Californication

PREFS : Parallel Universe, Scar Tissue, Otherside, This Velvet Glove, Road Trippin' MOINS PREF : Purple Stain

I'm getting this outta the way first, because it's the first thing I thought after groaning upon seeing this album's picture this morning: there's not going to be a situation - now, nor looking forward into the future for 100 years (yes I am living that long) - where i'm not going to wish Anthony Kiedis was never a singer and I'd never heard of him. Just.the.worst. <Ok? are you done?> Yeah yeah I'm done, and it's a shame. Because the rest of this band is so good - in musicianship, creativity, spontaneity. It's frustrating because this band came so far from their first few albums - the music on this album from song to song is incredibly diverse - some beautiful and subtle moods in "Scar Tissue" - great rock songwriting and arrangements all around from "Around The World" to the funky "Get On Top" - but a song like "Right On Time" is a perfect example of what I can't listen to. I'd heard the big singles for years on the radio but never put on this album in full and in doing so today...discovered that this is one of the handful of worst-sounding / poorly mixed records I've ever heard from a major band. The mixes range from either not-great to just bad; e.g. Parallel Universe - what the hell happened to any low end on this song. So much of that song - and most of the others - is compressed within an inch of destruction - becoming really tiring on the ears pretty damn quickly. And holy crap - everything is just so damn "hot" and distorted - pops and crackles galore on every single song and seems to get worse as the album goes on - it all does a huge disservice to the music. I'll put the blame on producer Rick Rubin here even if he didn't mix it himself; ffs give us back *dynamics* in rock music - this was a dogshit job. A lot of what I love about this 1001 albums exercise is to challenge you (me) to revisit any preconceived notions about acts, good and bad. RHCP is one I've come closer to liking because of the music, but they'll never be a favourite because of well.... and damn a remix of this album is goddamn necessary. 5/10 2 stars.

It's not that it's especially bad. I just can't stand it, mostly because of the singer's annoying voice and the cringy effects he tries to make with it. The only thing I enjoyed was the bass.

2 very great songs that became classics and 13 others that I don't care about. The album is pretty boring and it sounds surprisingly bad.

Guitar heavy album. Reminds me of 2pac and early hip hop stuff, but coming from rock side. Anthony Kiedis’ voice is very carefree. Very expressive in an assured fashion. The guitar (John Frusciante) is the redeeming quality of the album because otherwise the hooks in the songs are pretty weak. The lyrics don’t always make sense and work. He does have a distinct voice. It’s imposing in a good way. In a way I could tell they are inspired by the Smiths in the way the music just carries on in the background and Anthoy just carries on singing on a different wave (Emit Remmus). The bass on this album is also a work of art. The guitar and base have incredible harmony and coordination. The album does flow very quick. Always something happening. The album also shows you where rock music has stagnated right before The Strokes came to change everything. The lyrics are straight up absurd sometimes. Overall I feel like they are trying to get something going but this is ultimately their creative limit in this particular style. Only at about 4 or 5 times in the album does it all click together. yea its weird how even though they have a very workable voice, a great guitar and bass they still cant grab me. californication the highest rated song at 7.5. this is definitely an album to play on backgroun when driving someone around. but its barely even good enough for that.

This album sounded way too generic. It had a few good songs and the band's chemistry is good but overall this album was quite boring. My rating: 5/10 Need to be on this list: 7/10

No thanks. I'm surprised one RHCP album is in the greatest 1001 albums ever, but two???

The hits were still ok, but the rest of the album really drags on. The biggest issue is how it was mixed. It's just all middle with no low or high end. Also, can we all agree that RHCP lyrics are just bad. Literal nonsense.

Hard pass on anything after One Hot Minute.

I thought I was a Red Hot Chili Peppers fan. Turns out, I only like their hits. Outside of the popular songs, this album SUCKS!!!!! I do not recommend people listen to this album. RHCP is not an album band. The only positives of this album is that the lead singer knows how to use his voice as an intrument. Lyrics do not matter to RHCP, but vibes do. Best Songs: Around the World, Scar Tissue, Otherside, Californication Worst Songs: Get on Top, Easily, I Like Dirt, Emit Remmus, Purple Stain

A few great singles, but overall the album is underwhelming and a bit annoying at times.

Parallel Universe, Scar Tissue, Otherside, Porcelain

"CALIFORNIA CALI CALI FORNIA CALIFORNIA CALI CALI FORNIA IT'S CALLLLLIFFOOORNIA CALIFORNIA DA NANG DA NANG DA NANG DA NANGNENG NENG NENG" Every single RHCP ever

I really tried my best to be objective with this album but fuck me the Red Hot Chilli Peppers are just the lamest fucking band around. I don’t care what anyone says, this band caters to two audiences with their tactless brand of dumbass dad rock: bank managers/ insurance brokers who let loose to Californication after a hard day at the office; and (worst of all) musicians whose fixation on Frusciante and Flea’s undoubted technical abilities completely obfuscates from the inanity of the music they produce. Oh, and kids. Kids for whom a shirtless Anthony Kiedis flailing around like a jackass is the coolest thing ever before developing a thing called self-awareness. Truth is, I was one of those kids and I adored RHCP for a brief period of my adolescence. But looking back I see them for what they are: painfully safe, totally uninspired fm rock. This album does nothing to change that fact. While I would even go so far as to say a couple of these tracks actually grew on me, the majority of this album is just so generic that no amount of intricate guitar work or flappy slappy bass guitar can make up for its shortcomings. Frusciante and Flea would probably flourish in another band (the former’s first solo album emphasises that point). But here they just play it so safe and, to their credit, they sold plenty of records. But I was astonished to see how little criticism emerged in the reviews of this asinine jabroni douche rock. Whatever semblance of innovation this group may have had as a rapid-fire punk/funk outfit had long vanished by this stage in their career. I do dig the artwork though, and “Parallel Universe” was a pleasant surprise. So it’s two stars. But fuck this band.

