Californication

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

Overrated and Anthony Kiedes is a beast.

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

Meh

I got tormented with the RHCP over the years and especially "Californication". It is a good song but overplayed. The rest of the album seems mediocre. I don't even dislike the band but if I have to listen to them I go for their earlier funk rock albums which just have a certain character. This one here? Fine but not very spectacular and one of the albums that don't need to be on the list.

This is a mess. Great musicians, but everything else is terrible - vocals, lyrics, songs, production. RHCP found a sound - based largely on Flea's unique talents - that makes them stand out. But this is just a lame milking of that cred - no spark.

Around the World Scar Tissue Otherside Californication Road Trippin'

First thought was “ugh I hate this band”; then they fool you for the first half dozen or so tracks and you’re like “wow this is good, some musicality, some decent content” and then bam, they revert to form and the whining thrashing BS is back.

there’s only so much anthony kiedis i can take… 2.5

#371. Hey guys, did you know they were from California? 2/5: Road Trippin was good. The rest you can have

I used to like a lot of these songs, over time however RHCP have grown stale and repetitive for me. Pick another state to sing about and maybe I’ll come back to them.

Loud and boring.

An incredible guitarist and bassist getting dragged down by one of the worst vocalists known to man. Less music made by paedophiles please!

2.5 So much better than their earlier album and a solid start but a painful end

Frusciante’s return is appreciated but it’s not really until the next album where things click. But really nothing can save this album. Really the second half is barely worth listening to and as much as I love Otherside… woof.

boo

Enjoyed when I was younger, still know a lot of the words. Fun to sing but ultimately not my jam these days

Very tight band who can lay down some funky grooves...but on a deeper level this music does not speak to me at all. It quickly became very tedious. Sorry, not my jam...

I never really got into the Chilis. Still don't love them, but no special reason why. It's a pretty accomplished album, just doesn't do it for me.

2.5

Interesting fact, when you use Apple Music Karaoke feature that isolates the music, the RHCP sound amazing, the music is really good. However once you add the vocals it all takes a nose dive. Don’t like the voice and the lyrics are all too often laughable. Never really enjoyed the band and don’t ever listen to them, listening to this was tough….

Er staan wat hits op, het klinkt bekend en is uit 'onze tijd'. Maar sorry, sorry, sorry, ik vind dit geen prettig luisterbare muziek. Veel nummers zijn voor mij het muzikale equivalent van iemand die in je oor staat te schreeuwen. Of van een gortdroog beschuitje dat je zonder beleg op moet eten. Misschien zijn dit wel mijn Beatles: ik snap de hype niet.

I wanna hate on this album, but man, have you heard John Fruiscante sing backing vocals?

They pick their singles well, and they write some catchy musical phrases. Most typically, the guitar particularly stands out, and the whole band really plays well together. But I just can't get over this apparent man-child who can't stop rap yell-rapping at me. Man is his vocal delivery obnoxious when he doesn't just sing. When he does sing, it's nice. But most often, I can't wait to move on.

2.5☆/5 08.06.2024

mmmh kiedis schwirig. intrumentals cool. finds mit de ziit streng und langwilig. schlusslied cute. aber sorry leider es zwei. sorry sorry chili pepper fanz

Not as good as I wanted it to be, the only track I've heard from this album is Californication and I've always loved that track, I was genuinely hoping that there was more of the same on it but it seems to have missed The Mark a bit

I liked Scar Tissue and Around The World. I gave up during Easily. I don't think this album is for me.

annoying (derogatory)

Never liked this album.

I was a huge RHCP fan when I was in high school (1992 - '95). I enjoyed every album up through Blood Sugar Sex Magik (some more than others, Freaky Styley, Uplift Mofo, Mother's Milk). I don't know if it was the drugs, or what, but man did they turn to garbage. Clearly I don't want them to start doing heroin again, but dude....

