Californication

Averageication.

Overall pretty good, I tended to like the more chill/emotional songs more which checks out because i’m not a huge rock girl. Fun to listen to while i’m in California!

banger after banger. bons solos, boa melódica, excelentes letras

Some really good songs. Some really bad ones. Kiedis oscillates between being a decent singer and a clown. The musicianship is superb

Chili Peppers go stadium Rock. Hard not to like it, cause the songs, at least on the first half of the album, are very nice. Fav: Scar tissue

nicht meine art von musik...... ist mir zu stressig/hektisch

3-4 richtige Banger, ansonsten aber auch einiges nichts besonderes.

Ich finds gut, n paar zeitlose Klassiker dabei. Otherside, Californication, Scar Tissue auf der A-Seite ist schon wild. Road Trippin' ist auch echt schön und war auf unserer USA Playlist dabei. Die rappigeren Songs sind nicht so meins, aber trotzdem gute 4-Sterne

Latin lækker, men ikke min stil. Vil lidt for meget. Får 3 stjerner for lækkerhed.

Fair amount of mid but has some insanely high highs.

7/10 cool álbum lived californication and purple stain but had to turn off fat dance

The novelty of their sound wore off very quickly. The songs aren’t bad but something about their sound grates.

oh i more than get the hype for this album now

I found myself bopping with the music in a very satisfactory way. This would have been a 5/5 it were instrumental. The lyrics and the lead singer’s attempts to rap subtract a point.

12/26/25. Nostalgia makes this a 9/10.

Porządny rock. Single z tej płyty są legandarne i zna je chyba każdy. Niektóre mniej znane kawałki to też istne samograje. Niestety sama płyta jest trochę przerośnięta i ugina się pod swoim ciężarem. Kilka utworów mniej i byłaby perfekcja. 8/10

4.5 stars. Some of the best alt-rock out there. Catchy, easy to listen to, nice funk twist though it still has a bit of an edge to make it actual rock and not just pop. Frusciante and Flea do a lot of the heavy lifting but it's great all around. Filled with hits. Latter part of the album tails off a bit beginning with "Emit Remmus" (with the exception of fantastic closer "Road Trippin'".

I need to listen to this again because I played it as background music so I don’t remember individual tracks but it made a positive impression. My scale for background music is 2 for no impression at all, 1 for irritating, 3 for vaguely pleasant impression and 5 if it’s so good I have to stop what I’m doing and give it full attention

The mix on this is so unbelievably ass. This was never meant to be listened to outside of shitty radio stations and supermarkets.

Not successful.

Certaines musiques sont entraînantes

probably their best in the entire catalog

ok

Loved the album lots of familiar songs

White boys who live and die by the sword of funk. On top of that, this gets huge radio play among the Gen-X "back in my day, not in my backyard" crowd. This is Rage Against the Machine, if the machine was taking a bath. The music would kill at a monster truck rally and the poetry would slam hard at a meeting of people with IQ scores from 84-97. I'm sorry to the fans of this music (and monster truck rallies). You know, if the frontman wasn't Anthony Kiedis, I would probably get more out of (some) of this. Put anybody else in his spot. Anybody. Tiny Tim. Gilbert Gottfried. Me. Somebody who isn't that weird, greasy, pseudo-intellectual creepy uncle you have to endure once a decade at family reunions. His vocals are abhorrent, his attitude is an insurmountable obstacle to enjoyment, and his lyrics are completely asinine. I still don't really care for the music, but he is the absolute worst part of this. Remove him, and we can have a conversation. Maybe prop up a box with a stick and put a picture of a 17 year old girl in there. For now, this stinks worse than a gathering of the Juggalos mosh pit. 1 HIGHLIGHTS: People really liked putting highlights in their hair back then. Bleach inhalation might explain a lot of this.

I wish I enjoyed the RHCP, but I’ve never really been able to get into them. Yes, Flea is an incredible bassist and some of their songs are good, but overall they just don’t do enough to move the needle for me. This album is okay, but that’s it, I’ll be generous and round up to 2 stars.