So many hits in the first part of the album! Overall: really good songs peaking through bad songs. Makes it a bad album for me. Underwhelming. Should have been an 8 song album and would have been perfect.

yeah, nah, i'm just not into these guys. mostly, i think i just don't like Anthony Keidis, even though he actually has a pretty good gift for melody. but i just can't stand the way he sings. At least they try different sounds and a few approaches to songs. i don't hate them the way i hate Limp Bizkit. but they're just not my jam. also that album cover is pretty bad.

I first heard Red Hot Chili Peppers when Mother's Milk came out. Thought it was such a cool new sound and groove. Always considered myself a Red Hot Chili Peppers fan. Always found it curious that my musician husband didn't love them. But with this album...I really struggled to get through it. Blah. Meh. I wish I gave Fela a 3 because this is most definitely a 2 of me.

I love Blood Sugar Sex Magik and even some moments on One Hot Minute but this just sounds like laztly garbage in comparison. I thought so at the time it came out, even stand out track Scar Tissue sounds by the numbers

I’m with the writers of the good place

Not my favorite RHCP album, decent and well-produced but I thought their earlier stuff was way more fun.

Not really a chili peppers fan and this album definitely has a number of their typical songs that reminded me of why. The last song on the album I’d never heard before and found lovely though.

Flea’s talent is wasted. He deserves a better band.

man, kiedis is such a terrible lyricist

I put off listening to this one for weeks because I don't enjoy the RHCP, but this wasn't quite as bad as I was expecting.

2.9 - "Is Anthony Kiedis going to ruin this song, too?" That's the question that came up again and again listening to this record. I'm baffled as to why they keep him around. The interplay between Flea's bass and Frusciante's guitar is stellar as ever, especially on tracks like "Parallel Universe." And as with other RHCP records I've listened to, I do actually like a couple songs: "Scar Tissue" and "Porcelain." But on other tracks like "Around the World" and "Get on Top", Kiedis is like a shit-flinging gorilla. Probably the worst offense is "Purple Stain", in which he describes fingering a woman on her period (WTF?!). The backing band is the only thing buttressing Kiedis from tumbling head-first into the gutter.

Some great tracks but I've never been a huge fan

How odd. After Bloog Sugar Sex Magik I was almost reluctant to play this. The first tracks did nothing to reassure me. Then scar tissue came on and it was a genuine reaction of "oh yes, of course! This is why people like the chillis." It (scar tissue) goes on just a tiny bit too long, and otherside takes just a tiny bit too long to get going. I'm surprised at how badly otherside has aged, and my desire to skip every track other than road trip was nigh on impossible to resist. Overall, this is a hugely forgettable album with a couple of good tracks.

My rating my be lower than normal because all of these songs have been played to death throughout the early 00’s but I basically have no desire to ever hear any of these songs or anything from the Red Hot Chili Peppers ever again

Does what it says on the tin. Think I owned this on CD, but never really listened because white boy metal rapping is just not good. They can be good when being melodic, but otherwise it isn't my lane. Was happy when Spotify started playing 'similar' music at the end of the album

When it is good, it is excellent but too many weaker tracks take away from the album. If this had been on vinyl they would have to have edited down to 10 or 11 tracks. This would improve it a lot.

An alright album. A few songs weren’t to my liking. Enjoyed Scar Tissue. Worse than I remembered unfortunately

First impression "bad white-guy rap" Like Faith No More but not good

I remember when this album came out and I am familiar with several of the tracks from this album. By the time Californication was released, I think I had heard enough Red Hot Chili Peppers to last my lifetime. "Scar Tissue" and "Otherside" verge on tracks that I might like, but by the end of listening to the whole album I still feel like I have had enough of RHCP. ¿Is it the vocals that sink the album below being okay?

Used to absolutely hate red hot chilli peppers but i have mellowed in my old age. 2.75

Don’t like the bass, or the vocals, or the songs. Drummer is ok.

Hmm...crap, but not quite as crap as I recall. That's growth, boys

15 songs??? Ooof. I don’t think I have this in me today. I never even bought Blood Sugar Sex Magic, but I did see them play at Lolapalooza one year and it was fun. It’s a good time live and I don’t mind “Scar Tissue,” but… Also, I saw Anthony Kiedis eating once outside a Whole Foods. He was probably telling the person sitting across from him about how he had ideas for 472 more songs about California. Good conversation.

I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I just don't like the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Also, this album cover has 1999 Photoshop written all over it 😂

There are "good" mainstream songs on here, but nothing really interesting.

This band is comically over-rated. I don't get it at all.

Not my thing at all. I honestly do get why people love them but not for me.

dear god, do i not like them. well, i think it's anthony i don't like - flea is, of course, incredible, as is chad. but jesus, this was hard to get through.

did not enjoy this

Sehr unangenehmes Album von der Tonabmischung. Gute Songs aber sehr starkes kratzen in jedem Song.

2.5

попса пидорская, тяжести никакой Ну вот и вылезло очередное восхваляемое нетакимикаквсе говнецо. Вообще РХЧП для меня всегда были одной из тех групп, о которых я знал, но слушать не было никакого желания. Таких довольно много, даже среди супер популярных, поэтому я думал, что ничего особенного. Но все чаще мне начинает казаться, что их не слушает вообще никто. Все знают, но никто намеренно не думает «послушаю-ка я сегодня Ред Хот Чилли Пепперс, целый альбом». Этж сюр какой-то. Семён Слепаков разве что подобным может заняться. Мне не нравятся РХЧП. Причем не нравятся как раз по тем причинам, за что их привыкли любить. Мелодичный вокал и игривый речитатив Энтони Кидиса? — Раздражающий акцент, сладкий неприятный голосок и абсоютно уебанский клоунский флоу. Серьёзно, даже Бисти Бойз лучше читали. Элегантные лаконичные партии Джона Фрушанте? — Одинаковый палм-пикинг в половине песен без единого интересного мелодичного хода. Грувовые фанковые бас-партии Фли? — Да дрочево какое-то, слушать заёбывает, пусть и есть несколько знаменитых ликов. Я никогда не был о них особо высокого мнения, но ознакомившись поближе, опустил планку на самое дно. Реп-рок вообще был большой ужасной ошибкой. Да, и Рейдж Эгейнст Машин. Да, и Корн. Да, и Систем оф э Даун (самые речитативные их песни). Это же все говно бля, кринжатурное говно. И на примере этих калифорнийских крекеров мы можем видеть почему. Сука реп-ориентированные песни это просто ужас, рука сама тянется выключить. А как же мелодичные треки? Ну, они получше. Есть что-то неплохое, Otherside там, Emit remmus. Но это всё равно звучит как хуёвый попс нулевых, порождённый Колдплеем. Даже тот факт, что альбом 99 года не спасает. Если это и не подражание, значит оно также стало катализатором вот этого вот всего. Ну его нахуй, нахуй ред хот чилли пепперс, нахуй. Ещё и в Road trippin спиздили мелодию из Don't Want To Know If You Are Lonely Хускера Ду. Нахуй ред хот чилли пепперс, 4/10

Paso. Tengo el disco, eran fan en 3ro de secundaria. Creo que la de Californication y la de Road Trippin son las únicas que volvería escuchar.

