUNK: funk is the right way to describe it QUIXOTICELIXER: sounds like everything else on the album
not a bad album, but it was unlistenable for me at some points and didn't enjoy most of it
Cruise ship band music. This is the type of music drunk dads in their 40-60s think is good simply because it's easy to digest, easy to sing along to, easy to understand, easy to forget. The instruments are nice enough; clearly they're talented and follow the right formula to create popular music. The vocals, I'm not too excited about though. And perhaps that's just a me-problem because I've been around too many socially ambitious office workers that speak the way this dude sings. I feel the same way about the songs as I do about the show Friends--I understand the popularity but don't feel enough depth in the water to dive into the pool.
Not getting into a whole Chi Peps thing again. Some songs are fine, most aren’t. Dumb lyrics.
bleh...
Top Songs: - Otherside - Californication - Emit Remmus - Road Trippin‘
Artist David Hockney -who died last week- was known for his images of swimming pools. They looked inviting and made the viewer want to dive into the picture. The same can't be said for the pool on the cover of the Chilli Peppers album. It looks like a tumultuous sea of molten lava. As uninviting as that sounds, it might actually be preferable to listening to this. Terribly produced, and featuring a lot of Kiedis spoutung gibberish over leaden funk filler tracks. Scar Tissue is one of the only RHCP songs I think is any good but even that can't save this from a 2.
If you go and read my review for Blood Sugar Sex Magik you will know how I feel about Anthony Kiedis. When I was doing research for that review I found out that he and Mike Patton and a lot of it had to do with the fact that around this same time Mr. Bungle put out California. I do remember the 'beef' from that and at the time and today I am going to pick Mike Patton over Anthony Kiedis and now more so since we know Anthony Kiedis is a pedophile. Also as of this writing we don't know but I'm pretty sure that Mike Patton has not had sex with a child. Only two good songs on here so two stars.
Lyrically this is probably ine of their better albums but i just find it boring as fuck. I’m not a hard devotee of their earlier punk-funk stuff so this isnt a reaction to a change in direction that this album seems to have been. I just find musically the ideas are largely 1 dimensional and not expanded on. It feels like they sat around with an acoustic guitar, strummed a few chords, blurted some nonsense words on top, said right go write some deep lyrics to that melody then we’ll record it. I get there is a bit more to it than that, but not a lot.
Dreadful
One word that’s always come to mind with this band is “underwhelming,” and having finally sat through a whole album… I still largely agree. I respect the distinctness of their sound, I get the appeal, especially in the 90s, and Flea is fun to listen to. There are big hits on this one, Otherwise has always been one I enjoyed, and Porcelain was a cool track to discover. But otherwise the album mostly alternates between “hit song” and the “funk/rock song”, without either a sense of cohesion or any real journey. The funk stuff is ok but, the players never go that hard, vocal delivery is distinct but boring to me, and the lyrics don’t help. If you’re gonna rap, have something to say. So ultimately in the end these “fun” tracks just have a hollowness to them. I’ll stick with catching a song of theirs on the radio once in a while, albums do not seem to be their forte
The older I get, the less I like the peppers. They are a band I’ve outgrown
This is the when the chili peppers completely lost me. This album is awful boring.
A great guitar player, a drummer with the most infuriating snare this side of Ulrich, a pedophile, and a bassist who's great in interviews walk into a funk/rap/rock heroin bar and make a bajillion dollars off of people whose deeply rooted racism make them incapable of listening to music that their parents didn't bone to in 2003. Yeah, I didn't care for this one.
Amazing musicianship and songwriting completely undermined by Anthony Keidis' ridiculousness.
Tripe! What happens when a California surfer dude tries to access his sensitive side? You get a lot of weird sexual imagery under the guise of I’m a man that has feelings ugh. The bass and the guitar was alright
This is a must-listen only for those born too late to have had it constantly shoved into their ears. This album was everywhere and could not be stopped. Too bad RHCP's best music was already long behind. Another nail in the coffin of 90's Optimism.
I hate RHCP, not sure why. They just dont sound good or interesting to me.
2/3
I had an ex that tried to argue that I should like Red Hot Chili Peppers because they had a greatest hits album prior to the release of Blood Sugar Sex Magick. Which I always found to be a preposterous argument. I've since learned she wasn't even correct (it was released after that album). This has always colored my opinion of the band. Trying to come into this album with fresh ears, I recognize that the singles which were played to death for me are not bad, but that I am still not a fan of the band or the album. While I can see why people enjoy this style of music it has never resonated for me. So while I give it two stars as it was massively popular and does give insight into music at this point it's just not that good of an album.
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
It didn't do much for me. It's just... so... plain. Yeah I know what the title track is about and I read its lyrics
Gear: ZMF Auteur Classic LTD Shedua Artwork: 💦💱🔥 Production: 🎧😖💩 Music: 💥📉😕 Rating: 🌴🌴(🌴)/5
They're very good instrumentally but the singing and lyrics are awful. If they got themselves a decent singer I could see them making it big.
Absolutely trashy album imo. Only giving this a rating at all at is because when I was a kid the first song I learned on guitar was Californication, I taught myself how to read music after that but never really liked RHCP.
This is a difficult record to rate. On one hand it's iconic, catchy and has some genuinely amazing hooks and songs on it. On the other hand it also has some stinkers on the second half and is mixed atrociously. I just wish a it would be remastered from the ground up because it could be a great record, but I just can't listen to a lot of the songs, even the good ones without kinda hurting my ears. A real shame. 4/10
This made me realize I actually just don't like the red hot chili peppers. Musically they're pretty good, but the vocals sound like a guy who desperately wants to be found more cool than he is, and the style of music supports it. Moreover the entire album seems to be built around one song (californication), while everything else feels like filler. At least the drums aren't done by Will Pharrel.
A one star album I’m giving two stars because Otherside, Scar Tissue and Californication are etched so deeply into my bones, I sing along like a possessed horror movie character committing atrocities against their will.
Just so MEH
a good album, but not for me
Of all the RHCP albums why this one?
I must say it was a hard listen overall (the production on this record is baffling and SO LOUD) and I cannot take the lead vocal's mannerism seriously. I like the (most popular?) track 'Californication' but I wasn't crazy about anything else I've heard.
"Up to my ass in, alligators, Let's get it on with the alligator haters" Fuck this stupid chud album Instrumentals are kinda good but the lyrics are so shit sometimes
ew
I went off it quite quickly
Not as mind-numbingly awful as Blood Sugar Sex Magik (perhaps only because it's shorter and more ignorable) but still not good
Alright. Kinda dull after a while.
If it was on in the background I wouldn't be mad about it, but I wouldn't be deliberately listening to it either.
Nostalgic to the max but has too many weak tracks to weigh out the very few good, or actually pretty great ones.
The hits hit but overall this is forgettable and the songwriting is garbage
Poorly aged in quite literally every department.
A 2 for a few of the bangers but actually most of the album is crap and fuck Anthony Paedis
As a 17 year old I liked this album more than I should but then to be fair I was 17 and it appears I probably skipped more than half of the tracks. Cant deny that Scar Tissue, Other side and Road tripping are great tumes but the rest is pretty monotonous. The worst thing about all Chilli’s output is always Anthony Kiedis his purile sex raps are awful, he can’t write lyrics and can’t sing so is an interesting choice of frontman. I am sure he thinks that Emit Remmus was a genius subversive move to avoid the cliche of having a song called Summer Time….. but then he is a Latot Tnuc. 2.3
fav songs: scar tissue californication bland, samey, limited 40/100
FOR ME, there were only like 3 good songs, and the rest were just massive duds. I can see why it’s so beloved, and I’m sure if I’d listened to it at another point in my life I’d maybe be more down for it, but it’s just not it atm
I never found myself interested in this band, disliking their whole sound and approach, Higher Ground cover notwithstanding. Nothing has changed. There is an instrumental break late in Right On Time that I like. I enjoyed Road Trippin, the closer. Overall, they sound like them, which doesn't work for me. Good example of an album I will gve two stars, because I can well believe that those who partake will like it. It's not their fault I don't want to listen to SoCal what have you, etc.
Halfway through this record and it's already a struggle. The word that keeps coming up is "tiresome." Each song seems too long, and few of them are interesting. And there are too many of them. Years ago I observed two facebook friends get in a massive fight about this band in the comment section on someone's post. I cannot imagine caring that much about this group. I know this album was very well-received and is generally admired, but I prefer the older RHCP. Whatever this genre is (Bro Rock?), it's not for me. It's not offensive, but there's not a single song on here I would ever deliberately choose to listen to again.
I like the popular songs and its catchy, but I am just left a little empty after this. I think the bass is good, and this is very easy listening, but I don't get it, maybe. I think the main singer just has the 90s Jane's Addiction vibe that I can't stand. I think this is more palatable. I think musically it is not that interesting sonically, and the songs that try something are not the hits, and they are the slog. Savior has an old-school arena rock vibe to it that feels different and engaging. I want more of that strangeness instead of I like dirt, what in the 90s is that? ska jazz fusion does not work for RHCP. I will leave with scar tissue and Californication on my list of songs to recognize at Karaoke with my millennial friends
Нет.
Not a fan. Sorry. Meh.
This album belongs to John Frusciante. All of the best moments on here are his: the guitar freak out intro of "All Around The World," the backmasked guitar of "Emit Remmus," the simple melody of "Otherside," all of it belongs to him. Flea and Chad Smith prove themselves to be an incredibly solid rhythm section throughout the album, but of course the thing that ruins this record is Anthony Kiedis. The man's lyrics are like the smeared shit on the wall from a mental patient who will try telling you that the dried feces are the poetics of a master lyricist, but his lyrics are just that: shit. You know you have a problem when the guitarist's backing vocals are better than your lead singer's, and while John and the rest of the band are sometimes able to salvage these songs through the instrumentation alone, there are just too many instances where the songs can't be saved.