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.

Escuchado

Meh

Banger.

10/10

I generally find the RHCP to be one of the most overrated bands on the planet. They’re the Billy Joel of modern rock, which I guess is a compliment because of their pop appeal. This album I think shows off their true colors. Sure there are pop rock songs with good bass lines and catchy choruses but half the album is mostly fine not great with a couple of clunkers thrown in. When this album dropped my young ears listened to it a lot, but it’s not aged well. Frankly it’s just ok.

Not my favorite of their albums but definitely one of their more focused albums. Having John back was great for the guitar sound.

I liked this album wayyyyyy more than the first one of theirs. It’s more alternative which is my styleeee.

This album is always going to tied to a very important memory so it's got to be a 5.

It’s a decent album with some bangers but after a while I do get a little bored

Beste Lieder: Scar tissue, This Velvet Glove Lieder Playlist:0

It’s not my favorite chili peppers album but has some great songs. Loved this album in high school.

Absolute fkn classic. When I hear this it feels like the entire 90s have been vacuum-sealed and stored safely in my diaphragm. The twangy, sun-bleached guitar makes me feel like an emo kid who lives on the warm humid coast and is torn between wanting to sulk about it and wanting to learn how to longboard. Anthony Kiedis’ voice… is it good? Unclear. Possibly not. Maybe we’ve all just agreed, collectively and silently, to love it anyway. His voice is iconic, and RHCP wouldn’t work without that nasally singing.

There's just something about this era that is so well defined by this album. There's a frenetic energy and a mild melancholy that elevates this album and somehow makes it timeless. Still slaps

scar tissue otherside californication 1999 rock united states

I feel all my friends had a copy of this in their car for a while in the early 2000s. Great album, loads of energy, funky slap-bass and edgy lyrics. Second half of the album tails off a little.

Hate the way this one starts with Kiedis’ god-awful rapping. But then it gets good. Some great melodies mixed with Flea’s funky energetic bass. Couple of beautiful chill numbers too. Just grooves and rocks and then you get doses of the Chili’s signature funky rock, punk, etc. A little of everything yet the album still feels like a coherent work of art. There a few spots that annoy me… mostly again when Kiedis raps. But overall, even though I’m not personally the biggest Chile Pepper fan, this is great album and I did enjoy giving it a full listen (not sure if ever heard the whole thing front to back in one sitting before).

It’s interesting how our tastes evolve over time. I remember loving this music when I was in my early teens. I absolutely recognize that the hits on this record are great. Scar Tissue, Otherside, Californication to some degree. But Anthony Kiedis’ silly little raps just sound hilarious and dumb to me now. The rest of the band is killing it, mostly not my thing musically but of course Flea + Frusciante are a killer duo and Chad Smith holds it down really well. Songs like Get On Top just kind of make me laugh and not in a good way. The Red Peppers are not for me anymore sadly.

Não sou fã ardoroso dos Chili Peppers e conheço bem pouco da música deles. Este disco, no entanto, me soa como uma coletânea, uma coleção de hits. Gosto bastante da sonoridade límpida que ele traz. Um ótimo disco!

good

I FORGOT ABOUT THIS SONG OMGGG

Smooth, sunny, cali

One of my favs

yes!

The albums strong suits were definitely in its instrumentation

As long as you like what the Chilli Peppers always sound like (this), then you'll like this, which is what the always sound like.

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?)

listened to a couple of songs on here before that i liked. whole album was very good! definitely liked some songs more than others (easily, emit remmus and road trippin’) but was an overall good vibe.