Just haven’t evolved. Blood sugar sex magic is a 5*

Tried to listen whilst puppy sitting and being kept awake. But that was already stressful and then the music seemed to be stress me more and I had to seek more calming music. So not a fair assessment really. I'll give them a whirl another time....

I miss the Mother's Milk era Peppers. This album just reminds me why

Good songs ruined by poor vocals.

Two radio hits don't make up for a long list of tired sounds.

Close to a 3/5... just a few too many fillers

i didnt like rhcp before going into this and with this i can confirm i still really do not care for them or their style at all

Decent musically but his voice has been over played to the point I can’t stand it.

You're evil.

Nonce

ew

Too bad they turned out to be rapists.

Pedophilia is bad

RHCP Plastic vacuous rubbish with hilariously laugh-out-loud lyrics that an 8 year would be ashamed of. 1/10

First, let me make something very clear. These guys are not a funk band. They wouldn't know funk if James Brown put his Good Foot up their ass. This is plastic funk for people who either haven't heard the real thing or can't handle the real thing. I hate this band.

I’ve seen them live and yeah it was fun. But the infatuation with these guys, to me, is just way over the top.

Not my jam.

yeahhh.... stand outs: could have cut the album down by at least 15 songs imo didn't even listen to half of it it's just not my cup of tea

I detest this album

If you truly know me you know just how much i can’t stand these guys and i’ve called them the most aggressively mediocre band of all time.

I've never been a fan of the Red Hot Chili Peppers but when this came up I figured at least it has my favorite song by them, "Can't Stop", on it. And then I realized I had my albums wrong and I got more frustrated by Kiedis's vocals. On FM Radio in the early 00's these songs were everywhere and I honestly think after about a month of hearing them I've turned them off every time. It's not outright offensive but it's also not good to me.

all my life i've been hearing how all their songs sound the same and this made me realise that that wasn't a joke but rather a prophetic warning

Can't stand this band

Pedos get 1 star.

Hate these guys

This lot found a winning formula and stuck with it and rerecorded it again and again. Like Kiss. This is not a complement. I don't know if this band allowed for their crap to be used to torture america's kidnap victims in Guantanamo Bay and other 'black sites' but it surely would have worked wonders almost immediately.

I really don't like this band, and the singles from this album are the main reason why. Around the World, Scar Tissue, Otherside, and Californication are full of grating vocals and painful turns-of-phrase. The worst part about this record is all the rapping. It's both corny and annoying. There are moments when the irritating front man isn't too distracting. I kind of liked Savior and thought Road Trippin' was a genuinely decent song. Normally, there would be enough here for me to go 2/5... but the amount of times I've had the big radio hits from this thing forced down my throat is worth a negative star.

I hate this in my soul.

so not only is anthony kiedis a pedophile, but also his atrocious lyrics and repugnant singing drag what would be an otherwise unpleasantly-brick-walled-and-forgettable album into the depths of hell making this an hour of agony. i detested every minute spent listening to him because it's astounding to me *just* how repulsive he is. there's such a sleazy dissonance in every word he utters that it is viscerally off-putting. i wish i could accurately convey the faces i was making while listening to this because wow i hated this. it does not help that he's got the lyrical penmanship of a buffoon. don't let my complain about kiedis distract you though that the whole band is a bunch of sex pests. yuck!

So before we start the review I must obligatorily state: Anthony Kiedis committed statuory rape with a 14 year old when he was 23, which he himself admitted, and is a pedophile. I'd like to do a classic "Oh but seperate art from artist" thing here because the entire band is credited with the songwriting so its not JUST like its Kiedis but after listening... God does Kiedis' sleezy sex-obsessed lyrics really wreck multiple tracks on this album. So this album kinda sucks huh? I remember it being way better in my head. Damn, this has not aged well. The title song, otherside and maybe scar tissue being the only ones that I can say I enjoy. Kiedis' singing is just so whiny here. I've never really listened through to a Red Hot Chili Peppers album and now I really get the cliches and hate. Their hits are dumb fun, but god. Listening to Porcelain was an actually physically painful experience. There's something here on a few songs but the bad songs are so fucking bad that I think it completely nullifies redeeming points.

I was never a huge fan, but like a couple of songs. Can't take them seriously anymore though since Kiedis can't seem to keep his hands off girls young enough to be his grandchildren.

Under no circumstances am I going to listen to the Red Hot Chili Peppers but I have to put in a rating to bring this outrageous average down.

Find them irritating. Didn't enjoy this album at all.

I just don't like their style

Not a fan. I have seen them live and they were phenomenal though. Weird huh?

We need to make it legal to murder members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers

Has there ever been a worse lyricist in the history of popular music than Anthony Kiedis?

Dreadful

Dreadful album, dreadful (and often creepy) lyrics, absolutely dire stuff. Flea's bass playing is wasted on this nonsense.

For the love of god…FFS. Is this slightly worse or slightly better than Petty? I can’t really judge, or moreover care as it is so so horrible to listen to. Tom.

I was pleased when this was over, dull

I hate these fuckers almost as much as I hate the Beach Boys.

I don’t think I’ll ever understand the hype

mierdification

I don't think this actually deserves only one star, but every song is just so grating and annoying.