It's not... BAD, it just kind of washes over me a bit. I think the vocal style has aged quite badly. 2.5

Got a few tracks in and got busy but don’t really plan to start it up again. Not a Chilis guy

Not a bad record just not my thing

The last great album that I enjoyed from RHCP was BLOOD SUGAR SEX MAGIK released in 1991, so CALIFORNICATION is not one of my favorite Red Hot Chili Pepper albums. I didn't really enjoy any of the songs on this album. I remember not enjoying any of the singles when the album came out in 1999 and that hasn't changed with the passage of time. The mix and the production leaves a lot to be desired. This album doesn't bring any of the magic of BLOOD SUGAR SEX MAGIK where it felt the band had discovered a new vibe. It feels like a cynical rehash of "Under the Bridge" from that album over and over and over intermixed with cringey lyrics like "do you smell like a girl when you smile?" I wish that the electronic producer path had worked out because I would have liked to have heard that album. I can imagine that being something that I had not already heard a billion times with RHCP. They would eventually take the path previously not taken with the release of BY THE WAY, so perhaps I am being too harsh. And perhaps Frusciante's reintegration into the band really did require doing an album of 15 songs that really doesn't move the band or their sound forward. But at the end of the day we are left with an album that is way too long and cannot maintain its vibrancy throughout. I couldn't even find the hits that are supposed to litter the first half of the album and I am someone who enjoys a lot of the RHCP catalog from the early eighties right up through BSSM. This was definitely NOT an album that everyone needs to hear before they die. Even Flea, as recently as 2023, thinks that BLOOD SUGAR SEX MAGIK is their best album. That is the album that should be on here. I won't be listening to this album again.

Californication and Scar Tissue get this to 2 stars or D+ but that is where it stops.

this album pissed me off

There are few bands as overplayed as RHCP. I would probably like them better is the major radio stations didn’t have them on hourly rotation, I didn’t hear them in grocery stores and I wasn’t inundated by their SoCal sound non-stop. But let’s be honest, they put lightning in a bottle with Sex Drugs Sugar Magic in 1991, and retained that formula all the way up to Stadium Arcadium, and then went back to it later. Rarely do I hear a RHCP song that doesn’t song like every other RHCP songs. To their credit, they produce it, someone else plays it, and they are making $ hand-over-fist. On this album I enjoyed hearing the non-radio songs like Get On Top, Right on Time and Savior. However, if I want to listen to them, I’ll just turn on the radio or go buy a cucumber and wait five minutes….

Some songs were not complete garbage.

Just not that good

Lot of songs that still get steady play on the radio. The deeper cuts don't do anything for me. I don't think it's their best work, musically or lyrically, and I'm not much of a fan to start.

One of the premiere Uncool bands. First half of this really had me thinking I was gonna become a RHCP convert, then it just kept going.

Was really excited for this & expected to love it but I unfortunately did not find the music particularly fun or interesting

They got too popular.

Pol vibe. Couple of hits but bit dergy

Probably a 3 but man's a ?nonce

This album and band haven't aged well. The musicians are skilled but the funkiness of earlier albums sound flat here. The lyrics are nonsensical even when they're trying to be deep. This album also brings back some not so great memories as the late 90s weren't the best time for me.

RHCP are just not a band I've clicked with. They have written some great songs but also a LOT of tripe. They are overrated and this album proves it

Music for moms

A slog to get through, I really, really, *really* don't like RHCP as a whole.

Can't stand the singer but this still has plenty of earworms.

The most talented group of musicians putting out the least great music I could ever think of. Way too much filler on this one.

A band that gets progressively worse with every album they release. Pretty bored of them now.

You should be embarrassed and ashamed if you listen to this and enjoy it.

Good music with utter lyrical nonsense.

great band with a bad singer. the title track is iconic, and had higher expectations for the rest, but the singing and lyrics are rough and the second half of the album really falls off. thought it would be getting a 3 until the second half devolved into mostly noise

This sounds so bad. I used to love these songs. You can hear the audio clipping. It's insane. Too bad. Could have been the best Chili Peppers album. Maybe. But Idk it's pretty bloated and I can't really stand it anyway.