Decent 2,5
I hope they put one of their good albums on this list too
I mean, I liked some.
Not bad but I'd consider it very "average". Not in a good or bad way.
first track is cool, the rap parts sound like white ice cube i like the track californification too, reminds me of dirt rally 2. the rest is kinda boring, there's not a lot of variation in there, it's just the same instruments with different chords and arrangements. btw everything is clipping bro
meh
Boring, the shit youd play in the background, with some cool exceptions in some moments.
Nice
mira, uno fue adolescente y le tiene cariño a algunos temas. También recurdo a los abusones de colegio que acabaron de polis o violadores. Otros, lo hicieron en bandas como los Red Hot. Y el peor de todos siempre era el cantante. Dos estrellas por nostalgia y por Frusciante, que seguro que era el yonki que no se metía con nadie, aunque bien que coleguea con agresores
Eventhough this usually would not be my go to album, there were some parts that were catchy and I enjoyed. Still i am not a fan of the vocal style, after a while it felt monotonous and nothing really stuck with me.
The Chili Peppers had enough musical talent and melodic songwriting chops to write a hooky, funky alt rock album. But this, like all of their albums, is not that. There are some good songs here! Like usual, the more mellow songs like "Scar Tissue" and the title track are the best, though "Otherside" is also pretty good. The louder songs often feel clumsy, with riffs and choruses that feel sudden or out of place; the back half is full of interchangeable tracks like that. And of course this is very loud, to the point where Frusciante's riffs get lost in the noise. As for the lyrics: Kiedis's stream of unconnected topics works well on "Scar Tissue," but elsewhere - like "Get on Top" - it's ridiculous (the title track falls in the middle). If this was pared down and more restrained it would be fun, but as it is the good moments are lost in the noise.
2 only cause I love flea
I've never really been into this band. I was surprised how many tunes I knew, Scar Tissue is a standout. I get the playing is really good, I think it might be the singer and that slightly out of tune strangulated singing style. What I'd say deadbeats is it is very much a case of whether it floats your boat or not.
If Red Hot Chili Peppers has no haters then I'm dead.
it was ok
Ret tæt på 3 tbh men Anthony Kiedis og filler trækker den ned. Der er nogle virkelig dygtige musikere i det her band
Bandet er virkelig tight! Svært at forstå hvorfor de gider spille sammen med Kiedis som er pissetræls at høre på
Yes bro i listened to this in high school!!!! Ive been thinking about this album recently since people have been hating on RHCP, and i think they may be on to something. while anthony kedis is a terrible piece of shit, their music is also.. just okay. i did dig this when i was a teenager but looking back theres only a few standout tracks. The bands style becomes oversaturated by this point but i think it is their strongest album. After this is by the way which i did consider my favourite by them but i really dont think i enjoy their music anymore because i no longer need to get into every single band from the 90s anymore.
This is a good album. Fun group to listen to if you're an OG fan or new to their tunes.
The best songs here are dumb fun: accessible pop melodies with a touch of funk. My favorite is Scar Tissue. The worst songs are just dumb: the nadir is Get On Top, which sounds like a bad RATM b-side. Lots of forgettable shit in between those extremes.
It makes me a bad American but I just can't get behind RHCP. A few songs I like but still you hear them twice a week just existing in society because they get played so much. I find the vocal performances kind of annoying, album was a bit of a slog to get through.
how about next time you try dreaming of some volume dynamics
First time listen Cookie cutter, radio safe idea of what "funk" ought to sound like. Really sterile and uninteresting for the most part. It's got a couple of their big tracks on here but I've never been a huge Red Hot Chili Peppers fan anyway, so the added fluff in this album make it pretty dull for me. Favorite Tracks: Californication, Scar Tissue Least favorite: Porcelain, Get on Top 2/5
Couple of tunes, some awful filler too.
Musical interpretation of a circle jerk
With the exception of Scar Tissue and Otherside, this is one of the more annoying RHCP records. There are some songs that are kinda gross lyrically and annoying vocally (Get on Top, ugh) and there is not much in terms of interesting production really. The bass lacks a good groove, the guitars are pretty plain overall. And the vocals are some of the worst in the bands discography. The massive hit Californication stands out for being surprisingly beautifully written and poetic considering its RHCP. But unfortunately most of the album is not worth the hype.
The loudness wars took many casualties, but few met as gruesome a fate as this.
Ugh I didn’t like this. The lead singers voice was too whiny and the songs were all so commercial. There was some good guitar work, but it was overshadowed by the annoying vocals.
Some of the songs were okay, but the only songs I would actually choose to listen to are Easily and Porcelain. The songs that weren't okay were just outright terrible.
It's kinda bland
Hahah wooof.. Hørte på denne på en gåtur igjennom sentrum. Måtte faktisk le høyt av første låta, det er det sykeste jeg har hørt. Hvordan ble dette populært? Kom meg ikke forbi Get on Top. Lol.
An album of extreme contrasts between shitty and excellent elements. On the positive side we have a group of outstanding musicians with great chemistry. Some of the tunes have great hooks and the funky rhythms are sometimes fun. On the shitty otherside (see what I did there?), Kiedis rapping/jiving is horrendous, the singing is better but not by much. The production on this album is terrible, even a remaster couldn’t save it. How did a band with this much money make such a poorly produced record? I think I’d enjoy this album a lot more as an instrumental, but even then, I suspect the cappy production would ruin it for me.
I dont get it
I am not a RHCP fan. I think there’s a bunch of very talented musicians backing up one of the most mediocre vocalists of all time. I think I’d love them if they did just instrumentals. Then their hits - of which there are several on here - got overplayed on the radio and they sound different than their “core” sound. If you have heard the hits you don’t need to hear the rest of it.
**An ok Album.
Just not my thing. Second RHCP album on the list and I just find it uninteresting.
- weak writing, some good playing, doesn't hold interest .... 2.5 rounded down cause it's so ..... disappointing. -
The opening blast of Around the World is one of the best opening noises to an album ever... that last about 15 seconds, the rest of the song is one of my least favorite RHCP songs of all time. Parallel Universe is a great jam. Otherside might be the best non-Blood Sugar Sex Magik song RHCP ever made. Easily is pretty dang catchy. After Easily? This album falls off a cliff. The entire rest of the album is terrible. Anthony Kiedis tries to croon, tries to rap, tries a bit of everything...and it's all bad. Musically, it's also all over the place and their attempts at funk just fall SO flat. How did this make the list?? It's not a great album by any stretch. California.
Wow this band is much better as a Greatest Hits album, super annoying weak tracks (Emit Remmus) drag down the nice singles (Scar Tissue) Also, saying the word "California" in every song becomes very annoying after a while.
Gotta say, not very excited for Red Hot. I don't think I'll hate this, but I probably won't loooove it either. I'll keep an open mind. It is a bit long though. Starts off heavier than I expected. The chorus feels disjointed from the rest of the song. I don't hate is though. Why is he singing ding ding dong dong These first two songs are fun enough, and I didn't quite expect the rock aspect (I only know the band from the singles sorry), but nothing life-changing. Really like the second one's ending. Scar Tissue and Otherside are very much coworker music core, but I can't be mad at them. They're good! Hate Get on Top. The chorus is too repetitive. The instrumentals feel disjointed again, but it doesn't work as well this time. Californication is the same case as the other two hits here, but it might be my favourite. Pretty good. Why does every non-hit track here feel like three different songs mixed into one. Easily has its nice moments (the chorus mainly), but then they're followed by some nonsensical choices. Porcelain is a complete tone-shift, going in a sadder territory. Not that successful to me. Not much else to say for the tracks after that one. All fall flat for me. Man this second half is just dud after dud. Even the ending's underwhelming. This album has three huge hits and a couple other good tracks. Everything else is forgettable. The second half is so boring and drags on so much. But oh well, this is inoffensive at its worst and good at its best. Can't be too mad at it. But can I just say, that album cover is horrendous. Like, if I was undecided between two scores, that would be enough to make up my mind (but I'm not).
Jesus Christ, the fucking Red Hot Chili Peppers. It's true, I kind of got into Mother's Milk when I was 16. And yes, it's true that whenever I hear the opening bars of Under the Bridge, I get super nostalgic for the 90s. And it's true that I kind of wish I had seen them back in the day, when I was a teenager, when they were still "alternative" so that I could hop into the crazy mosh pit and get that huge rush of adrenaline. And yes I....hang on...do I like the Red Hot Chili Peppers? No, I do not. Because are they are SUCH twats. And their music is........it's fine. But just hearing Anthony's voice makes me want to punch him. And they're such twats. And their music is fine. But also, rock funk is the worst genre, unless it's Sprawl. I hate the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Two stars because I didn't hate this as much as I thought I would.
Legit question: Would I like this band if Anthony Kiedis weren't in it? Because musically there's stuff on here I appreciate, and these dudes are obviously all excellent players. Then there's Kiedis. The 1,001 book boldly proclaims, "Californication also produced new levels of vocal talent from Anthony Keidis." 1) LOLOLOLOL. 2) That's not how you spell his name. Oh well. I liked "Otherside" for the most part! That's something, right?
Annoying sry
There are classics on this album—songs I remember hearing a lot as a kid—but some of the deeper cuts here are painfully annoying
A sleek, highly controlled version of the band that trades chaos for consistency. The songwriting is polished and accessible, but many tracks blur together emotionally and structurally. It works well as mainstream rock, yet feels cautious compared to their more unpredictable records.
Not for me.