This albums sounds like it was recorded on a potato, making it very hard to enjoy. It almost sounds worse than them playing live.. ALMOST. Regardless of the timeless classics on this record it sucks balls. Anthony Kiedis' "lyrics" and "style" is so childish; wtf was that ding dong dang ding ding dong in the first song?

What on earth is this rubbish doing here

The most boring band with the most boring album

I think Anthony Kiedis should probably be killed. Not just because he's a serial pederast, but also because of his shitty "skibbity bibbity" funky white boy proto-drake sing-rapping. You put together such a deadly musical unit and then you ruin it with this bozo junkie's prettyboy babble poetry. Around The World is basically a crime.

The singles are good, particularly Scar Tissue and Otherside, but the rest is so annoying. It sounds like a band trying to sound like they’re jamming. I confess this may be PTSD from seeing them at Earl’s Court 15 years ago which was just such an awful, self-indulgent gig.

Æ klare ikke høre hele, det gjør ondt

Horrible. Horrible. Horrible.

Fuck no.

Aled made me listen. Fucking dogshite for non music listeners.

How To Be the Red Hot Chili Peppers 1) Come up with nonsensical lyrics for 90% of your songs 2) Apply a "sing/talk the verse, sing the chorus" formula to those songs 3) ?????? 4) Somehow they profited massively off that If Anthony Keidis just sang each song normally, this could be a great album. Otherside, Californication, Easily are legitimately good songs, as much as I hate to admit it.

Dette er den verste plata jeg vet. Punktum.

Det e virkelig jævlig, og æ legg all skyld på Anthony Kiedis. Det han gjør med Around The World e utilgivelig. Først den fæle rappinga, så avslutte han med «ding ding dong dong ding ding dong» Æ mene i fullt alvor at plata ville vært bedre som en instrumental. I tillegg e produksjonen sinnsykt kjedelig og fantasiløs.

One star because you are making me rate it.

I don’t think I fully realized how grating Anthony Kiedes’s vocals are until this album, but I’ve never listened to an RHCP album all the way through until now. Kiedes is an abusive piece of shit and the creep energy radiates through this album. The lyrics are vacuous. The music is bad. Why is this band so popular?

I'm with Nick Cave on this one, RHCP are shit. I remember when this came out, and I liked it, and it's a deeply shameful period of my life that I wholly regret. Even paid actual cash to see them live on more than one occasion!

Kiedis can’t sing. Terrible album.

That's a no from me dawg.

Partially known. Uninteresting.

Anthony Kiedis should be in hell.

Shite

i could go on about the brickwalled production (which.. maybe there's an argument in favor of it as a stylistic choice) but that would mean arguing in defense of the songs underneath the mix. i do not like this band. their writing and singing annoy me. this album in particular is also really frontloaded, and just keeps going on and on and on. shit mixing makes for ear fatigue, and 56 minutes that feel like twice that. deserves to be one of the 1001? no

Three supremely talented sex pests and one hilariously untalented sex pest make the most inane, annoying and ultimately gutless bullshit going. Fuck this band and fuck this album.

Once again I sit and ponder why I am giving any of my undivided attention to a RHCP album and then I realize that the gun is being held to my head by the 1001 albums to hear before I die challenge. I am sorry to all who enjoy Red Hot Chili Peppers, but they honestly know how to make a few good songs and then mix it with 50 minutes of other bullshit I could not give two fucks about and Californication is yet another example of that bloated bullshit I was talking about. I can't even lie when I say I like Around the World, Scar Tissue, Otherside, and Californication but that is truly it. Every other track here is filled with even more of the weird Rap Rock and just downright frustrating instrumentation RHCP is unfortunately known for. I will never understand how people can stand this band because once again they are proving that they can't fill an album's runtime to save their own lives despite how talented they all are. If you couldn't already tell I don't like RHCP and I think they fucking suck. Nuff said.

Anthony Kurdish is a pedo

Oh no, I really do not like RHCP. At this album they are well past their prime and just a parody of themselves. Did he really just say "Ding dong dong dong ding ding". Oh wow there is still an hour left on this album - not sure I will be able to make it. This album is a joke right? They know this is bad and are making it as a parody of themseleves right? Ok, I will admit their slower songs like Scar Tissue aren't like a drill boring into my brain, I can see people liking this band for those songs. I feel like there was zero thought put into any of the rhyming, they just went with the first thing that came into their head - makes their songs completely unintelligible and quite idiotic. Like how is "first born unicorn, hardcore soft-porn" even lyrics to a song. It's just mind numbingly stupid. I really wonder what he is trying to say with "I Like Dirt", because the lyrics sure don't clear it up, it kinda just feels like they just gave up at this point in the album. Frankly this album is embarrassing for a band that used to be cutting edge, this was an almost 40 year old man putting out some kind of long form improv album where he obviously didn't bother with a second pass of the lyrics, I mean shoving similar words together randomly does not a song make. RHCP should be ashamed and this list should be ashamed for recommending it. This album deserves negative stars for making me listen to it.

ding dong ding dong🙏 It gets better as it goes on but lowk not my style of music but its not the worst thing ever

Not my cup of tea, tbh

It took me multiple attempts to listen to this. The anticipation of listening to a band that have almost become a parody of themselves wasn't appealing. RHCP are a band for people who don't like exotic but like to think they do, and this album wasn't a great start at having to actually willingly listen to them. The lyrics are remarkably shallow, I don't like Kiedis as a singer and it all feels a bit bland, like the sound track to a beach themed shop. No favourites. Scar tissue marginally better than the rest.

hate

All bands get to a point where they've outlived their usefulness. That's Californication for the RHCP. All the early albums led up to Mothers Milk (still the best album for me), Blood Sugar Sex Magik takes the band into the stratosphere fame/fortune wise. And then, it all kind of falls apart and by 1999 we get served this 0 Scoville unit bell pepper of an album. Nothing hits for me - Around the World starts out great and then that weak ass chorus kicks in and you know this isn't going to end well. The rest of the album is a mess too. Too much junk and too little funk.