Can any album truly claim to be ruined by a terrible *master,* other than Californication? I can’t think of one. I think this is a famous example, but I’ve never heard it before so I didn’t know if I should expect something quite subtle that’s been overblown by audio nerds such as myself. No! It’s unlistenable! Everything sounds AWFUL. That’s pretty harsh. It’s just unfortunate. The music sounds like a a bug that's been smooshed against the glass window of a moving car. For absolutely no good reason! It’s oppressive. They didn’t need to suck the life out of it like that. These are musicians, producers, engineers who spent years of their life on their craft, on tone, on the art of recording. For it to come to this?? “Scar Tissue,” that’s a pretty good song, I just can’t listen to it now that I’ve heard the master. Can’t un-hear. I feel like my ears are getting chopped off by a kitchen knife. Some tracks (“Get On Top”) I can literally hear the digital clipping. There’s only one moment on the entire album that doesn’t sound destroyed by a mastering engineer: the first minute of “Californication.” I can actually hear… drums! And maybe “Porcelain,” as well. The insane compression sounds like kind of a choice on a quieter, jazz-brushed ballad. Ah, now I get it. *this* is the tipping point, whose swift reactions lead to analog-vs-digital, vinyl fetishism, audiophile USB cables. I can see the original sin that set off the chain reaction of nonsense. I am, happily, no audiophile. I have done the double blind test between uncompressed files and 128kbps mp3, and, with a couple exceptions, performed slightly better than random. But I feel like I have a pretty good ear for tone. And the tone of this album is… so bad. So maybe that’s why on this list? Historically significant for its audio awful-ness? I read about this being a bad master, ugh, years ago, I thought those people were just old men yelling at clouds. Old man, look at my life, I’m a lot like you... 2/5 (Open to re-reviewing if this is ever remastered)

Partly heard before Saved 5/15 Top track: Californication

Years ago a dear friend of mine said something dismissive and cutting about the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I never minded them on the radio, so I asked her for more specifics. She couldn't elucidate what she meant, but after listening to this full album I totally get it. The singles on this will be on Southern California radio for the rest of time, but as an album this just doesn't really come together.

It's OK, some good tracks, but not something I'd listen to much

This album proved 3 things to me: 1. The '90s were a decade of excess that ultimately harmed American society in ways that can still be felt today. This album is an excellent example. While this critique isn't really the album's fault directly, it's still a clear product of its time that can be used as a clear sign of trouble to come. 2. The Loudness Wars ruined music, but at least they started out with the worst offender first and got it out of the way. When the levels clip, these songs become almost unlistenable, even at a low volume. Why is the bass rattling? Why are soft guitar licks mind-numbing? Why do the cymbals sound like static? A remaster would fix this a lot, but then we'd still be faced with Point 3. 3. RHCP are burdened by the Prog Rock Band Dilemma™️. They're so talented that they struggle to hold it together 90% of the time. Like a gym rat who can't help but flex his arms when he's flirting with a girl at the bar while talking about the Joe Rogen Podcast – your muscles won't cover up your gross personality, no matter how impressive they are. Also like a gym bro, the RHCP are sexiest when they're just sitting there looking pretty. The ✨soft✨ songs like "Scar Tissue," "Otherside," "Californication," and "Porcelain" all stand the test of time, and while they do have small moments where you see through the sweetness and get the obnoxious musical jerk-offs, it's nowhere near as mind-numbingly insufferable to sit through as "Parallel Universe," "Get on Top," "I Like Dirt," or "Purple Stain." Normally, the juxtaposition of the annoying noodling songs with the pop crossover cuts would annoy me, but here, the latter serve as a much-needed breath of fresh air, especially on an album so long and exhausting. Hell, this album starts to overstay its welcome the instant Kiedis sings, "Ding, dang, dong, dong, deng, deng, dong, dong, ding, dang," with full sincerity. In fact, Kiedis sings some of the most stupid, inane lyrics I've ever heard. His lyrics are almost more annoying than the flashy playing, honestly. This album is maybe the beginning of the end for rock music as popular culture. I think it should be included in the book not because it's essential listening, but because it's a sign of the end. Sure, it was insanely popular at the time, but that popularity is a Faustian curse. Few other pure rock albums since have gone on to achieve Californication's level of success, and all the other examples I can think of are more niche, or equally braindead. In a way, this was the future RHCP's vision of music always predicted, adding too much rock to soul/funk and adding too much groove to rock to the point where neither sound reflected its point of origin when they played it. When you do that, you essentially kill the genre you're trying to actually exist within. And while RHCP aren't the only suspects in the murder of the genre (U2, Coldplay, even Gorillaz and the White Stripes, or arguably Arctic Monkeys and Imagine Dragons today, who are both trying to raise Rockism from its hospice care deathbed), this album encapsulates all the red flags into one time capsule. Californication is mostly a so-chaotic-it's-forgettable slog of tracks freshened up by a handful of decent gold nuggets of moderate value. But this is not the gold rush, it's the bottom of the barrel, and the only reason we're holding onto the nuggets here as a culture is because they're some of the last ones we'll ever see.