Godawful
Vissa majs gitarrdelar men gillar inte deras sound overall alls, och jag tål fan inte Kiedis
I assumed going in that this was one of those safe 3/5 albums that I knew because everyone knows and it’s a stone cold classic. But it’s not! I actually don’t like this album at all. The hits are fine, the rest is jarring and lyrics make me feel a bit ill. There is nothing exciting about this album.
Sometimes I toy with the hot take that RHCP were good actually, like this is really well produced and there's some good stuff here. But then I hear the opening track on this record and it's just a horrible mess of aural dickswinging. 'Rompin and a stompin 'cause I'm in my prime'? Really? It's way too frat energy for this sensitive boy I'm sorry. Often it's a bit of a plod but THEN there are some legit good songs on here like Parallel Universe and even Californication, and he's got a nice voice on a chorus or two, but then he starts rapping and it makes me want to throw my headphones into a canal and then throw myself into a canal. Emmit Remmus is one of the worst songs of all time, from then onwards this was a reaaaaallll slog. Still just can't make my mind up on them but giving this a proper listen has made my opinion worse. Maybe they should just stick to ballads and go to sex therapy.
Trying to be objective here. I despise this band but there’s no denying they are competent musicians. The production is good too. Personally I wouldn’t listen to this at all but it seems petty to give it a 1, so for those reasons I’m giving it a 2. It’s fucking horrible though.
This is a decidedly average, pedestrian album that is inexplicably popular. Perhaps it’s because it is average and pedestrian.
Few alright songs, didn’t like most of it
it's the one with californication on it
Fundamentally unable to get past Anthony Kiedis. Flea and Frusciante are doing amazing stuff, even on some of the most overplayed songs of the late 90s, but Kiedis is just so fucking annoying, so ever present, that it just can’t breathe. This band is immensely frustrating because they can genuinely make amazing music but their frontman might be one of the worst to ever do it.
This really has aged poorly. Don't think i would ever voluntarily choose to listen to this album.
Tastes like: Theme Park Chilli Dawgs / Gas Station Nachos on a summer's evening after breaking up with your first ever girlfriend and deeping it slightly but only slightly because your emotional balls haven't dropped yet. (especially Road Trippin') Anthony Kiedis enunciate challenge - I dont know what your songs are about because you don't say real words, brother. It sounds like he's on a theme park ride and the wind/motion sickness has made his mouth stop working properly. I don't think he should be allowed near a microphone tbh. I liked the ideas within Scar Tissue and Porcelain but they kind of never get deep/poetic enough for me to properly connect with the ideas enough to ever feel emotional. Get on Top is kinda funky (I fw it in the same way I fw with Limp Bizkit) and I liked the punctuation within I Like Dirt and Purple Stain. Chad Smith on all accounts is a great drummer, but there is cymbal overkill at times for me. His solo in Purple Stain absolutely rocks though, good job Chad. I can't see myself listening to anything again outside of the title track every time I go to karaoke. A lot of the album is pretty forgettable for me, and a bit too 'suh dude'.
Bland and samey… not as melodic as the singles might have suggested
This album suffers from two things for me: 1. Overplay when it came out 2. Weirdly racist lyrics “ding dong ding” in around the world. Really?
Not for me. Some good tracks but the others are forgettable.
Two good songs and a lot of annoying ones
Jesus Christ... I had terrible taste when I was 16. There's like two good songs on here the rest are the worst, to the point of distraction, stupidest lyrics ever.
Holy garbled nonsense Batman, those lyrics are godawful.
Honestly couldn’t listen to it, it didn’t resonate with me, it didnt stick. Maybe others like it but, as for me, it didnt stick.
fav song: Otherside, Get on top least liked song: Emit Remmus, I like Dirt, Fat dance Overall ranking: 2.33/5 Personally this genre isn't for me but lowkey some of the songs are growing on me!! But i don't think i'd likely listen to most of this album again😭😭 Though i do love the guitar in the background. I just don't think i can get behind some of the lyrics lmao. Individual song ranking: Around the World - 'Ding, dang, dong, dong, deng, deng, dong, dong, ding, dang' - Me if i ever had to write a song 2/5 Parallel Universe - 'I'm underwater where thoughts can breathe easily' 2/5 Scar Tissue - 'Autumn's sweet, we call it fall; I'll make it to the moon if I have to crawl' 3/5 Otherside - 'The ashtray's full and I'm spillin' my guts' 4/5 Get on top - 'I'm an ass killer' - Oh.. ! WHAT IS THIS MELODYYY??😝 4/5 Californication - 'Be my very own constellation' - Idk how i feel about the melody but i do quite like the lyrics 2/5 Easily - 'The story of a woman on the morning of war' 2/5 Porcelain - 'Are you wasting away in your skin?' - I like this cause it feels lowkey depressing - "what the fuck was that" Illya Rozanov, 2025 (Heated Rivalry) 3/5 Emit Remmus - No fav lyric but i do enjoy the way he says "london in the summer time" it makes me giggle 1/5 I Like Dirt - I actually don't like dirt! The only good things are melody and guitar riff, otherwise, i dont like it bcs of the lyricisms to be honest 1/5 This Velvet Glove - 'I wanna taste the taste of being face to face with common grace" or "Disasters are just another star falling in my yard" 2.5/5 Savior - 'Your hero's destined to waver' 3/5 Purple stain - 'Cause we all live in Hollywood' + 'Up to my ass in alligators' -Icl i had to look at the genius about section and OH! 2.5/5 Right on Time - 'supercalifragilistic' + 'Joan of Arc reincarnated, maybe we could be related" -I love the tempo of the song and the guitar in the background?? 3/5 Road Tripping' - 'Just a mirror for the sun' 2.5/5 Fat Dance I am at a loss for words! 1/5 Over Funk Idk it feels sort of underwhelming compared to some of the other songs 1.5/5 Quixoticelixer - 'Dedicated mind did a medicated state; Is a highly overrated fate' 2/5
I went into this open minded and optimistic. The band are not terrible, quite solid actually. They have some very pretty, Beatles-esque melodies as well. However, this album falls off a cliff after about 5 songs. The singles are memorable and tuneful. A lot of the second half of this album is quite hard to listen to due to irritating vocals and aimless jamming from the band.
svidelo mi se, chill je muzika, malo podseća ma twenty one pilots, ali ne bih slušala sad svaki dan osim californication ta pesma budi neku nostalgiju u meni
Red Hots were red hot when I was in college. I never got into them. Why? I forgot. Until today, and I played it. It's not the music. It's the singing! Good grief that is bad. With a quality singer this band might be of interest to me. But as it is, a few songs are tolerable, some just plain "turn the dial, NOW" 3.5 for instruments. 0 for vocals. 1.75 rounded to 2.0
Some songs were quite good. I liked "Road Trippin'" at the end and a few other slower ballads. But other songs were quite bad. More bad than good, so two stars.
Not for me I fear
nicht meine art von musik...... ist mir zu stressig/hektisch
The mix on this is so unbelievably ass. This was never meant to be listened to outside of shitty radio stations and supermarkets.
Not successful.
I wish I enjoyed the RHCP, but I’ve never really been able to get into them. Yes, Flea is an incredible bassist and some of their songs are good, but overall they just don’t do enough to move the needle for me. This album is okay, but that’s it, I’ll be generous and round up to 2 stars.
It’s interesting how our tastes evolve over time. I remember loving this music when I was in my early teens. I absolutely recognize that the hits on this record are great. Scar Tissue, Otherside, Californication to some degree. But Anthony Kiedis’ silly little raps just sound hilarious and dumb to me now. The rest of the band is killing it, mostly not my thing musically but of course Flea + Frusciante are a killer duo and Chad Smith holds it down really well. Songs like Get On Top just kind of make me laugh and not in a good way. The Red Peppers are not for me anymore sadly.
ambrosia salad
Singles are decent but I just don’t really click with the band in general. Some of the non singles didn’t really do it for me either
This is one of the most popular albums of the 1990s. While the instrumentals are good, the lyrics are dumb and make absolutely no sense. The vocalist is bad at rapping and only marginally better at singing. He somehow manages to be even worse at being a person, too. Those instrumentals are strong, though; they save this album from a 1 star rating. Only the singles really have good writing; the album drops significantly in quality towards the back half with stinkers like "I Like Dirt" and "Emit Remmus" that manage to be even dumber than the rest of the album. This is very much a front-loaded album, and even the front side's songs are just good(not great). RHCP are perhaps my first "singles band"; their big hits are good, the deep cuts are not.
Yawn. I loathe the Chili Peppers, but they're talented musicians.
eh
This band sucks and the singer is a creep. Couple good songs though, docking points for being shitty all around.
Wow I really hate this band that I loved at 15. “Scar Tissue” slaps, that’s about it. I’ll give this one a 2 for that song.
5/10 - it's the typical red hot chili peppers sound, always about knowing something... californication is the highlight obviously but way too long, could have been 12 songs instead of 18, their sound becomes grating after a while
Listened to one song and it sent shivers down my spine
It's pleasant but pretty unremarkable
Didn’t love it then, don’t love it now
Scar Tissue, Otherside, and Californication are alright, but the rest are not great.
Without a doubt better than their previous album. Far less grating and there are a few decent songs. Still not good though. Great album cover
When RHCP have a decent song it's because their guitarist wrote it. Otherwise, I can't stand the unseasoned whitefish funk sans John Fusciante's capabilities at the creative rudder.
geit eso
I was never a RHCP fan and this didn't change my mind at all. I'm doubling down, this band sucks. This album was just a chore to get through
Really bored by this one. Surprising as I was expecting to like it more. Just not seeing it
The lyrics are generally terrible and the second half drops. The singles overcome this and are still enjoyable.