Iconic, man. One of the most popular alternative rock albums there is. The album cover is immediately recognisable and easily one of the most iconic of that era. Probably one of the best albums RHCP ever created. I already knew Around the World, Scar Tissue, Otherside, and Californication, which are massive hits. I’m much more familiar with the A side of the album, but I enjoyed the B side as well, just not as much since it has fewer hits and felt less recognisable. I enjoy their sound, it’s very uniquely goofy and particular, which makes them stand out as an alternative rock band. Parallel Universe, Scar Tissue, Otherside is an incredible 1-2-3 combo. Longevity in rock music is very rare especially with modern rock bands compared to bands in RHCP’s prime, and this album has without a doubt withstood the test of time musically. This album feels like a turning point for them, as it’s much more melodic and reflective compared to their earlier, more chaotic funk rock era. The energy is still there, but it’s channelled into mood, atmosphere, and songwriting rather than wildness. The production is very spacious and lets Flea’s bass lines breathe and really stand out which is the core of their songs. Frusciante’s guitar stays simple and melodic, and Chad Smith’s drumming remains tight perfectly matching Flea’s energy. John Frusciante’s return on this album was huge for the band, his minimal, soulful guitar work completely reshaped their sound. The album cover is iconic. The pool and sky interchanging imagery perfectly match the glossy, and hollow vibe of the music. My favourite tracks are Around the World, Parallel Universe, Scar Tissue, Otherside, Get on Top, Californication, Easily, Porcelain, I Like Dirt, The Velvet Glove, Purple Strain, Right on Time, Road Trippin', Fat Dance, Over Funk

Projektin aloittavaksi albumiksi valikoitui Californication Red Hot Chili Peppersiltä. Bändi oli entuudestaan tuttu ja mieluinen, mutta olen enimmäkseen kuunnellut heiltä vain isoimpia hittejä, joita toki tältä levyltä löytyy paljon. Ainoa ennen tätä kuuntelemani bändin albumi on Blood Sugar Sex Magik, joka on myös hyvä, mutta Californication on kokonaisuutena vahvempi ja kypsempi, eikä sitä myöskään vaivaa paha ylipituus. Californication sisältää paljon hienoja kappaleita, vaikka taso laskee loppupuolella. Myöskin levyn äänimaailma on harmillisen tukkoinen, mutta silti pidin tästä paljon.

fav songs: around the world, scar tissue, get on top, californication, this velvet glove good

6.5/10

As one of the most controversial band for me, I'll go thesis by thesis here 1) Flea looks to me like a cool guy, I respect his musicianship even ff it's not my cup of tea. (Applies to this album too) 2) Chad Smith and John Fruscante look to me like a cool guys with good musicianship, even if not all what they do is my cup a tea (Applies to this album too) 3) Don't like personality, frontmanship and voice of Anthony Kidies at all (Applies to this album very much) 4) Californication and Scar Tissue were so overplayed in my youth, that I can't listen to them at all without being annoyed to the edge 5) Around The World was overplay too, but it's fun though, even if the main riff is a rip-off from "Breadfan" by Budgie 6) Savious is a nice song 7) I rarely defend heroin addicts, but Hillel Slovak is the man. It's a shame that his influences are not prominent in the band's more mainstream output 8) If I want to put RHCP for myself, it's usualy The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Freaky Styley or The Uplift Mofo Party plan. Not my quite my music, but musicianship is great and energy is infectious. I don't get why they are hated by a lot of their fans and not included in this list, because there's so much more personality and style to them. Even if I'm not a big fan of funk or the band, each one of them would get 4 or 5 from me, 9) Playing live shows wearing socks only is funny and cool thing to do in my book (it's my sence of humor, and you don't have to agree with me) (Not that it would mattered, but anyway...) 10) Since John returned in 1998 the formula is pretty much the same, each album has 15% of good songs, 15% of band songs, and 70% of songs that I could live without, but don't mind them existing. 11) I still don't get why they are as big as they are After giving Californication another relisten, I'll guess I'll go with 3, as it seems that it's only rating for them from me that would made sence

This was a very influential album from when I was young. I absolutely loved RHCP after listening to this and Blood Sugar Sex Magic.

ambrosia salad

nah

A classic from my younger days. Shocking how parts of this have not aged well, but just as shocking how good so much of it sounds going from middle school to middle age.

The first seven tracks maybe one of the best runs of consecutive songs on any album. Too many iconic songs moments to mention. However the second half of the album is largely forgettable.

While I loathe the “ding dong” bit in around the world, I can’t deny that there are many great song’s on this album.