First try - I stopped after the first song, just wasn't feeling it. Second try, made it through. There is some good stuff on this, but there's more NOT good stuff. So - glad to have listened, but ...

If you want the best song ever written about fingering a woman while she's on her period, you've come to the right place. They get John Fruschante back for this album -- to little effect. Sure, you've got Flea's bouncy bass and songs about how great California is and how sex is awesome, and look at us we used to wear socks on our cocks but now we're grown up and do deep songs like "Get on Top." The hits are all frontloaded here. I forgot how ubiquitous the Peppers were there for awhile -- but if they're going to feed us a RHCP album, why not at least Blood Sugar Sex Magik instead of this overproduced mess. Scar Tissue is still one of the best songs they've written, tho.

I understand this album was made in 1999, but the compression here is god awful. For how much Chad uses the cymbals, it should be so much better. Instead it sounds like he's using tiny little finger cymbals the entire album. It comes off as super cheap. Other than that, it's groovy, it's the chili peppers, it's pretty good. Favorites were Scar Tissue and Purple Stain.

Cool then, meh now. IMO.

This is bad

Totally fine album. I think with a lot of the RHCP is that they were so overplayed in the 90-00s that it took away the magic.

Dog shit vocals over super tight playing. Produced to within an inch of its life. I imagine lots of high fiving gong down at the mix sessions between browsing yacht brochures. And god it’s so lonnnnnng. Pure torture. That noise was me whooping loud when it finished. I will never ever listen to this ever again. Never.

ogolnie slaby, ale ma Californication i Otherside czyli spektakularne klasyki

Shame the members are a bunch of scumbags, especially Kiedis.

Oh, RHCP. The fact that you occasionally throw an undeniably good song every now and then makes me dislike you more. For every Scar Tissue and Porcelain (I admittedly prefer the ballads) there’s I Like Dirt, Around the World or Right On Time. I want to like you more, if you did more Under the Bridgeses and Breaking the Girlseses I’d be in your corner. But alas. At least we have Flea’s acting credits.

Slow songs are somewhat catchy with meh vocals, and funkier ones are very annoying. Did not like the inferior ‘Around The World’ on this list, ‘Get On Top’, or any of the funky songs that played after I stopped paying attention. Yeah, I don’t know why this band is so popular.

Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Californication" has its moments, notably with the engaging "The Velvet Glove" and the title track, which stand out for their compelling guitar work and rhythmic flair. These tracks briefly capture the band's celebrated fusion of rock with elements of funk and punk. However, the album largely disappoints, bogged down by filler content that fails to match the energy or creativity of its few highlights. The latter part of the album, in particular, suffers from a lack of direction and coherence, reminiscent of Adam Sandler's comedic musical sketches on "Saturday Night Live," but without the intentional humor. Overall, "Californication" falls short of expectations, offering a handful of engaging moments amidst a sea of mediocrity. It's a reminder of the band's potential, yet hardly a compelling album.

I’m going to be that guy. Their earlier stuff was better. WAY better.

hoo man, I thought I was neutral to mildly positive on RHCP, was never sad to hear one of their songs come up randomly, but holy moly they become grating *fast* when listening straight through an album. I think it might be kind of a meme to give mild credit to Flea while criticizing the rest of the band, but yeah the bass is usually very good, even when the full songs are mostly mediocre.

Nah, I really don't like these guys. Never did.

I love RHCP up to Blood Sugar Sex Magic. I mean, there are a couple of songs on this that I can tolerate but for me, this album is the beginning of all of their albums that sound identical.

Slightly better than yesterday.

Idgaf about this band.