Excellent musicianship but songs have not stood the test of time
RHCP are on strongest ground when they are acting as funky alt rock radio hit makers. Sure - its dated badly over the last 25 years, but they made a spectacular impact on culture with this. They also get some miledge out of the sweeter, quieter, straight-forward moments like Porcelain and Road Trippin'. The weakest moments are easily the rap-rock tracks and the more affected "woah man" rock songs which are just lame. Anthony Kiedis has terrible lyrics throughout this record but it is when he starts straining his voice and trying to sound cool that the whole thing falls over.
Funk rock started and ended with Prince. There is no need for this album to exist or this band in fact. Scar tissue as a song is ok but this album feels like an exercise in mediocrity in general.
I never understood the appeal of them. Musically they have always been good, but lyrically they are childish overall and I do not like his voice at all. They are very good musicians though. I would like to hear them without the vocals, I think I would enjoy it more. I've heard they are good live, but I never understood their version of performance art. So that part never appealed to me either. Don't get me wrong they have a couple of songs that are good. I'm not hearing many on this album. Californication is a good song, it's solid, where Get On Top makes me want to jump out of a moving vehicle. Also I didn't like Scar Tissue and I was told it's good. It missed me. Hearing them here and there make me like them more than listening to an entire album. Listening to them for an hour made me dread the next song.
Let's think about it objectively. First two tracks are classic rhcp rithemic songs. 1 better than two. Scar tissue is a very good song. Great guitar work. Slide especially. 4 is nice but mah, 5 not my cup of tea at all. The blueprint of why I don't adore this band. Californication is a good but overplayed banger. For me personally it's a bit flavorless. Drum and bass fantastic though... Track 7 not for me. Porcelain surprised me! A very nice ballad. Nice vocals. 8 fine. 9 not so fine. 11 much better. Some variation of quiet loud. Good song. Savior much more interesting. Not necessarily my thing but nicer than most. 13 meh Impressive bass from flea on 14 At least the closer is very very nice. It's tricky to evaluate record by a band that I don't really enjoy. It seems to me like this music was designed to make people happy in any way possible, but it lucks motivation and justification other than that. It's music trying to be cool, and by doing so ruining the chance of being just that. In my experience, most RHCP fans don't stay fans after growing as listeners. Because the void behind the "cool" attitude cannot really hold you in... for long. (And by the way this album is too long). After saying all that I'll add that it's not a *bad* album. But. It's not good. Middle of the road music. Sad. Alright It's a 2.5 I think it's fair.
Come, Dua Lipa with the peppermint pig The chalupa’s in the ‘frigerator Fuck a doorknob, California Buttermilk pancakes in my eyes Stepped on a toad, broke a Navajo code Now it’s time to reiterate California I got a thumbtack on my nutsack Pi’s 3.1415 Tickle my bum with a mannequin thumb On a bongo drum in California Snuffleupagus atе my asparagus Supernova toilet clog Carjacked a nun on the 101 Gotta have some fun in California There’s a sunspot on my kumquat Nancy Reagan bit my dog
Meh
Not here for the rock rap
It’s quite skill for a band to be objectively good at the whole music thing while simultaneously wholly, yet intangibly, irritating. Like an itch that is sort of satisfying to scratch, but still makes you want to flay your own skin off the bone.
At multiple points during this listen I just had to go "what the fuck" under my breath. I don't mean that in a good way. This is my first time listening to a full RHCP album, and I don't know if I ever will again. The lyrics are often terrible (uhh, yeah, ding ding dong dong, dude. California California.) and juvenile. The vocal style and quality doesn't help. The instrumentation and music can be good, but for whatever reason often sinks down to the lowest level it can reach. It ends up being pretty annoying and unimpressive overall. Listening to the album in full just made it worse. I've never been much of a fan of RHCP other than enjoying a few of their singles. This album pushed me further away from fandom for the reasons mentioned above. Even the parts on here that were good were vastly outshined by the complete mediocrity of the rest of the album, which might not have been as bad if it weren't 56 minutes long. I'll keep my opinion of RHCP as a band that I don't really care for, but that can write some decent songs every once in a while. This album wasn't very good for a number of reasons, but mostly for me it was the lyrical content and vocals. Sadly, the music often seemed to be trying to fight its way down to that level. There are some strong moments, and Scar Tissue remains an iconic song. There was just way too much bad on here for me to consider this anywhere close to something good. Overall: 1.75/5
Boring as shit
So so in parts.
This is a terrible record. Terrible. I gave it a gentleman's 2, based primarily on my liking the titular song (and I can't defend it's quality, just it's ubiquitous nature in SoCal at a certain time). They should have broken up in the early 90s.
Ranges from mild bop to "why was this done"....often in the same track.
I've never much liked RHCP. Californication is fine, but no thanks.
Alors, on se retrouve encore... Les Red Hot. Après la baffe bien sentie, gorgée de sueur et de sperme, de "Blood Sugar Sex Magik", j'avoue que la perspective de replonger dans leur discographie ne m'emballait qu'à moitié. L'histoire est connue : après ce sommet, le génial John Frusciante, dégoûté par le succès et bouffé par ses démons, s'était tiré pour aller tutoyer les anges et les seringues. Il fut remplacé par Dave Navarro, transfuge de Jane's Addiction, pour un album, "One Hot Minute", que tout le monde, moi le premier, s'est empressé d'oublier. Un disque bancal, un peu trop metal, un peu trop sombre, qui sonnait comme un mariage forcé entre deux univers qui n'avaient rien à se dire. Un échec. Et puis, le miracle ou ce qui y ressemble. Fin des années 90, Frusciante, revenu d'entre les morts, réintègre le groupe. La hype est immédiate car le fils prodigue est de retour, propre, sevré, prêt à en découdre. Le monde de la musique retient son souffle : les Red Hot allaient-ils nous refaire le coup ? Allaient-ils, une fois de plus, définir le son d'une époque ? "Californication" débarque en 1999 et la réponse est un "oui" massif, incontestable, et assourdissant. L'album se vend par porte-conteneurs entiers. Les singles squattent les ondes comme une armée d'occupation. Qui n'a pas entendu "Scar Tissue", "Otherside" ou le morceau-titre en boucle pendant des mois a probablement passé la fin du millénaire dans un bunker. Et c'est là que le bât blesse, mes amis. Car soyons francs, une fois passées ces trois locomotives radiophoniques, que reste-t-il de "Californication" ? Pour le vieux con né en 1970 que je suis, qui a passé les années 90 à défendre des musiques à guitares autrement plus rêches et aventureuses, la réponse est simple : pas grand-chose, un désert, un océan de platitude sonore. C'est simple, cet album est l'incarnation même de ce que je détestais dans le son rock FM de cette décennie. C'est le triomphe de la "Loudness War", cette course à l'armement sonore où tout est compressé à en crever, où chaque instrument hurle plus fort que son voisin, où la dynamique est un concept aussi étranger que la subtilité. Tout est au même niveau, tout le temps. La batterie claque comme des pétards, la basse de Flea, autrefois si inventive et bondissante, semble ici curieusement bridée, et la voix de Kiedis est mixée tellement en avant qu'on a l'impression qu'il nous postillonne dans les tympans. Ça gueule, mais ça ne respire pas. C'est un son terriblement, effroyablement daté, un son qui sent la fin de siècle, le son des chaînes de radio formatées et des festivals sponsorisés par des marques de bière. Et le funk dans tout ça ? Le fameux "pseudo funk" que je mentionnais déjà pour leur précédent effort. Ici, il a quasiment disparu, ou plutôt, il a été pasteurisé, lissé, aseptisé. Fini le groove poisseux et sexuel de BSSM. On est passé à un rock californien propret, mélodique certes, mais sans âme, sans danger. On est dans la ballade mid-tempo, dans le couplet-refrain calibré pour faire chanter les stades. C'est du rock de centre commercial, du funk pour ceux qui n'aiment pas transpirer. Alors, pourquoi une note de 2 sur 5 et pas un zéro pointé ? Pourquoi est-ce que, malgré tout, je trouve cet album "au-delà de mes attentes" ? Pour une seule et unique raison : John Frusciante. Putain, ce mec. Il revient de l'enfer, il a failli y laisser sa peau, ses bras sont des champs de ruines, et il branche sa Stratocaster pour livrer des mélodies d'une beauté et d'une évidence confondantes. Il est LA colonne vertébrale de ce disque. Chaque intervention de sa guitare est une bouffée d'air frais dans ce mur du son étouffant. Ses arpèges cristallins sur "Scar Tissue", son solo minimaliste et déchirant sur "Otherside", ses cocottes discrètes qui tentent de ranimer la flamme funk... C'est lui, et lui seul, qui sauve l'album du naufrage total. Il apporte une âme, une fragilité, une musicalité qui manquent cruellement au reste. Il est le peintre délicat au milieu d'une équipe de déménageurs. Les textes de Kiedis, eux, ont un peu mûri. Moins de bites, moins de chaussettes, un peu plus d'introspection sur la célébrité, la Californie et ses faux-semblants. C'est louable, mais ça ne casse pas trois pattes à un canard non plus. On sent le type qui a lu deux-trois bouquins mais qui reste fondamentalement un surfeur un peu trop conscient de ses abdominaux. Au final, "Californication" est un disque paradoxal. C'est à la fois le symbole d'un come-back commercial ahurissant et la preuve d'une certaine standardisation artistique. Un colosse aux pieds d'argile sonore, porté à bout de bras par le talent miraculeux d'un seul homme. Les singles sont efficaces, indéniablement. Le reste ? Un remplissage compétent mais sans génie, prisonnier de sa production boursouflée. Je lui accorde un 2/5, ce qui, croyez-moi, est presque un compliment. C'est la note de la rédemption pour Frusciante, et la reconnaissance polie pour trois tubes qui ont marqué leur époque. Pour le reste, comme le dit si bien le titre, c'est de la fornication californienne : beaucoup de bruit, beaucoup de soleil, mais au fond, pas grand-chose de vraiment sincère à se mettre sous la dent. C'est mieux que le souvenir que j'en avais, ce qui prouve surtout que je m'attendais au pire. Et le pire, chez les Red Hot, est encore à venir... J'en frémis d'avance.
terrible but not quite terrible enough for 1 star. of historical note in that this terrible band was huge for a long time. Californication was the first guitar solo I ever learned even though I was never a RHCP fan. some nice moments of guitar accompaniment but nothing innovative range and skill with horrendous taste music: hated. (⌐■_■)
This was such a big album in the 00s, you couldn’t turn on MTV without seeing a RHCP music video. Some of the songs on this album are good, but the production is horrendous, and way too noisy. RHCP was a band that never needed to participate in the loudness wars, I wish they would have made a stood out and made a statement, but the band just frankly isn’t that great.