The fact that Keidis is a millionaire is proof that you can fool a shit ton of the people all the time. "To fingerpaint is not a sin. I put my middle finger in." Dylan it ain't. So I put both middle fingers straight up. Fuck you for the shit album. Fuck you for the shit album cover (CorelDraw? Microsoft Paint?)

nah

I wish I liked it as much as my godmother does. I was quite exited to revisit this album on my own for the first time and I found out my childhood memories sound better than the actual album does

this album, to me, is nothing. this album isn't the wind whistling through the leaves, tides turning and roaring miles away carried by the earth's screaming hurtle through space; this album is backblast from like, a dishwasher. nothing it's fucking unbelievable, man. this is the third time i've listened to this album this year, in a desperate bid to recall a single trait of it or to admire any inch of it - it's just nothing. it's water off the duck's back. it traverses through my ears, leaves my empty skull - already gone

Ugh. Dreading this one. It was as bad as I anticipated. I don't get their appeal.

To be completely honest I don't like this band one bit. However I will say learning the Californication solo for the first time made me feel pretty badass, I'm not even a fan of that song but boy is that solo fun to play.

It is pretty common to whiff your album after your breakout album. That level of quality, let alone the fame that comes with it, is tough to replicate on a regular basis. The good news that One Hot Minute was that album, coming on the heels of the seminal Blood Sugar Sex Magik. That freed them up to create the outstanding Californication. It took them four years but was worth the wait. The problem for Chili Pepper fans, at that time, was this was Californication was more alternative than funk. Funk was there but in smaller amounts. If you liked the Chili Peppers for the Funk, well, you were disappointed. If you loved a great album, then you weren't. It was that simple. Californication IS a great album, from the opening track, Around the World, to Road Trippin' at the end. The big hits and highlights were Scar Tissue and the title track. Californication is has enough of the Chili Peppers DNA to appeal to most fans but it also has enough Alt-Rock to appeal to folks who may not have been into them before. Blood Sugar Sex Magik is, undoubtably their best album but Califorination is a clsoe second.

This is terrible.

I just don't like the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Whiny. Listening to the full album was hard. I liked this one less than the first one I listened to, "Blood Sugar Sex Magik".

I just don't like the funky thing the Chili Peppers do :/

Awful… One of the first bands and albums I really got into as a kid. And going back now I was hoping I’d listen and figure out why. On the few songs it works it’s down to John, Flea and Chad clearly all being exceptional musicians. But then Antony nearly always ruins it with the worst lyrics or generic vocals. To cap it all off the mixing, even on the remaster is so bad that it really only could work on a crap radio speaker or the cd headphones that came with the player.

trash

Never got into this band, and would never want to listen to this again.

I feel molested by this album

A few times in this album I thought “I could maybe like this if they had a singer”, and that’s about the best thing I can say, in total, about the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I do have a loose comment though: I wonder if Kiedis still does That Part when he performs Around The World.

Los Angeles has produced a number of important and influential bands, responsible for the most vital rock records ever made, especially: X, The Byrds, Los Lobos, The Doors, The Go-Go's, Buffalo Springfield, Minutemen, The Beach Boys, The Runaways, Van Halen, The Mothers of Invention, The Mamas and The Papas, Sparks, and Crosby, Stills & Nash, just to name a few.

It’s ok, one star deducted because the lead singer is a creep

No.

Album sucks. Band sucks.

When I saw this cover I got flashbacks to the year 2000 when the singles were on tv and on radio all the effing time, and I never want to hear them ever again. To say that I dislike this band is an understatement.

This isn't even the okayest RHCP to choose, but beyond that there is absolutely nothing about anything RHCP ever released that is worthly of being included in a list of anything to do before you die, aside from maybe '1001 artists to ignore before you die because they're not worth the recognition they get'

The music and lyrics are very pop oriented, but not much in the way of being unique.

Wow this was awful. Leads voice is at best uninteresting and at worst annoying. The songs are bland and the mix is terrible. Sounds like an underwater speaker half the time. This is the first RHCP album I’ve heard and now confused as to why they’re so famous.

Nope.

If, at the AI prompt, you typed: "soundtrack for jr high school locker room-themed bar n grill", this album would appear.

RHCP are one of the most popular bands in the whole freaking world but what does that actually mean.

Jedinica iz principa. // Bila bi četvorka jer ovo nije jedan od njihovih najboljih albuma i ima baš baš dosta fillera.

Es malo de cojones

Around the world made me laugh. Californication is catchy but gets old after a while. Very repetitive. Felt like almost every song had the same beat/groove. The random speak singing rapping was weird. not my cup of tea.

Oh hell no. 1/5, 1/10

This album has aged remarkably poorly, which is saying something considering there are probably only a handful of singles from the album that were worthwhile in the first place. This album is greatly let down by the lyrics and vocals, and even the big hits are tired from years of radio play. There's nothing here to draw me back to this album. I expected something much better. The album art is nice, though. Favorite track: "Otherside" (but I would rather listen to the track of the same name by Lena Raine)

Funky boys get moody but still frat house cruise control. No thanks.

As an instrumental album this would be four stars.

Crap

Fuck rating albums. Just let me listen.

Refused to listen. Just not my shit.

IM NOT EXCITED FOR THIS Oh my god this is so ass Dog shit mixing Parallel universe is alright His voice being so fucking far up in the mix with no reverb or anythinh is pissing me off Had to listen to get on top in like 64kbps idk if thats the actual resolution or if that was my connection Californication is okay if you dont listen at all while its on Emit Remus pissed me off so bad im going to go listen to some good music we'll see if i finish it

puerile tosh, with an exhausting, compressed sound

1.5

1.5

i do not like RHCP

Zero stars. I hate it so very much.

För tankarna till hobbyband på lokal stadsfestival. Lättuggat utan motstånd. Enformigt, blir snabbt tjatigt. Fjantig sång. "Rappen" i Get on Top är direkt pinsam. Det som gör det hela så svårt att ta till sig är att det verkar vara på fullt allvar. För tankarna till bandet i Boogie Nights. Jag skruvar olustigt på mig när jag läser texterna samtidigt som jag lyssnar. Är engelska textförfattarens modersmål? Ordförrådet verkar vara på en 10-årings nivå. Min första tanke var att ge albumet en tvåa i betyg, men ju mer jag lyssnar desto sämre blir det. Aldrig förr har funk och disco låtit så torrt, trist och stelt.