First time hearing the album in full. It was not really my thing, but I did like most of the bass lines

Els RHCP són la definició de mid. Mai entendré com han tingut tant d'èxit, la seva música em sembla perfecte per ser música d'ascensor (amb 3 o 4 excepcions). Aquest àlbum no difereix gaire del que espero d'ells Lorenzo expected rating: 3

Too headbanging for me. I liked the popular songs I'm familiar with but the rest sounded too similar and grating to my nerves.

Maybe the most overrated album in the world. 15 songs whereof 3 are decent and 1 is great (Otherside). After the title track, there are 8 tracks of nothing before Roadtrippin’ ends the album on a high. And don’t get me started on the lifeless production…

It's 1999 all over again. "Around the World" starts strong until it hits the first chorus and you realize what Red Hot Chili Peppers are now: an adult contemporary band. Surprisingly, I already know 5 of these songs pretty well. "Parallel Universe" is probably the one I remember most fondly. I like the anxious guitar part in the verses. Otherwise, it's a big bowl of "meh."

Some of their slower songs almost approach a melody, but after listening to this album I can't remember a single tune I could whistle. And their up-tempo songs give me a headache. Wasted talent...

How many different ways can you try and rhyme "California"? Gave up around the mid point. JF is a monster on guitar and Flea plays some great bass lines on this album, but RHCP are not for me.

Not for me. Real lack of variation in the song compositions.

some bangers, some mysogyny

Honestly, this is one of the most underwhelming listening experiences I've subjected myself to. This is my third listen now, and it's as boring, tasteless, and bland as I remember. The only good thing in these songs is the basslines, the rest is all very basic "funk rock" that's a pastiche of better musicians like Prince, Sly & the Family Stone, etc. The lyricism is downright awkward with a barely functioning rhyme scheme, and the songs drag.

This album made my shoulder feel a little weird

A few nostalgic songs for me, but overall this was the beginning of me kinda losing interest in RHCP. I liked One Hot Minute better and BSSM *much* better.

Even though I'm very familiar with their radio hits, this was my first time listening to a complete album from the RHCP. The hits are well deserved, and about 10x better than most of the other content on the album. One stand-out for me among the non-hit tracks was, "I Like Dirt." It's childish drivel (aka devilishly fun!), dripping with innuendo, but it brings the funk! I was surprised by how flat the recording sounds. It makes me think back to the sound of Simon and Garfunkle's Bridge Over Troubled Water, it's like they intentionally went out of their way to push the mid-tones and dampen the bass. The over-all effect probably provides extra airspace to hear the lyrics more clearly so it might be the correct call from an engineering standpoint, but it does make me want to play some tracks on a cheaper sound system with the EQ "boost" button enabled that pushes up the bottom and top frequencies. It's clear that these guys are skilled musicians that have left a distinctive and permanent fingerprint in the annals of musical history. However, this album perhaps just wasn't for me, as the sum of individual parts seem to be greater than the sum of the whole piece. Tracks I enjoyed: 3, 4, 6, 10, 15. I'll gladly keep these tracks on a greatest hits rotation, but I cannot in good conscious rate this complete album any more than a 2

Meh. Underwhelming

I think I just don't like Anthony Kiedis. Too goofy on top of otherwise ok music

Ugh. This was massive wasn't it? Absolutely HUGE. Snare + slap bass + nonsense "oooby lass too bingy bingy bong boo" lyric (bonus star for Scar Tissue though)

The songs with rapping fucking suck and for the rest theres a few cool tracks but overall its just kinda boring. Also the production on this album is really not good.

This was not bad, but I think there are some pretty throwaway songs.

57 minutes of the same song

The beginning of the album was quite decent, but the entire second half made me want to boil lead and pour it down my throat.

Ugh... 2.5/5

Didn't like it then, don't like it now. Infantile name and the most overrated album of all time.