Worse than the Red Hot Chili Peppers goofing off aimlessly and sexually is RHCP not goofing off: tame, sincere, and melodic. Kiedis still can't rap but it turns out he can't sing or write pop songs either - neither the heartfelt variety nor the kind that deals ironically w/ the cultural zeitgeist. The crew merely wanted to have fun before, which they never could do particularly well, but now they're intent on being for real and in touch w/ their feelings, which is foul, especially on the title track w/ the dumb '-tion' rhymes. My least favorite: 'Born and raised by those who / Praise control of population / Well, everybody's been there / And I don't mean on vacation.' When the dust settles, RHCP will be remembered as e'en more than wasted talent.
I liked this album a lot more as a teenager. Now I find the funk rap rock kind of annoying outside of the big 3 songs. Scar Tissue is great. Love that song. Might be my favourite one on the album. Otherside is another great track. And so is Californication. That's 3 classic 90s alt rock songs on this album. It should be a great bedrock to build the rest of the album. But that is not the case. The rest of the album is forgettable or annoying. I'm realizing that the 3 best songs on this albums are all slow alt rock ballads. And I'm also realizing the songs i hate are fast funk rap rock. I even hate Give it away which peak funk rap rock and thankfully is not on this album. I guess i really hate one half of the chilli peppers sound. Based on that feeling and the strength of the big 3... I give this a 2.5... and i'm rounding down. I guess i also didn't hate the final song, Road Trippin'. That was a nice little acoustic track witch some pretty strings. On the other side, i really don't like Around the world. The chorus is fine but those versus are peak shitty funk rap rock. Especially the last verse that's mostly gibberish "ding dong deng." It sounds a little racist? Total bullshit. So ya... 2/5.
not very spicy at all
exhausting.
I just can't do RHCP anymore, sure it's a good album, not for me
Now, that there’s a lot of hits! RHCP are a confounding group to me - sometimes, they put me in my place. But, right when I’m about to give them some credit, the song takes a turn to some unlistenable scat-rap debacle. Listen to some of these album cuts. Listen to them! Bad bad bad.
Legit question: Would I like this band if Anthony Kiedis weren't in it? Because musically there's stuff on here I appreciate, and these dudes are obviously all excellent players. Then there's Kiedis. Oh well. I liked "Otherside" for the most part! That's something, right?
Around the World is somewhat deceptive. I did not expect what the rest of the song was like after the rather rocky intro. The other songs are of mixed quality. I enjoyed some, but I disliked others, especially the ones which use rather lack-lustre melodic devices. Well, and then there's Californication, the song which is the namesake of the album. It is completely understandable that this song is the most popular out of the album, as it's actually really good. Other songs such as This Velvet Glove are also pretty decent. To conclude, this album is very much a mixed bag of both decent and mediocre songs.
Not a fan of RHCP. This didn't do much to win me over
Time has taken a toll on this one. Kiedis can sing and the 2 last half is absolutely uninspiring. BSSM is really the only RHCP that should be on this list. 2 due to all the hits and the instrumental part of the record..
Singles band. Sometimes fun and funky, most of the time stupid and interminable. 2/5, most overhyped band I can think of.
Boris music for normie dads pretending to be rockers. Not for me. I wish they were funkier. Maybe the first albums... I should try. Listening notes: Me gustó la de "I like dirt", el resto no. La de savior también, más pesadilla.
At some point in their meteoric ascent from the L.A. punk underground, the Red Hot Chili Peppers figured Anthony Kiedis was best deployed in a Sensitive Man role and should actually try to sing. And yet, he’s a dolt, so we get lyrics like “With the birds I’ll share this lonely view” and “A-slittin’ my throat it’s all I ever” to go with his Forever 21 haircuts and his bandmates’ predilection for spastic funk and virtuosic bass lines. I notice that a lot of contemporary alt-rock (or whatever the kids call it these days) has a kind of easy listening quality, and it strikes me that this album may be a figurehead for that trend.
The most oversaturated grossing music album of all-time.
fu
Everyone I know likes this band, but nobody can tell me exactly why. I've never once heard someone articulate what exactly they like about this band other than screaming, HEEEEYYYYY OHHHHHH! This album is extremely Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. On one hand there is a lot of interesting mid 90s rock in here with some pointed cultural criticism - and on the other hand it's some weird bastardization of hip-hop. I think they make total fools of themselves during those songs. More misses than hits for me on this one, unfortunately.
I don't quite get the hate for RHCP, although I got no love for them either. I guess i understand when people liked their youthfull, filled with spunk, attitude, how cheesy and grating it might be. But a 'mature' version of the Peppers feels sterile and dare I say boring.
First half much much better than second half. I don’t hate this as much as pop culture makes it seem like I might? 2/5
Uh... First Justified yesterday, and then Califonication today, rough two days. Very generic dad rock, I didn't realize how dull the filler tracks were on this one outside of the singles, which are only slightly catchy, but nothing like some of the other albums on this list so far.
I was in my final year of school when Blood Sugar Sex Magik was released, and I was already aware of RHCP as a funk-rock crossover band that generally got lumped in with the metal acts of the time, which made them seem something of a novelty outfit. By the time I was in college, Under The Bridge and Give It Away had exploded and I had plenty of friends who swore they were the greatest band on the planet. I thought they were ok at the time, but still reeked of novelty as far as I was concerned, and probably went into steady decline directly proportional to my interest in them right after that track they did for the Coneheads movie soundtrack (which I later realised was a BSSM outtake). Fast forward to now, and Californication is an easy album to hate, partly because it is full of songs which have been bombarding your ears - uninvited - for the past 25 years. And therein lies the problem, I was all set to give this album a scathing review - it contains all of the worst of the Chili Peppers traits, worst of all, but not limited to, Keidis's reliance on a handful of very similar melodic phrases and god-awful lyrics. But the thing is, it also contains much of what made people fall for them back in the late 80s/early 90s. It has just become cliche and unexciting through years of over-exposure. The fact is, all of the criticisms leveled at this album do stand up to scrutiny, but I didn't find myself hating it as much as I had expected. Forty-plus years since they formed (yes, forty-plus!!) their most loyal fans still swear they are the bee's knees. They are not, and neither is Californication, but it did sell by the bucket-load and spawn enough hit singles (still in fairly heavy radio rotation) to suggest it is not quite as awful an album as some would have you believe.
Can't believe that I got two Red Hot Chili Peppers albums in the first 35. I find it even harder to believe the need for two Red Hot Chili Peppers in this list. This album does nothing Blood Sugar Sex Magik doesn't. The first half is ok, with some cool moments, the second half is plain boring. That's just talking about the music, the lyrics are terrible all over. I really hope it's the last Peppers album I'm gonna get.
I actually quite like a lot of RHCP stuff, especially Mother's Milk, but this is soooooooooooooooooooo fucking bad. Two stars because there are a few songs where they let Flea remind them this is supposed to be - to some extent - funky and punky.
I spent the whole time I was listening to this album doing the jerk off gesture because I was so annoyed by it. This was too long, and every song sounded the exact same, and unfortunately I have had Californication stuck in my head all day which is not helping endear this album to me. If I was listening to this in a vacuum and had never heard any RHCP before I could see where this could be interesting, and I don't mind the occasional RHCP song on the radio, but as a full album this was just self-indulgent frat music.
This was marginally better than Blood Sex Sugar Magik but not by much. Awful lyrics and vocals that totally detract from how funky the music can be at times. I don’t mind the singles but don’t feel like I’m missing anything at all from never having dived deeper into this album. Made me really want to play GTA though.
three very talented musicians distract anthony kiedis from children
Yes, the guitarist is one of the best alive. But I cannot stand the lead singer's vocals.
There is one good song (the title track). Otherwise, I'm not sure why people like the Red Hot Chili Peppers - or at least why this is their album that gets the most attention.
half good, half usual chilli peppers. 2.5
Nice, nostalgisk
Not my favorite. RHCP are sorta not holding up to the test of time.
Occasionally enjoyable hard funk(ish) that sounds like 90s alternative radio to me. Pretty monotonous. A few things: I find the lead singer insufferable in terms of his croony affect and his often dumb ass lyrics. Also, these 90s records often really drag and I wonder if they would have benefited from being released in the vinyl era. CDs can hold too much, and the 45ish max minutes of an LP might have helped them edit. Pass.
i do not like this kind of music
I pretty much hate RHCP. This album did nothing to change that opinion. A couple decent song but there is nothing special here. I could definitely have died without ever hearing this one.
i honestly expected to enjoy this as I like the big singles from this album but man was I wrong. The other tracks here mostly don't sound like them at all and whenever Kiedis starts rapping on these other tracks all hope for a good song is quickly lost.