God I fucking hate Anthony Kiedis. This album suffers from so many problems - incredibly brick-walled mastering that makes it sound like it's playing out of a cereal box toy, weirdly sexed-up lyrics, a frontman whose voice and general personality/actions are offputting and disgusting in every way, and generally just being uninteresting. The verses of the title track and the closer are the only parts I can really say I enjoyed. Flea and Frusciante deserved better - they should've dumped Kiedis into a sewage canal and shacked up with The Mars Volta full-time instead. Did I mention I hate Anthony Kiedis?

I’ve never understood this lot. They sound actively bad, especially the vocals which range from bored one note droning to something from a comedy sketch about a white rapper. You expect the turntables to start up any second. At one point in this album (not even that far in) he dispenses of even that effort and literally starts going “nying nyong nying nyong nyang” in the middle. Despite the impressive Flea and John Frusciante both being in this band for some reason, all of that plays out over a canvas of fifteen (FIFTEEN!) torturously long tracks of pure butt rock crud. Maybe the world once needed funk metal but by the turn of the century this was truly ghastly stuff. The only positive I can think of is that at least it isn’t the even more heinous follow up album By The Way. :: shudder ::

I am surprised by how thin the songwriting is. Like they thought of 1 idea quickly and just recorded it. The lyrics are banal. The guitar work is feeble considering the hype and the vocals are barely in key. I am mystified by this albums inclusion in the list.

Weak and predictable.

no

Struggled to get through it. Never have understood them

Worst band beside guns n' roses

I've unwillingly heard about half the songs on this album. I'm not going to purposely listen to the rest of it. I know what's going to happen: a great bass player, some other decent musicians and a horrifically annoying singer are going to make the dumbest decisions imaginable and somehow conclude that this should be recorded and released to the public

I was very generous to Play by Moby yesterday and what did I get for such softness, but another unavoidable mega-seller from 1999?! Like Play, I don't have to listen to it, as the songs entered my bloodstream by osmosis during that summer. Why this overlong stream of thumbed bass and puerile rapping didn't coagulate into a thrombosis in my brain, I don't know. Life's cruel like that. To make it less cruel this time around, I only listened to the song Porcelain back to back with the song of the same name from Play. Moby's bad Porcelain was better than the Chili Peppers bad Porcelain: somewhat hooky, a little propulsive, something approaching intelligible. If I was generous to Play, I can't do the same to Californication. The former tugged on a nostalgia, the latter pushes on a gag reflex. Bad music by three good musicians and a person who should have been under house arrest since 1991. 1.5 To be fair to these godfathers of sex pest funk-rock the formula by which they piece together these tracks is their own. Still there is nothing here that improves on Give it Away or Under the Bridge, in fact it’s all considerably worse and those two songs weren’t that good to begin with. I know people who love this album but I do not sympathise and today was the last time I will ever try. Californication is awful in every way. 1/5

Unlistenable — hated this all of this.

kind of astonishing that you can have the most interesting guitarist of the 90s alternative rock scene, an incredible bass player, and a guy who looks like will ferrell and still be the worst band in music history. everything kiedis touches turns to trash.

Every morning Anthony Kiedis gets on his knees and thanks Christ in Heaven that these talented musicians ever let him make that awful noise over their music. Back in the day he must have had the vanor the bag. There are some 2 or even 3 star RHCP albums but this isn't one of them.

Ruck RHCP

I cannot with this band. I really did try to listen to it but I abhor RHCP and just couldn't do it.

Physically impossible for me to smash the one-star button any faster

Not for me

Was going to give this credit because I like “Scar Tissue” and “Otherside” but the new lows that it reaches on the back half are literally like a -2.

I’ve never really liked RHCP and I still don’t. I’ve tried to get into them before, largely because one of my friends is a fan, but ultimately I don’t enjoy the sound of his voice nor the structure, cadence, rhythmic patterns, whatever you want to call it, of the songs. And there’s only so many times you can hear the word California! Scar Tissue is good though, and I didn’t mind Purple Stain or Right on Time either. (1.5 stars)

Had to skip the first track half way, not a good sign. Parallel Universe was alright actually, similarly the others didn't already know were all more enjoyable. The famous ones just have seeped into my skin too much over the years of exposure

If the album was only the singles it would still be a 2/10.

Nick Cave: “I’m forever near a stereo saying, ‘What the fuck is this garbage?’ And the answer is always the Red Hot Chili Peppers.’” Besides the fact that the Chili Peppers are overrated, I try to not contribute to anything that benefits abusive men like Anthony Kiedis, Flea, or Chad Smith.

I knew that at some point a RHCP album would appear on the list, but didn't expected to be this soon. I don't like RHCP. But regardless, I try to listen to this album with open ears. Maybe this would change my opinion. Maybe. It didn't. There were some moments where I was enjoying what I was hearing, but never a full song. Their style is overpowering and it seeps through every track. And I'm talking only about the music. Because at no point I enjoyed Kiedis' voice. Not when he does that shouting rap, not when he does the quiet singing, not when he goes from highs to lows, and certainly not when he does the ding ding dings and dangs rang dangs. The production was a mess, too muffled and weird. I thought there was an issue with my headphones, but no, it's supposed to sound like that. A complete mess and the confirmation that RHCP is just not for me.

I hate that I even typed in that dumb title to listen to this album. It took 30 seconds for this to turn to shit. In order not to recognize the talents of a band that doesn't deserve it, I'm referring to them as Jalapeno Peppers That Were Neutered by a Tech Bro so They Have No Heat. This album starts with a cool bass line, because Flea on his own is rather talented, but once the singer takes over, it's all JPTWNbaTBsTHNH as usual. The first song isn't over and I'm getting Sepultura ready to clear my head afterwards. What the FUCK is with that fake-Chinese?-mimicry? You know what? I'll go ahead and say all the instrumentation is fine. Anthony Kiedis fucking sucks. Completely destroys anything credible. I take that back. The rest of the band are enablers. They all fucking suck. "How long how lonnnnnnnonnnnnnnnnng" will I have to listen to this fucking album. You can tell Kiedis is a sex pest because he writes nonsensical lyrics he as a thirtysomething at the time would think teenaged girls would like. Sure enough I googled and found an article from the mid-2010s (AFTER this album was made) where he was dating a 19-year old.