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

Know his record too well!

This album is the best and worst of RHCP. It's where they decided to mostly focus on the type of song that they knew everyone really liked, and did a bunch of them-Scar Tissue, Otherside, Californication, This Velvet Glove, Savior-along with tossing in some more of the stuff that their "real" fans wanted just to possibly keep them interested. The problem for me is that all of it ends up sounding the same. The songs I really like (the ones I'm supposed to like) have this very clear style. It's great for what it is, but they never really waver, other than adding a bit more funky stuff in to a few of them. Ultimately it's what makes this a tolerable album but not really a great one. They really do the thing they do well, but it's all pretty much the same song over and over again. Kinda like how I'm repeating myself over and over again describing it.

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

Better than Blood Sugar Sex Magik

One of RHCP's best albums, it marked a banging return for Frusciante and delivered numerous hits, making history.

Could do with being a bit shorter but not as bad as I expecting. This was the start of the sort of cliché sound they are known but in context is fairly good in parts. 3.5*

Easily their best start to finish in my eyes.

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.

This is one of my foundational albums that made me the music lover I am today! I can't tell you how many times I e listened to this record and how much my friends and I did everything did to this album! Every so gnis a banger and it's no wonder this is their greatest album, but this was also the transition to the more pop friendly wide which some don't like as much, but the chili peppers will always be one of my favs and the is the album that I go to to show people a great album

Yawn. I loathe the Chili Peppers, but they're talented musicians.

I think these guys are from California.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers are very much a band that have risen, then fallen, then risen even further, then fallen just as far, before ultimately rising up again, and the best example of this rise/fall/rise pattern is their trajectory throughout the 1990s. They opened the decade with what many consider their magnum opus, 'Blood Sugar Sex Magik', before they lost guitarist John Frusciante to a debilitating heroin addiction (and Kiedis relapsed, but he stuck around) and brought in Dave Navarro from Jane's Addiction for the commercially and critically disappointing 'One Hot Minute' (criminally underrated record btw) before pulling Frusciante back from the brink to record this very album, 'Californication'. And they wasted no time in announcing their return. 'Around the World' rocks harder than anything the Chili Peppers had done previously, complete with a furious bass line from Michael 'Flea' Balzary competing with Frusciante's own guitar wizardry and held together by Chad Smith's outstanding versatility on the drums. Anthony Kiedis; well, he does his thing, rapping and singing around whatever's thrown his way. As an opening track, 'Around the World' is a clear standout. But there's plenty else to love here: the solemn, reflective one-two punch of 'Scar Tissue' and 'Otherside', the intense 'Get On Top', the journeyed title track where the meme of Kiedis mentioning California at every opportunity was born, the infectious groove of 'Easily', the furious, punky 'Right On Time' and the perfect road trip track 'Road Trippin''. 'Californication' is everything the Chilis had done well in the past and a great indication of where they were heading sonically. To be quite honest, I think Kiedis is a pretty average singer and front man, but that band behind him in Frusciante, Flea and Smith is one of the most gifted groups of musicians in popular music, and Kiedis admittedly has plenty enough charisma to sell the smoothness of the Chilis sound, and he's a good lyricist too. 'Californication's' lyrics range from celebrations of their home state, to travel, suicidal ideation, love and perceptions on life, and Kiedis has always had a gift for making seemingly dumb lyrics actually fit together rather well and evoke plenty of meaning. But here's the million dollar question, which album is better out of 'Californication' and 'Blood Sugar Sex Magik'? They're clearly the two best Chili Peppers records ('Stadium Arcadium' would be in the same conversation too had it been one album) but are brilliant in different ways. BSSM is more straight-out funk jams with the odd ballad here and there, but 'Californication' is tighter, heavier and more diverse. I flip-flop between which of these records is the definitive Chili Peppers record all the time, and while BSSM is no doubt their most complete all-out funk rock record, I actually think 'Californication' is more nuanced and more interesting and daring musically, so I'm going to say 'Californication' is it for me. It's also the album that got me, and so many people my age, into the Red Hot Chili Peppers, so it's very special for nostalgic reasons. It also incorporates the darkness of 'One Hot Minute' and mixes it with BSSM's party-hard funk to create something even more refinied, so I stress the underratedness of 'One Hot Minute'. "I know, I know for sure....fing dang ding dong ding dang ding dong ding dayyyyng" Best songs: Around the World, Scar Tissue, Otherside, Get on Top, Californication, Easily, I Like Dirt, Purple Stain, Right On Time, Road Trippin'

Banger

I don't even need to say anything here. The music speaks for itself.