• 2/5 • never understood popularity of this album. It’s essentially two songs: one funky/rappy with the same beat each time and no great innovation in the wordplay or flow; and one funky/ballady. If the album were 10 minutes long it might be 4 stars, but the repetitiveness kills it for me
album full of diff versions of same song?
not my fav
Rayos!! El paso de los años está haciendo estragos en mi cuerpecito
Maybe the worst lyrics I've ever heard. John Frusciante is great though, could listen to homeboy play all day if it weren't for Mr. Ding Dong Deng Ding Dong.
Flea is a bass monster. But Anthony Kiedis’ voice isn’t my jam, and I don’t enjoy them on record as much as I do live.
Annoying
Vaya coñazo de grupo. Me ha parecido un disco doble. Tiene pasajes interesantes y un trabajo de guitarra excelente, pero sencillamente sus canciones no me interesan y su estilo es empalagoso.
The band with the great drummer Mr. Smith and a cool guitarist. Flea is a talented bassist (who can be a bit show-offish) and Anthony Kiedis exists. The album sounds baaad but there are some cool moments. Also, for all the cool moments, there are Anthony singing "ding ding, dong dong..." etc. Can I just suffer in peace? I like "Otherside", that's a good song. Highlights: "Otherside". 2.5 stars.
I like the title track, not so much the rest, especially the vocals and bass. 2.5 stars
Fav: Parallel Universe Least Fav: Get On Top It’s insane how much of a downgrade that second half was, WOW
This album features 15 tracks - one for every year that Anthony Kiedis’ girlfriend has been alive. 2 stars. RHCP has some of the most juvenile, vapid lyrics in rock music.
Lyrics a little cringy at times, I feel like this is either your vibe or not. I am very much not a beach person. Last song is nice but I really just am not enjoying this very much.
Second album proposé après 'Blood Sugar Sex Magik' que je n'avais pas vraiment apprécié (noté 2/5). Ce second album commence bien, j'ai découvert "Parallel Universe" (++) en plus de "Scar Tissue" (+) et "Californication" (0) que j'avais déjà entendu. Et après ... rien de vraiment captivant. Par exemple 'Porcelain' (---) génère un ennui profond. Et on n'est qu'à la moitié de l'album. Que je n'ai pas du tout envie de ré-écouter avec tous ses morceaux moyens. =>2/5
The hit songs are pretty good but I've heard them a million times. All the less popular songs seem kind of lame sing songy type vocals. I really liked them back in the 90's but it seems to have worn off for me. Wouldn't really mind if I never heard this album again.
Hailed as the return of Frusciante, this also had, to my surprise in the summer of 1999, uh, singing? Not by Kiedis, a necessary evil that I can sometimes overlook here, but backing vocals from Flea and Frusciante that actually do something for the concept of the record. That is, if you are making a record about California, well, multi-part harmonies should come with the territory a la the Beach Boys, John and Michelle Phillips, the canyon, etc. This all works for a handful of songs but this is still a peak CD era release and the Peppers never turned in a short and sweet effort. It’s easy for me to say cutting back some of the funk rock meets folky melodies cuts would’ve made a better record, but as some of the retrospective histories point out you could NOT escape the singles throughout 1999-03. I worked at a Harvard bar around then and ooof. Kiedis really does have a solid voice for this material and while his goofy raps largely work on BSSM and the earlier funk material, hoo boy, so much of the album feels like an attempt by Frusciante and Flea to make a serious, melodic effort and AK’s lyrics are so hamfisted and awkward...at least we have Scar Tissue.
Another review called these guys a waste of talent and I think I agree. Frusciante and Flea are incredible players, hell the drummer is pretty lit too. But does that talent go toward making great songs, music with meaning? Nah. It goes toward anthems of fucking around. First-draft bullshit delivered with no conviction. I dunno, it’s RHCP. I’m giving it 2 because some of these songs I can’t help but like (Scar Tissue & Californication namely, and only because they’re nostalgic).
É diluído né
It's a nice record, with nice songwriting and the most unfortunate production decision ever. Get rid of any dynamics and just be loud. That happens when a band gets greedy and teams up with one of the most overrated producers ever (ok, Mr Rubin managed to revive Cash to greatness, but the cost of sound is always imminent with his production - he should have become a spiritual mentor and leave the engineering and production to more technical people). I remember playing this first time in my car radio and taking it to the dealer because I thought it was broken. I rarely listen to this one because I get ear-bleed. Shocking waste of musical talent
Probably the best RHCP album and still fuckin trash. I hate Anthony Kedis. Who cares about Flea or the drummer whose only relevancy is looking like Will Ferrell. Frusciante is cool but being in a band with a pedophile is messed up. Simply for Scar Tissue I'll give it a 2. It's groovy but also hot fucking ass.
The biggest problem for the Chili Peppers has always been Anthony Kiedis's voice — and his confidence that he can sing. This is a band whose success wasn't driven by his vocals, but one that got big in spite of them. I say this as someone who was really into Mother's Milk and The Uplift Mofo Party Plan — even parts of Blood Sugar Sex Magik — for a good stretch: it's with great trepidation that I hit play on this album. (Having moved on from them pretty hard after BSSM ran its course in my life, I've actually never listened to Californication all the way through.) Lol — first two tracks make my case, at least where my ears are concerned. But here's the thing: this is some of the tightest, most delicious music Kiedis has ever had the pleasure of spoiling. Flea is still the heart of the band — his basslines are funky, melodic, and full of character. Chad Smith is a superb rock drummer, playing with power and precision — always landing exactly where the song needs him. And John Frusciante? He's like a student of Hendrix, Beck, Marr, and McGeoch all at once: fluid and forceful, expressive and inventive — an exemplar rock guitarist. It took until "Savior" before I checked the track list to see how much was left. That's a testament to how strong the music is on this record. Great players. Great sound. Shame about the vocals. 5 stars for the music minus 3 for Kiedis.
I don’t like when they rap lol
I feel like if you grew up in the late 90s early 00s you heard this album at least a dozen times. Californication is fucking inescapable. Somehow against my will I know every word to most of the songs, so this one is a miss for me because I'm so sick of hearing it.
Surprisingly good for about 15 minutes! Unfortunately, there's still 40 minutes after that...
I have to respect that Otherside is a generationally good song and one that is stuck in my head all the time. However, other than that, Californication, and Parallel Universe, I really did not like any other songs on this album. If it were instrumental I think I would have really enjoyed it, but Anthony Kiedis ruins everything yet again.
Lot of skips on this one, and even the hits...I wouldn't change the radio station but I wouldn't be singing along either
Yeah. Remember why I didn’t ever listen to this album end to end. Couple of gems - generally pants
Objectively solid album, important for music history, but not for me
Replace the lead singer and I'd probably like it a lot more. Production grating at times. Musical talent is there, but not front and centre. Ultimately I found it annoying.
Boring, faux-hippie, lumpen wank. Anthony Kiedis is maybe the most useless man in music.
Echt zo'n typische soundtrack van de jeugd, waar je vervolgens niet perse heel veel meer uithaalt dan wat nostalgische waanbeelden. De eerste helft is best aardig, maar ik was vooral nieuwsgierig hoe de rest - los van de wereldberoemde singletjes - zich staande zouden houden. Maar dit valt toch wel heel erg tegen, en de tweede helft van het album mist alle vormen van inventiviteit. Maarja, die paar iconische singles blijven fier overeind. 6/10 Highlights: Around the World Scar Tissue Road Trippin'
i dont like the voice
Listening to this in high school and college I thought it was great. Now, less so.
Allright, overplayed. Anthony Kiedis cant sing.
Decent album cover, the colors are strong and texture is good. Not iconic or anything, but memorable enough and good. 1. Chorus and verse feel like different songs. But hey, chorus is good, and the bass really brings it all together— even if I’m not a huge fan of the vocals 2. Can already hear the loudness war shit here, this song clips to hell and back. Chorus is unforgivably poorly mixed 3. Classic riff, vocals match the beachyness perfectly. Frusciante’s solos are super tasteful. 4. Good song, but damn the bass is loud dude. Just weird to listen to this when everything is at least competently mixed these days. 5. This kinda stuff is when the pseudo rapping works. Little bit of Primus, just less weird. Never really opens up, feels claustrophobic til the end 6. Lyrics stand out here more than a lot of peppers songs, even beyond the classic titular coining. Drums really drive this song forward while strings take a backseat, works well though. Band has good balance throughout the album so far. 7. Drums sound god fucking awful, like recorded with an iPod touch bad. Very forgettable overall. Guitar solo at the end is fine, I like the layers. Def not worth sitting through the rest of the track. 8. Good choice for the sequencing of the album to slow it down a bit, but even besides those kind of logistics I think this song is pretty interesting. Does kind of feel like they didn’t know where to go with it, but I really like how the titular “porcelain” is sung, the brushes are a nice touch, and I like that the subdued tone doesn’t overstay it’s welcome. Good 9. What a nothing burger man, boring verse and boring chorus. Sometimes Keidis’s choruses sounds like he’s just some guy doing a Peppers song for karaoke 10. Good energy, I like the delivery of “living the dream,” and the fun effects. Short but great Frusciante solo, woulda loved an actual hook/chorus though. 11. Unplugged electric guitar sounds cool on this, and I like the backup vocals— wish they popped up more, gives the song a nice little beachy sense of camp. Drums are good, this song just suffers from not having something super memorable— guitar line or lyric or whatever, like it’s a fine song but just one I don’t easily remember. Muddy mix when the hook kicks in doesn’t help. 12. Theater-core featuring the Peppers is kinda odd, but Keidis’s voice works with a bit of a melodrama behind it all. It’s fine, I like the work on the toms and the sleighbells are fun. This just isn’t what people listen to the Peppers for, ultimately. Doesn’t feel very cohesive, either; —the tempo changes for one, but the effects and instrumentation don’t convince me of their synthesis. 13. God fucking dude the vocals peak so hard. Flea fucks on this though, and it’s fun, just a little shallow. Love the breakdown at the end, though, Chad Smith really gets to show off his chops; wish he had the chance to more, but that’s also my bias as a drummer. 14. Nah man, they just can’t pull this neutered punk sound off. They just doesn’t commit to the edge needed to justify these explorations, dipping back into chord progressions and smooth vocals so quickly. Meh. 15. Fine last song. I like the strings, and think Keidis shows his range off well. The Peppers are really really good at their chosen instruments, like to such a degree that I’d say they’re underrated musicians despite there being a decent amount of respect for each member here and there. Still, wish they could more consistently find form and execution the way “Scar Tissue”, feels like there’s some ambition missing or something.