Wow... This stinks. It's almost completely lacking the ONLY thing these guys ever (even remotely) did well, sophomoric punk influenced funk. The few times it shows up, it's a neutered version of its former self. This is a record FULL of the pretentious songs I hated most on their previous albums. Musically this is a guy in clown make-up screaming to be taken seriously. Fuck this trash.

I genuinely have a hard time thinking of a more uninteresting and boring band than RHCP. Everything about them is bland and blah. I cannot fathom how anyone could put this on and unironically enjoy it.

Dull dull dull - like a gummy dog trying to slurp apple sauce! They were better on the drugs to be fair

Fuck these guys.

Scar Tissue is a decent enough track but the rest is a load of old cobblers! I like a lot of their stuff but Anthony and Flea have let us and them selves down with this piss poor effort!

Having loved the funk jams of BSSM, this album is so very boring. I can't believe I endured the whole thing.

+: Around the World, Parallel Universe +-: Get on Top, Californication, Porcelain, Emmit Remmus, This Velvet Glove, Purple Stain, Right on Time, Road Trippin' -: Scar Tissue, Otherside, Easily, I Like Dirt 4,0/10

Honestly... this was really difficult to get through. Like, I didn't even actually finish it cause I just could not handle it after 40 minutes. Anthony Kiedis' vocal flows just grate on me, and some of the songs just go on for 2 or 3 minutes longer than they need to - even something like title track Californication, which is alright, could be almost half the length. The rhythm section is admittedly keeping things alive and is clearly full of talent, but there's something about this that just really gets under my skin a bit. To be honest, I almost lost it at track one when he goes ding ding, dong dong. I think the popular tracks besides Californication are decent (Otherside & Scar Tissue, basically) but it makes so much sense to me that I seemingly never hear anyone talk about any of their non-hit songs - they're pants. The singles are like a 5/10, but the album as a whole? 2/10. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood.

Refused to listen to it because Anthony Kiedis is a self confessed pedophile.

no

Ugh.

Not my style

Vahva ykskauttaviis, ehkä kaikkien aikojen inhokkilevyni. (Toki jos Kiedis pitäisi suunsa kiinni niin Parallel Universe olis ihan kuunneltava biisi.)

Day 30 - July 1 Catchy? Yes. Do I still hate RHCP? Yes. 1/5

Annoying, irritating, an assault on the ear's. Probably the best things I can say about this. like U2 RHCP is way overhyped and because the audio is compressed to buggery this is tiring to listen to.

One of the worst bands to ever exist.

This whole album is meh. I like Scar Tissue but everything else just doesn't even register including the other hits (Californication, Around the World and Otherside). It's like if AI wrote a Red Hot Chili Peppers album. Plus, it's a double album which is hard to pull off. You better have everything pulled together because that is a lot of songs to have to get right.

See Queen. One of my most deeply held convictions is that RHCP are the most overrated band of all time, and luckily, I'm right again. Why dose the dreadful man shout over everything. Some of the songs (e.g. Around The World) might be in the running for the most obnoxious noise on the planet). Strangely, when he sings, like on Scar Tissue and Porcelain, you then notice that the rest of the band are pretty good (and yes, in Flea's case incredible). They should tell him that and maybe he'll stop ruining everything.

Did not listen as I have heard this album far, far too many times. As a grown-ass woman, I have finally decided that the RHCP are not for me. They are one of those bands that everyone around me loves, so I grooved along. I think I may have even rated them highly earlier in my 1001 Albums journey simply because I thought I was supposed to, I guess. No more. I'm done. Trite, simple, gimicky, and dull.

Awful album and awful band. I have nothing to say about this!!

It's as bad as Blood, Sugar, Sex Magic and for the same reasons so I'll just copy and paste the same review. Chad Smith is amazing. Flea is great. They get two stars. Frusciante is technically accomplished. But he's one of the legion of guitar players who utterly lack musicality. He sounds lost most of the time; like his brain - fingers and not his ears - heart are driving his contributions. Kiedis sounds developmentally disabled; regardless of whether he's singing, shouting, or doing that cringe-inducing rap thing. Lyrically, he's like a 13 year old trying to convince someone he's a man. And together it's so disjointed - just a total mess to these ears.

I don’t understand how anyone could enjoy this.

This was a struggle - Emit Remmus may be the worst song I've heard as part of the project

Admittedly I did come into this album with a bias of hating Red Hot Chili Peppers, but this album did nothing to change my mind. I don't hate everything about Red Hot Chili Peppers! I think the music is fun and interesting at times. I like Flea as a bassist a lot. But I don't like Anthony Kiedis's voice, and I think the lyrics are stupid to the point of distraction on every single song. I will probably regret rating this album as low as I am, because I didn't HATE it, but at the end of the album runtime my patience was almost gone.

Awful band, awful album

instrumentals are sick? i hate his voice lol. finding it hard to finish any of these songs RHCP is such a meme lol lyrics contain the male gaze(tm) so it's really only tolerable at <10% volume

Solid album shame they're all sexual assaulters and nonces

We heard it everywhere when the record came out, but the purpose of this site is to listen carefully to each record. And this one is worse now than it was then. Actually is a two songs record : Around the World-like and Californication-like. I really like some records of RHCP but this one has not got the mojo and inspiration. Poor melodies, no intention in singing, incoherent grooves. One Hot Minute and By the way are way better. The song "Right On Time" is a good example of the worst thing that this band can produce... and they will produce more of it after this record. Sadly.

First and last time listening to this album.

This would be a 5 star album if it wasn’t for Anthony Kedis being in the band.

i hate this album sorry. wont listen haha

Ew, no.