We have arrived at the first album I've already heard in it's entirety many times. Wow. I absolutely love this album. I own it on vinyl. The Red Hot Chili Peppers are one of my favorite bands and this is one of my favorite albums. It all started a year and a half ago when my mom randomly said, "Hey, do you want to go to a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert." I had never gone to a concert before, but I had heard a few of their songs, so I said yes. It was the Unlimited Love tour. I looked at the common setlists and saw it was mostly songs from their main albums including Californication. I listened to those popular ones before the concert, then the rest in the days after. Since then, I've listened to them so much. They were just my #1 artist on my YouTube Music Recap. The songs from this album I heard live were Californication and Scar Tissue. What makes RHCP so good? It's everything. Chad Smith, Flea, John Frusciante and even Anthony Keidis are all at their best in this album. Anthony receives a lot of hate for ruining the band, but if you take any member, especially him, out of the band, it just isn't the same. His nonsensical rambling, his weird lyrics, I wouldn't change any of it. Every song on this album is a 10/10. Around the World is a great start possibly the most RHCP song ever made. Some of my favorites are the fast and loud ones. Get On Top, I Like Dirt and Right On Time fit that category. They are just fun. Then of course there's the sad ones that bring us into the life of Anthony. Scar Tissue, Otherside, Savior. It's impossible not to mention the title track, Californication. This song is amazing. The lyrics of this song are some of my favorites in their whole discography. It's not necessarily my favorite song on the album, that would be too hard to choose, but it might be their best song. When I finish the list, this likely won't be chosen as my favorite album, but that's because I want to choose an album that I wouldn't have heard if it wasn't for the list. Just know that this is one of the best albums ever made.

Classic, but also has some hidden gems. I'm pretty sure these guys are from California

Has some of their best songs, sadly they are ruined by the god-awful production.

Back then it was everywhere but, as with pretty much every RHCP record, this one overstays its welcome with too many inconsequential songs

Okay so I’ve heard every reviewer on this godforsaken website gets one very long rambly review that barely connects to the album. Here’s mine. I’m nostalgic for the Peppers. In the way the child of two people who were really into them would be. Long after the glory days, right on time for ‘The Getaway’ to debut and hear my mom complain about it. I was born after the age of shitty sounding stereo and right in the age of hooking up a laptop to the TV and playing By The Way on loop without understanding a single world. I remember claiming RHCP as my favorite band because I didn’t know other bands, I remember the corpus of a long dead friendship raising and falling for a last time while analyzing “Californication” (the song ) in class, I remember phone pranking my friends whose English was worse than mine with these lyrics. So. I guess this is a long time coming. I’m not fully blinded by nostalgia. Half these songs sound awkward, half these songs sound confused and yet. I don’t really care. I think Californication (the song) towers far over everything else this album presents. All the awkward stuttering, starting and stopping of the beat and the always pressing vocal constipation evaporates to leave one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard. It might just be nostalgia but there hasn’t been a single day in my life where I would have not wanted to listen to Californication. An ivory tower in my memory and nightmare for everyone listening to me reasoning that “first born unicorn” is actually the perfect metaphor for the American dream. In a way this is probably the rock that led me down to the favorite bands that would come after. Also he literally likes Dirt guys

Why is the compression SO BAD. Some bangers for sure but it just sounds so cheap.

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

Love it. I knew I would but man it’s great

81/100.