I remember liking this album when it came out. It seemed like the most cohesive and sophisticated album by the band. It seemed to marry their style with the grunge and alternative scene more than their previous albums. Even had little hints at nu metal. But listening to it now it feels extremely silly and incredibly cheesy. No wonder I listened to it heavily for a while and then forgot it for 23 years while Blood Sugar Sex magic and The Uplift Mofo Plan, however rarely, continue to reach my ears.

someone tell kiedis to shut up so we can listen to the ones with talent

Pretty mild listening in 2023. Enjoyed the odd track but I much prefer RHCP from their Blood Sugar, One Hot Minute days. 4/10

2/5. There are some popular songs on here but I wouldn't say I necessarily enjoy them. There are a few that rock but others are just annoying or boring. I don't know, this one dragged on and I stopped paying attention halfway through. The bassist is what drives this album through each song and the highlight overall. Other than that, most sound too similar to be exciting.

I think I liked it better 24 years ago. My taste has evolved since then.

Meh, pretty repetitive

I really wanted to like it. To like them. It’s just…not there.

Nou, ik ken hier toch best wel veel singles van. Ben benieuwd! Around the world klinkt heel erg als andere nummers van ze. Overigens zingt ie nou bing beng bing bong rond 2:40? Wtf hahaha Scar Tissue en Other side vind ik wel echt een stuk beter dan de hardere nummers die daarvoor staan. Vooral Parallel Universe vind ik echt herrie. De rustigere nummers zijn mooi, maar er staat echt een hoop herrie op dit album zeg. De tering... De hits (Scar Tissue, Other Side, Californication en Road trippin) zijn qua kwaliteit zo bizar veel hoger dan de rest op het album. Het is niet lastig te raden waarom het de hits zijn. Ik vind de rest namelijk echt niet best. Teksten zijn meh, Shoutout bing beng bong, muzikaal is het vooral heel veel gitaar en ik kan me niet aan de impressie onttrekken dat de microfoon niet goed heeft gewerkt ofzo tijdens de opnames? Misschien wel zodat we de teksten niet horen, weet ik veel. FAVO: Other side, californication, Road trippin

this was the longest hour of my life…too much ~california~ and only 2 good songs.

meh fav songs were scar tissue and saviour vocals were kinda annoying and lyrics were kinda dumb

im drunk ive eaten a lot of oysters well not really but ive drank a bottle of prosecco and many spirit samples and a bit of ale im on the train from ayr and this mince and onion pie has just revived me i have travelled through time and space for 13.7 billion years to be here. i have had many faces and had many names. i can be found in the wind, in the trees, and in the earth below your feet. through gods will i am here before you now, and i have one simple message to bear: please know that the chillies suck particularly terrible highlights: - otherside - the "right on" on get on top - get on top - pat finnerty does a whole video on californication so i dont have to say anything about that - i like dirt i like dirt

Not much here beyond Scar Tissue, Otherside & Californication. It also feels pretty dated somehow.

Some well constructed songs and melodies but the mixing is so ass this is gonna have to be a 2

Sometimes they have moments of brilliance and then they always manage to ruin it for me. I like the album cover

Was better than i thought altough this is a band past their peak woth power of blood sugar all but gone. Still a few humourous numbers and the odd swagger of funk tinged la rock. But overall cant help but to compare and lament the loss of a band i love so much, to me this album altough ok is just a pale shadow.

Always struggled to enjoy RHCP. This hasn't done anything to change that.

Did not finish. Just wasn’t my genera and my attention drifter after the title track.

I've always enjoyed some singles from RHCP, but a full album is testing for me. It especially doesn't help that the people who mixed this album were tragically deaf, I had to half the volume on my system before I could listen to it, and even then it was often overpowering. Great singles like Scar Tissue and Otherside make the first half of the album enjoyable enough, but man does it drag on after that. An hour of music shouldn't feel this long.

One nation! Inflation! Dubba dubba dubba dubba constipation!

i hope the Seinfeld theme guy gets royalties

Ding dong ding dang indeed. Pros: Flea can play the Bass. Cons: Anthony Kiedis' awful voice and attempts at rap.

Thus band massively suck. Overrated massively. American white boy funk rock really pisses me off. 2.

Decent musicianship but Kiedis can get tiring. Not every song feels like a fleshed out idea, just the band making RHCP noises.

Nice flow, but overrated in general. The funky sound of the album has worn out by excessive air play of some songs on the radio, notably Otherside and Californication. Even the ballads don’t really stand out against the other songs, so the overall impression is quite unexciting. Mastering is also not good with way too much emphasis on treble and missing bass fundamentals.