It gives me the impression that California is somewhere between kinda shite and mediocre. 6.6/10
This makes me not want to go to California, as most of the songs are either a slurry mess or resemble bad white rap. This might be one of the most overrated rock bands ever...
blood sugar sex magik was a pleasant surprise, suffice to say this was much much more in line with my preconceived notions of rhcp's whole "deal"
Listened for the first time since high school and the highs are high (Scar Tissue still holds up, fight me) but outside of the 3 or 4 bangers everything else was a chore to listen to.
It’s ok just not my style
huoh.. iknnoow ik nonow know.. tiedän tieedän. mä tiedäään mä tiedän ikkoonow i know.. en voi vittu uskoa että lapsena, pikku tyhmä lapsi meikäläinen tykkäsi tästä.. onneksi ei pysynyt tämä vitun paska aikakausi pitkään.. jotain tekstintäytettä ei tässä jaksa vittu kirjottaa tästä mitään niin basic bitch joo on hyvä sinänsä mutta jos tämä on sun suosikki bändi tai suosikki albumi niin olet mahdollisesti aika saatanan tylsä henkilö heh määrittelin lunteenpiirteesi yhdestä fmusiikki maku faktasta heh good game ja nyt en voi olla lähellä sinua... meneppä pois mun suosikki om tää pieni sveitsiläinen bändi young gods... leau rouge.. parallel universe
Midifornication. There’s a reason you only know the hits off this album. First 2 songs and the hits are good but other than that mid to bad. I feel like my time was wasted by a lot of the songs. 4/10
the highs are high but a lot of these songs are absolute slop
The first half is really good but this one doesn't hold up for me as an overall great album. I started losing interest near the end and didn't immediately want to hit replay like I've done for my higher rated album from this project.
My current feelings for Anthony Kiedis make it very hard for me to love RCHP anymore. Also this was far from their best work anyways.
2.5
A bit too intense
I can imagine how this might be good if one wanted to turn it all the way up and have no room for thoughts, however, it's thoroughly mid at a reasonable volume and I'd rather listen to fall out boy if I were in that mood, so I'm afraid it's not for me...
I’ve always been lukewarm on RHCP’s singles, and the album tracks all sounded like worse versions of those singles, so this was never going to be a winner for me. The last third was a real slog.
I have a great distaste for RHCP except for Flea, but this album is fun in the way that hair bands are fun. It's a good time but if you listen too long everything starts the same. I wish I could ignore the members of this band, their fans, and how many times I've heard 'Scar Tissue' on the fucking radio to give it a truly objective rating, but alas, here we are.
Meh. A couple of decent songs and a bunch of rappy garbage.
When do they sing about California?
Wish I could be as enthusiastic about this as others are. I actually find most of the songs actively annoying with the occasional good one thrown in. 2/5
A band where they have some absolutely banging singles but I lose my interest having to listen to a full album. The mixing on this is awful as well!
Repetitive but ok
4/10
Started out good but got really boring half way through.
This album isn't horrible but I keep feeling as if every single song is something I've heard another, better 90s band do a lot better and more interestingly. It doesn't help that this thing is 15 songs long and most of them oscillate between fucking around and maybe a nice melody being compressed to shit. Still has Otherside for whatever it's worth
Pre-listening thoughts: wait isn't one of the RHCP a total asshole? Oh yup, that's Anthony Kiedis. Sex with a 14 yr old girl before AND after learning her age. Jesus christ. Post/during listening thoughts: Around the World is like kind of racist. Scar Tissue still goes kind of hard though. This album just has really poor sound quality in a way I can’t quite pin down. I told my parents I listened to this album today and they both shook their heads in disappointment. Enough said. 4/10 DID I NEED TO HEAR THIS BEFORE I DIE: no Fav tracks: Scar Tissue, Otherside Least fav tracks: Around the World, Get On Top, Porcelain
I know I’m in the minority on this one but man I’m not a fan of this band. The instrumentation is fine, even great at times, but I just can’t stand Anthony Kiedis
Pretentious parading as cool. The entire album sounds like it’s being played at full volume through a blown speaker at a mall arcade.
Zwar catchy aber echt nicht gut Ziemlich lang(weilig) und die Hits sind Hits für ein virgin ohr Eig geübteres sieht da nix besonderes
A slog. 2 stars
Oh for fucks sake. Took about 20 seconds to start hating this with it's intense red hot chilli peppers-ness. At least there are a couple of nice melodies across the record when they aren't ruined by Keidis's incessant shit rapping and too much slap bass. See the opening track for the ultimate example of this. And that's even before he starts going "ning nong ning nong" which just made me piss while I was typing. Scar Tissue is probably the only song where this is tolerable. Other half-decent songs, Otherside (notably Keidis behaves himself throughout) and the title track. Get On Top one of the most annoying songs ever made. I start off at a 2 and see what happens, being aware that it's nearly an hour long. Gets 2 because I quite like 3 songs. After the title track the album may as well stop as the following 9 tracks simply rehash ideas from the previous 6 songs but less goodly. Somewhere during Right on Time I was forced to consider if 2 is too generous. Then Road Trippin' rode to the rescue to finish things with one more half-decent song.
Not what I was expecting after the hype I’ve heard about it but it’s ok.
The music is pretty good, especially Flea. But Anthony Kiedis sounds like a doofus. This is the music that white boys sing at full volume, when alone in their cars. It’s alright. But the arrangements are pretty basic.
I’m pretty sure this is something my brother listened to in high school in between blink 182 and linkin park. He wouldn’t listen to the full cd though. Just the five songs that were also over polluted on radio. Probably still does listen to this album actually. I cringed through this entire album.
Great opening track, showcasing my favorite aspects of the RHCP (punk funk?). For reference, Give it Away is my favorite song of theirs. What i don't like about RHCP are the songs that really put them over the top and are the hits off this album. Something about those minor key's and sad lyrics I can't latch onto. Shutting down emotionally when i know the artist wants me to reflect. Like Will Hunting resisting Robin Williams... it's not your fault!!! I wasn't abused, I just don't like sad feelings. I also do feel a lot of these songs are structured in a very similar way - many starting with a distinct minor chord riff or chord on guitar. Another thought I keep coming back to in this exercise is that many of these bands and albums stand out because they are blending genre's - in this case there are a few but I would say hip-hop, rock and funk stand out. I've been contemplating the future of music as we run out of distict genres. A lot less low hanging fruit to create a unique sound. Has anyone blended blue grass and metal? There are many HITS on this album, but a lot of dead weight on the second half. As is often the case, deserving of more stars but two for my taste.
I can't do it. They're trying about 12 times harder than I want them too and it's bumming me out.
The first half of the record is much better than the second half. I think that Flea/Frucasante (spelling lolol?) are very talented musicians and I enjoyed a lot of their bass lines and guitar work here. Especially Flea on bass. Some of the melodies rock but I sort of find Kiedis on juuuuuuust this side of obnoxious. Lyrics shallow. Also, there was a song on here...can't remember which one because I was vacuuming but god damn if it didn't belong on a Limp Bizkit record (derogatory). Didn't add a single song to my playlist! Ah!
Best: Californication Worst: I like dirt Liked songs: 60%, 9/15 Mid to strong 2 The real theme of the album here is the guitar clutches up while the vocals drag it down cuz the guitar riffs are for the most part really good but when I like a song I feel like it's usually in spite of the vocals. Definitely dated, can very much tell the era it's from (though tbf i thought i would've placed it before 99 that seems hella late). Also the peppers are assholes so that's gotta drag it down a bit. Ok and I just realized what Cali"fornication" means which reminded me that the lyrics are fucking weird why is everyone so horny for either people or california bro it was not clever enough to make it the title of the damn album the signs of the peppers being assholes were all here man.
A good rhythm section does not automatically translate to a good album. The vocals are nasal, the melodies are pure whine, and the lyrics are a melodramatic mess. 2 stars for Flea.
this album was rough. there are some funky grooves on here but they are drowned out by vocals produced by a high school kid working at a mcdonalds drive through who is frustrated that you had the audacity to order a burger. with a different vocalist and better mixing this couldve been a great album.
I'd never listened to an RHCP album in full before. I'm more familiar with their general musicianship, and Frusciante, Flea, and Smith do sound pretty good here. I'm partial to Flea's bass work in particular. I had trouble with the vocal performances and the writing, unfortunately, which is big for me. The rapping is rough, man. Like, embarrassing to listen to. Dated. The top line melodies blur together and there aren't a lot of middle-eights. I was a little surprised to see that three songs from this thing have over a billion streams. Not abysmal but not great. A 'not for me' album from what is more than likely a 'not for me' band. Other reviews mention them having better albums, so I guess I'll wait for BSSM and see.
First half fucks. Or, californicates, if you will. Second have left me Edinbored. Creepy lyrics and whiny voice, and I'm Lon-done. "What could be wetter than an English girl and American man ?" lmao ew
Embarrassing if you're over 16 and like this
Hahaha. Yeah. It’s the Red Hot Chili Peppers alright.