There are no bad tracks in this album. More than an experience with really high highs, this stands out by having raised the floor. A great alt rock experience, though I gravitate to their quieter tracks. Favorite track was Otherside, or maybe Porcelain

Though the hits are filled with nostalgia and mostly still sound great (even with the mediocre mixing and mastering), the rest of the album falls quite flat. That being said there are a lot of hits on here as well that I'll want to go back to, though it won't be another full album listen

Some songs were great, most were fine.

An album I liked, then got sick of. Enjoyed this time round (even if it's a bit smug)

2 songs added to my favorites. Would listen again if asked to.

After a significant sea change in style, this is a real pleasure and a collection f songs that reminds me of the best live music experience I ever had. Reading Festival - late afternoon, following Beck in the summer and then a truly transporting musical journey that moved between the 'hits' but linked with the kind of generous jamming that didn't leave the audience behind. What beautiful individual tunes and what a collection! Gorgeous.

Probably their finest moment

One of my favorites and absolutely loaded with great songs! They were hitting on all cylinders on this one. Radio hits galore... "Around The World", "Parallel Universe", the humongous "Scar Tissue" and equally huge "Otherside" and "Californication" plus "Road Trippin'". Then you throw in really good glue songs like "Easily", "Get On Top" and "Porcelain" The guitar work is catchy, innovative and drives these songs. The rhythm section is second to none. Keidis sings with emotion and can do the bangers as well as the softer tracks. They're excellent live and deliver. The second half of the album doesn't have as much impact as the first, but in 1999 the more songs on an album helped move units so they made it 15 deep. The only real throwaway track are "Emit Remmus" which is redundant on this album, "Savior" which is boring and too long & "Purple Stain" which sounds like it's from an older album. This album is loaded with tracks you hear every day on modern rock and alternative stations. The title track has almost 2B listens! Followed closely by "Scar Tissue" and "Otherside" at over 1.3B listens. No track on the album has under 25M listens. This one stands up well, it's influential, has the hits and bridged generations. 5 stars for the firepower!

eh

i mean a classic album, so many great tracks

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.

Like all RHCP albums, I find this has a few standout songs and the rest range from pretty good to boring, averaging out as somewhat decent filler. The highs points on this one are great though.

I have this album. I always liked the hits. They're a bit aggressive at times like Get On Top and I Like Dirt, but they flip the other way with the beautiful Porcelain and Road Trippin', which is quite refreshing.

An amazing album with the likes of scar tissue and i like dirt

Not a duff track on this, solid throughout even if the lyrics are sometimes... less than? But it's just the funk rock reference for me and I've listened to this about 6 million times when I was 14 and re-listening to it now (in fact, having listened to it a few months ago) it's just so good. The ultra-compressed sound makes it a little fatiguing but it gives it such an energy.

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

Pretty alright, some nice stuff, not amazing

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.

This is hard to rate as it's one of the first albums I loved at a time in my life when I was developing my own taste in music. But damn, it hits. A nice bridge between RHCP the funk band with sweet melodic influences and RHCP the alt rock band with a funk legacy. Flea at his best with counter-melody basslines. Love it, no notes.

A very high three but not quite cracking a 4 for me.

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.

Great rhythm section, average guitar, drivel for vocals

Absolute favorite!

Not my favourite Chili Peppers album … but still quite good. Marked down to 3 due to length.

Listened to the entire album. I remember a lot of these songs on the radio.

Is this album good? Yes. At the very least, I like it. Could this album be better with more...refined mastering? Perhaps. Parts of it could have been tuned down. It's get very "fuzzy" at parts, though not a lot of clipping (maybe my ears are off). But that doesn't faze me (yeah, probably off), this album is pretty sweet. I don't have any real memories from it, but it's an album where you kind of know the first half of it already, due to singles/airplay. Hell, probably the deeper cuts too. And it's fun, at least my first actual listen. Maybe when I'm in my 40s, I'll come back to it and feel different about it. Right now, I think good. Best tracks: Right on Time, Around the World, Otherside, Get on Top, Easily

This is terrible.