Ég er alveg 50/50 með þessa plötu. Þolanleg að meðaltali.

The puerile lyrics and their wanky delivery made me feel even angrier when I was trying to find my work pass, convinced that it had been put on a container ship. Don’t fucking ask. Once I’d calmed down, I observed that this record is competently executed soft rock with annoying vocals and some tepidly adventurous instrument sounds and quasi-proggy song structures. Isn’t it funny that Kiedis sometimes inserts nonsense just to balance a line with rhyme? Writing this as I hear a ‘bow wow wow’, but also remembering the ‘ding ding, dong dong, ding ding, dong dong, ding ding’ in the opening track that he sings suspiciously like the racist parodies of Hindi and Urdu that I remember from playgrounds of my childhood. I admire his streamlining of the time consuming process of writing! And perhaps this shortcut is preferable to his writing: I’ve just looked up the lyrics to ‘Get On Top’. Thanks, Ass Killah Tony. Overlong. Had this on while working, forgot I was listening to music rather than office noise, was surprised that it had not started on a second playthrough when I check the App. Don’t like it, but no 1.

Ssmo zbog Frusciantea 2, inace 1

not my type

I do not want Anthony Kiedis near a microphone! I do not want his rapping, his singing, his riffing, anything! Maybe the Red Hots wrote a few good songs, but I cannot tolerate nearly an hour of them. It's evident from the opening track, they're not that good. My huge problem is that they consistently show promise and decent ideas, that are then marred by just the worst possible choices. Around the World has an excellent chorus that gets ruined by the goddamn "Ding ding, dong dong, ding ding, dong dong, ding ding" like come on man. I know people also dislike Rick Rubin's mixing à la the loudness war. This is best exemplified by clipping being found on the album (you can see the blocky waveforms for yourself if you google "californiacation loudness"), leading to many songs lacking the proper dynamic range that they deserve. I, personally, do not mind as much as others might, but ideally an album should be mixed properly for the best possible listening experience. It's slightly better than Blood Sugar Sex Magik, in that it doesn't get on my nerves as much and also isn't as long.

Bland, repetitive and poorly produced with awful lyrics. As someone who doesn't typically pay too much attention to lyrics, when I do notice them and they negatively impact my enjoyment of the music it's a huge negative.

I mean it's better than I remembered but the hits are so overplayed that it just kinda makes it hard. 2 stars

2/5 Having listened to it once, I have no desire to listen to it again. Not that I could say that it was bad, just not at all suited to my personal taste. Too many songs sounded like they were designed for an over-caffeinated Canadian goose - loud, repetitive, monotonous staccato of honking/singing.

I find this album really boring and somewhat reparative. I like Road Trippin' though as a album closer.

It all sounds the same and doesn't touch me at all.

RHCP got stuck in a paradox, I think. Who could have predicted that these knuckleheads would make it into the 90s, let alone a new century? When you’re around that long, you have to evolve. But you can’t totally leave behind your identity. Well the core of this band’s charm doesn’t look good on a bunch of guys turning 40. And what exactly does barely clever raunch evolve into? As this record shows, definitely not wisdom. They used up whatever they had on Blood Sugar Sex Magic. In my dream, they made a deal with John Frusciante in the middle of the Blood Sugar Sex Magic tour that they would go out on top if he would just cheer up for a minute. They played a last triumphant show with Nirvana and Pearl Jam in support (look it up), gave each other a big hug, and called it a day. Through many twists and turns they all found their way back to each other and today they run a garden center together in Torrence. They look their age and they never ever mention that they were once a band.

Oh dear. Rhcp have some great singles, but this is pretty awful as albums go. Emit Remmus (summer time backwards) an atrocious piece of shite written after Tony Kletus had an affair with Mel C from the Soice girls, made me want to rip my ears off. The lyrics are some of the worst I've ever heard. 'Though I know that every river bends Time to say hello to snow on the Thames What could be wetter than An English girl American man' Damn that's bad. Sure Californication and Scar Tissue are pretty great, but there are a lot of crimes to get past for the few good deeds.

Overrated… never understood the hype about Red Hot Chili Peppers and this album. Decent rock, but not really more than that