First half is decent enough, but there's just something deeply unserious about RHCP, particularly whenever the lead singer decides to start rapping.
I always heard it as "sarcasm is to know it all"
Granted, they have some decent songs over their vast catalogue, but they are a band I just don't like and never have. Californiacation is one of the worst songs I've ever heard.
My only experience with the RHCP was in hearing them on the radio as a kid, and then also my dad playing their Greatest Hits album in his car when he had visitation. It feels like that sums up my opinion of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Lol. I grew up seeing this band as a really whitewashed, commercial example of rock music that was really for "straight white dudes" and didn't speak to anything relating to my own experience. In fact I think one of my first "ick" moments with my ex was when he pulled out a guitar and started playing Under the Bridge. I feel like Funk/Punk/Rock can be applied only when you really underscore the Punk part like RATM, Primus, Fishbone et al. otherwise its the musical experience equivalent to eating the really dodgy fusion food at an airport. I am pleased to say that my opinion hasn't really changed - with a couple of notable exceptions. There's actually a lot of unexpected punk energy from the bits of this album that didn't get commercial releases. I quite like Right on Time and I never realised they had more depth than the songs I heard non stop on the radio. Listening to and properly absorbing the lyrics of even commercialised tracks such as Californication it was surprising to see how much they actually chastise the very machine they existed (and flourished) inside. It is extra ironic that this was the stratosphere-launching album for them and it was about how overrated and materialistic Western culture was. Whether it was a cruel twist of irony from record companies in the 90s, or whether counter culture was something that they were very self aware in their exploitation of. (There's a third option where everyone involved was somehow unaware of the irony of the lyricism but..... cmon..........). Apparently part of the reason the guitarist left the band and struggled hard with addiction was his inability to come to terms with what came with 'rockstardom' and 'selling out'. You can kind of imagine that this album is somewhat a salve for him in a lot of the lyricism. Track by track Around the World I never appreciated the technical musicality of this song. While the overall sound is SUPER fuckin 90s and not in the way I personally like, the way that the instruments all come in would have taken a serious amount of collaboration. Which is interesting given the guitarist only just came back after leaving the band for an album. Parallel Universe I think this song has made me realise a lot of my distaste for RHCP comes from the bass licks - sorry Flea. The funk just does not work for me. I do like the darker more distortion heavy break in this track. You can tell these dudes have been through some shit lol Scar Tissue I've heard this song so many times my dad was obsessed with it so I am struggling very hard to listen to it objectively lol. I just don't think it is very good. Otherside I quite like the melodies of this song, and didn't get sick of it despite the extreme amount of play it got in the corolla. Finding out it was about death and grappling with the concept of it means I am incredibly predictable as a person. I did not know that it was dedicated to their former guitarist Hillel Slovak who died of a heroin overdose (were they all on heroin??? it feels like they were all on heroin). The duality of it being interpreted as either a swan song of sorts or an attempt to communicate with those who they've lost is pretty neat. Ok, maybe they don't completely suck. Get on Top Yeah there's the fuckin bass lick. JFC. THE 90S ARE NEARLY OVER GUYS. Wikipedia tells me this song was a jam session right after they finished listening to Public Enemy and that's so fuckin true and kind of emblematic for how I feel about RHCP in general. Californication The only way I can describe how I feel about the message of this song is that it is pre 9/11 political dialogue - it ultimately says nothing but sounds nice doing it. I wanna know if they are moon landing deniers or if its just a fun "We Didn't Start the Fire" for the 90's line. Easily I like the drum line in this track. I don't like Kiedis' voice. What are they tryna do here this song just says a bunch of nothing to me. They could have left this one on the cutting room floor. It's just flailing around without an identity. There are moments with the chorus where it begins to do something interesting but then it just......... fails to deliver. Porcelain Is this the only time they ever did this time signature in a song? I actually kinda like it. It's a really delicate sound which fits. Notably the bass isn't being fucking obnoxious (sorry Flea enjoyers). I heard they recorded the entire album together simultaneously rather than layering tracks etc. Imagining them doing that for this one makes me feel emotional for some reason, especially knowing the addiction battles they've all fought and only very recently overcome at the point of this recording. Emit Remmus This song is basically the slightly better cousin of Californication but I cannot enjoy it because Californication is all I can hear. It doesn't mean that I think this is a good song. Apparently it is based on Kiedis' romance with Sporty Spice and also is just Summer Time spelled backwards. DEEP, BRO I like Dirt I'm gonna copy paste what the Genius lyrics say about this song: "...the first impression this song gives is strange, childish, and simple. Don’t be fooled, it’s about sex, as things with a sexual nature a called “dirty.” This song is also crawling with innuendo." ............................. I don't have anything else to add to this. This Velvet Glove Musicality wise, I really enjoy this song. In terms of the content and lyricism, unfortunately it's what a straight white dude in the 90s considers to be deep. So, yknow. Savior Sounds like AI tried to create a Tool inspired song. Drumming is at least good? The funkadelic guitar solo is good I'll give them that. Purple Stain This is a classic RHCP song. It's got the syncopation. It's got the bass. Now let me take a look at the lyrics an- WHAT THE FUCK GUYS Right on Time Ok some frenetic energy, cool. Again I've never heard this song it's not so bad. It's not good necessarily, just not bad. The lyrics are good. A solid 6.5 Road Trippin' This is gonna sound really mean but whenever they are singing songs that aren't about their battles with addiction they just have................ no substance to them. Maybe its just because their life experience is something I've heard a million times over in entertainment. At first I was quite offended that this was the track they chose to end their album with....... something that says nothing at all about either the band, their beliefs, or even really their sound. But maybe that means it's kind of perfect? Fun facts I learned: - The film clip for Californication was inspired by Crazy Taxi and they approached Naughty Dog to use the Crash Bandicoot engine. It was too expenny so they hired someone to do it all and then he ended up working for Naughty Dog anyway lol. So I guess its actually a playable game? Or at least the animations exist? - They approached David Bowie to produce a more electronic music inspired album and got rejected so they did this album instead. Glad David Bowie and I had something in common. - I do not like the Red Hot Chili Peppers Gonna keep track of which artists in this challenge have got Allegations by googling the name of the band and then Scandal and seeing what pops up and uhhhhhhhhhh ANTHONY KIEDIS GROOMED A 14 YEAR OLD WTF BURIED THE FUCKIN LEDE HERE JFC
I actually thought I might enjoy this more having listened to it a lot when I was younger. On this listen, it really is only the front 1/3 that really stands out. The backend of this record sounded like songs that didn’t make the cut for BSSM or Mothers Milk
I had this album when it came out and thought I listened to it a lot. It turns out that I managed to blank roughly 2/3 of this album out. If I never hear the hits off this album again, it will be too soon. There are some good funky bits in here that harken back to older RHCP, but overall this album is not good-it marked the definite end of this band for me.
Just can't get into it. Maybe b/c the hits were all so severely overplayed. But the deep cuts not really doing it for me, either.
Never heard the album before. Frusciante is great, the band sucks.
There's a tiny part of me that wanted to give this a 3 but the album was just too long and there was nothing here that interested me enough to listen past the two minute mark of any song and at times, it was even difficult to listen for that long. This was just OK at best. 2.5/5
No matter how good a Chili Peppers album is, it is always soured by Anthony Kiedis openly admitting in his autobiography to having sex with children. Seriously, why isn’t he in jail? Anyway, now that that’s out of the way, I didn’t realise just how many hits were on this album. I may sound biased because of the earlier statement, but I do always find the vocals to be the weakest part of the Chillis. Drum are cool and groovy, bass is super funky, guitar is usually interesting, then the vocals are awful. This pattern continues through this album. Overall, I can’t deny that there are some good songs here, but I’ve never really understood the level of hype. This is an ok album.
There's something to work with here but the songs all sound the same and the shouty rap thing is bollocks. Good people seem to like them, I am unpersuaded in spite of this
Ok so my thoughts on the Red Hot Chili Peppers have always been 1.) Flea is an absolute monster of a bass player. Like one of the best ever. 2.) Individually, Flea, Chad Smith, and whatever guitar player they have at the time are amazing players but for some reason when you put them together it's always a little lackluster. and 3.) While I respect the uniqueness of the vocals, Anthony Kiedis just isn't for me. Instrumentally, all of their albums are fairly decent and have some good grooves on them. Throw in the vocals and usually banal lyrics and you've lost me. This album pretty much ticks all of those boxes. And good god the sound on this album is terrible. Especially on the vocals, there's a weird quality about the vocals that just doesn't fit at all with the rest of the music. Like the highs on the vocals are turned all the way up and the bass on the instruments was boosted and it’s all just out of balance. The vocals and instruments are fighting each other the whole record. I can see the commercial appeal of this album though - it's pretty safe for most listeners. Like you aren't going to get a ton of people who just absolutely hate it. There are a couple of songs that are decent but it really does seem like an album they made by reworking discarded songs to sound more coherent when stuck together as an album. A little too safe and uninteresting for me. 2/5
There are a couple classic singles here of course, but overall I don't find a lot of this super interesting. They kind of just stick to their established sound and keep it safe.
Fuck me, this dragged on a bit. Plus, the Chilli Peppers are one of the most overrated bands of all time so not an enjoyable time had here.
RHCP are not good. Lots of good musical ideas wasted by dumb as hell lyrics and awful vocals. They always seemed to be a band for people who only listen to the radio but think they know music. No thanks.
I remember liking this album alright when it was new, but it hasn't held up in general. There's some fun tracks like Get On Top, but all the lyrics are way more sleazy than I remembered. My wife gives this a 1/5. I'm a little more forgiving. 2/5
Verry special. Not my Style