Listened to one song and it sent shivers down my spine

Not a fan of the Peppers, never was. I respect them as musicians and recognize them as a band that makes high quality music, but it's not my cup of tea (a few songs excluded). Californication is sonically and thematically a great and powerful album. Lyrically masterful and musicianship is incredible. Many songs are hits here, for a reason. However, I don't think the hits are actually the best songs on the album. Also, I think that as a melodic singer, Kiedis is a one trick Pony, as I believe all his vocal lines are very similar (when he goes to the old days of rapping and screaming, he's great). All in all, the reasons for this being a legendary album are here and if people rate it as a 5/5, I wouldn't complain. For me it's a strong 4/5!

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".

Great band work and musicality but singer lets them down

It's pleasant but pretty unremarkable

For all the reasons I don’t like this album 25 years on, I still like this album. 4 Star

Didn’t love it then, don’t love it now

I enjoyed this album! I wouldn't say it was my absolute favorite, but it's a classic and a good listen.

My thing. Not my favorite but i love John Frusciante

Alright. Will listen again.

Legendarisk Beste sang: Scar Tissue

Classic dad rock bangers

Banger quintessential RHCP. Front to Back Bangers, and will listen to this again and again. I love RHCP, lyrics be damned

This album spoke to me in a very deep, meaningful way at a time of great personal change and the loss of my father. I was always a fan but this was a different level.

Great to hear this album again Home to three of their classic tunes - Californication, Scar Tissue and Otherside

Scar Tissue, Otherside, and Californication are alright, but the rest are not great.

It's good.

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

I was a huge Red Hot Chili Peppers fan, going back to the Mother’s Milk album. Blood Sugar Sex Magik is one of my all-time favorite albums. I listened to it so much I can barely stand it now. I just got burned out. Which may explain why, when Californication came out, I wasn’t really into the Peps anymore. One reason I may have fallen out of love with them is that their guitarist, John Frusciante, left the band after fame started messing with his head. The group added Dave Navarro, of Jane’s Addiction, to the band and recorded One Hot Minute. At the time, One Hot Minute was panned by critics, and even I didn’t like it upon first listen. Navarro brought more of a metal edge to the Peps, which I should have liked, but the funk was pushed to the back burner. But, after re-listening to One Hot Minute, I can see now it’s a really good album; it’s just different. So, after a scary battle with heroin addiction, Frusciante rejoined the Peps for Californication. But I didn’t rejoin the band. I was an idiot. As I sat at my desk yesterday, I was blown away at how great, yes, great, this album was. It made me realize that all the members are talented, but Frusicante is the special sauce because his guitar and backing vocals shine throughout the album. Plus, this album wasn’t just nonsense and funk….Well, with Anthony Kiedis as a lyricist, you’ll always get nonsense, but the album has more Under the Bridge than Sir Psycho Sexy. Of course, the genius, Rick Rubin, produced the album, who also produced Blood Sugar Sex Magik. It was like the band was, legit, back together again. The album has 15 songs and is almost an hour long, but as it finished, I was a little disappointed there wasn’t more. Frusciante’s guitar playing in places melts your face and reminds me of Jimi Hendrix. Kiedis does an admirable job sounding a lot like Glenn Danzig on several songs and the rhythm section of Flea and Chad Smith may be the best in rock. I’m adding this album to my regular rotation, and it’s made me want to go back and listen to BSSM and One Hot Minute again. I’m not sure I’m back in love with the Peps as they stand today, but I definitely love the late 90s/early 2000s version. As I finish this, I’m listening to the song Porcelain, and it’s so beautiful and heartbreaking. Kiedis wrote it about a young mother he met at an AA meeting. She was living at a YWCA with her baby and struggling badly with drug addiction. Just an incredible song. Maybe I should give Keidis a little more credit with his lyrics.

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.

Damn that opening half is a pretty legendary run and the second half, although not as famous, was super good too. The band is so tight and does a lot with only one guitar and bass. It also showcases their versatility with faster funk songs but also some more melodic alt rock songs Standouts: (aside from the obvious): Around the world, Parallel universe, Easily, Porcelain, Emit Remmus, Road Trippin’

See, naren? I do like guitars. The only few things this album suffers from are a few corny lines and maybe a small instrumental or two. A whole ass specific sound. Bangin. Margaritas in July. FOUR!