These guys suck

suckx my cock

An album I enjoyed as a teenager but one that hasn’t aged well. Not sure if it’s because songs like Scar Tissue and Californication have been played to death on every rock station across the country or if it’s the lyrics or Anthony Keidis’ voice or what but I just can’t stomach it anymore

When I was 14 and this came out I loved scar tissue the first few times I heard it and got the album. I was disappointed in how bad the rest of it was, but that was common with 90s radio bands' albums: full of filler. Then I heard scar tissue 500 times a week on the radio and stopped liking that one song too. Then Californication was played out even more and I can't even here a note of this band without instinctively reaching for the car radio knob. So, it's been a long time since I revisited this album but good to know that my 14 year old self was correct: there's one good song on here ruined by overplay and the rest is boring dreck. Embarrassing little raps, self-parody level slap bass, the most vapid lyrics imaginable, and annoying whiney vocals. Some pretty guitar bits and solid drumming apart there is basically nothing here. BSSM was goofy and fun, this is somehow goofy and self serious. How is this band so big? America's Coldplay.

Awful

If I could give negative stars, I would. Garbage album by a garbage band. Get this shit the fuck outta here.

1.0 Look, there’s some good guitar, bass and drumming on this album, but Anthony Keidis brings everything down to 1. He sucks such ass. Just creepy, hair sniffing, shitty singer. Hate him.

Hmm, the album is nearly an hour long and the maybe 12 minutes that Scar Tissue, Other side, and the title track doesn't make up for the other 40+ minutes of flippity dippity sexual, California funky jams. Not a fan.

Where do I begin? Californication? As the an influential RHCP album? Influential for shitty pop rock? What exactly did this album influence? It's terrible. The only thing it influenced was marketing companies making shitty commercials who needed a song about California. I hate RHCP but they definitely have influential albums. The early the late 90s had all kinds of shitty bands attempting to copy RHCPs shitty attempt at copying George Clinton long before this garbage pop album.

Extra star for the good playing from the rhythm section. Kiedis’s voice is insufferable and Frusciante is a good guitarist but the riffs overall are so meh

With the recent (to me) revelations that Anthony Kiedis is an admitted pedofile, it has changed my opinion on every bit of the RHCP catalog. I would have given this 4 ⭐️ previously but now tainted by Kiedis’s proclivities it’s a 1 for me 🤢

Meh.

Nononononono 3/10 (1 stern weil ich glaube sonst kein album daran kommt)

pass

Boring

This music is so boring and predictable. I hate what this band has become. And yet, one of the tracks has over a billion listens on Spotify, so what do I know?

The music video for the title track made me give this 1 star.

“Ding ding dong dong ding ding dong dong ding” - Anthony Kiedis Ik heb dit album nog nooit in z’n geheel geluisterd, en ging hier met enthousiasme in. Wat kom ik hier bedrogen uit. De teksten zijn absolute nonsens, perfect voorbeeld van ‘ik ben 14 en dit is diep’. Soms zelfs compleet onverstaanbaar door Anthony’s debiele manier van zingen. Ik heb geen RHCP nostalgie, dus het zal mij waarschijnlijk minder doen dan wat oudere luisteraars. De singles zijn nog wel catchy (al heb je ze al 1000 keer gehoord), maar hoe verder je in het album komt hoe sneller je wil dat het afgelopen is. Ik lees dat het geproduceerd is door de legendarische Rick Rubin, waarom heeft hij de wereld niet behoed voor deze Karbonkel verschijning in albumvorm? Deze verzameling kattengejank heeft in 1 ochtend mijn houding van onverschilligheid tegenover de band naar dit-nooit-meer gebracht. Ieder volgend nummer richting het eind brengt mij dichter bij een 0/5, maar door deze site moet ik het alsnog een 1 geven. Onverdiend.

No

I don’t like the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Sorry :/

Why are you doing this to me on a Monday? Isn't Monday bad enough already without Chili Peppers. I'd watched a doc about Woodstock II on Sunday too, so my already negative feelings about RHCP are at an all time low. The bass is ok on 'Scar Tissue', most of the rest of the time, Flea plays too much. Kiedis should not be allowed anywhere near a microphone. Sample lyric: "Ding ding, deng dong, deng ding."

No.

don't make me do it

Dislike. Found a formula and rinse and repeat

Pliis ei enää näitä. Olin alun hittien jälkeen, että jees ihan nostalgista, vois antaa nyt 2/5. Mutta siis ei helvetti mikä b-puoli. En vaan pysty ymmärtämään, kamalaa musiikkia. Tuli jo toisaalla esille, mutta ysärin Maroon 5.

Nah... But because I told myself I was gonna commit to this whole 1001 albums things, fine. I'll listen and have my spotify algorithm all fucked. Damnit... Anywho...yep, still terrible. Gets the one star for Otherside, which I would not turn off when it came on MTV back in the day and it still kiiiiinda jams. I mean Flea IS a great bassist and that's a fun bassline. But everything else about this album? Naaaahhh...

I hate this band, sorry. Not listening to it.

The first time I heard these guys was 1991. I bought the Blood Sugar Sex Magik album and all I can say is that, at the time, I was looking for music that didn't sound like anything else. And, like, the song Give It Away just seemed like - wait, is this guy having sex with some girl's entire family? Like what is this about? It seemed like something my parents would hate. But now, looking back on most of the songs by this band, nothing seems all that good. Scar Tissue is maybe the song that sticks on this one. But in the first track, he rhymes 'entertain ya' with 'Pennsylvania' and then the sweat stains on the rhymes in Californication are real rough. And then comes Purple Stain and I'm like, man, fuck you.

Dave Rubin my balls, funk weezer

Annoying.

I'm really disappointed that this is on the list. This is Chili Peppers album that made walk away from them. This album has no soul. Not that the band is particularly deep, it just feels like generic, SoCal rock and it makes me sad.

Awful... just awful. It was so hard to pick a favorite on this one... Most of the songs have been in constant radio rotation since 1999, but I tried listening to the rest with an open mind. I ended up just picking the shortest song as my favorite. I really didn't like this album.

Not a fan! Not even worth listening to! The Red Hot Chili Peppers suck!

Never liked it

Not a fan

Not a fan.

Time slows down listening to this

Some great songs here "Classic Rock" standards. Scar Tissue, Otherside, and Californication. The middle to end sounds the same with the exception of the last song Road Trippin'.

Chequemos este buen albúm a ver que tal causa