One of their best.

CAlifornication sounds fun! Side is good, gotta a few smash hits. Side B is weak with plenty of skippers. Maybe a little too much Weird Al and feedback. L = (2.75*s) L Like Dirt and Purple Stain are just plain stupid songs. First side is good, B side is lame and brings the whole album down. J = (3.1*s) Not much of an RCHP fan, agree that CAlifornication is list worthy. Actually liked Road Trippin’ as the finish.

The Chili Peppers were Red Hot in the 90s and this record was their peak production. You can hate on them all you want but this ode to California is a classic amongst a few others they have put out. Didn't know Navarro had been part of the band and dropped out prior to this album. Getting Frusciante cleaned up and back as lead guitarist was not a bad move (credit to Flea). Flea is an all-time bassist that made the instrument the lead in many songs. Kiedis can get annoying with his skat rap but the tracks that featured this style quickly slowed them done with nice interludes just as your finger was hovering over the skip button. Side A certainly stronger than B but overall, Californication is a perfect album to close out the 90s. Although I prefer the edible over the band most times, solid work by the RHCP and more to come from the list I wager...3.73 stars.

As much as I've consider myself an RHCP fan for many years I've found that my fondness for them has been waning as I age. I've started to understand people's complaints about them or why Kiedis' vocals would annoy someone. I still enjoy a handful of singles but they don't hit the same way they did in my teens and 20s. This echoes my thoughts on Californication. This album was huge and I recall being inundated with the singles when they being released. The front side of the album is loaded with singles and all the best songs that still hold up really well today. Unfortunately, once you get past the first half the remainder of the album is a little lackluster. After the opening bang it leaves you hanging for 30 minutes just kinda shrugging your shoulders. A solid album that deserves its entry on the list but when it wrapped I was a little underwhelmed after storming out of the gates. I'll surely come back to Californication in the future, but might pull the ripcord after side A. Perhaps if they had re-sequenced and not front-loaded it so much I may have given it higher marks. Still a worthy entry no doubt. 3.49 stars

Better as an album then just heating the hits on the radio. Rad at times and cringey at times. A bit samey.

Always felt their radio presence was enough for me without buying anything, but then I heard Flea interviewed by Marc Maron and he didn't seem like the dick I would have expected. Also the way he talked about their albums actually made me splash out on a few which I haven't hated at all. However, if Californication hadn't come up here from the list, I wouldn't have been extending my investigation as far as this album; I'd simply heard too many songs too many times. They seemed to saturate the airwaves with single after single at the time and I assumed I was sick of every one of them. Conversely, when I started listening today, I tolerated all of those singles and in fact enjoyed them quite a lot. The rest of the album too. Rather than a Chili Pepper too far, I'm now finding it tricky not to push to a 4. Full stars only is tough; I guess I would do 3.5 if I could but 3 just wouldn't be right.

Their best record, always made their best stuff with Frusciante in the band. Some huge hits on this one.

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

4/5 great songs on here rock classics but overall weaker album can’t go higher than 4

You know, I’ve thought they could never match BSSM, so always sold their following albums short. I never thought I was into Californication, but listening again from start to finish. This really is an amazing album - and RR to boot.

This album is fine. Kind of nostalgic for me, some of their best singles of their career. Crazy how long they have stayed relavent.

Starta bra, litt kjedeligere etter hvert. Litt dårlig miksa må jeg si, ihvertfall om man hører med headset.

Helt ok, har jo noen hits men litt kjedelig ellers

The first half of the album is nothing but banger after banger and the second half is just… unremarkable

All my favourite singers couldn't sing All my favourite singers couldn't sing

Could only be improved if Anthony Kiedis would've told us which state the band is from.

It's a great record, filled with amazing tunes, solos, bass parts and lyrics. During the early 2000s I always felt a bit detached from all the RHCP fandom, but there's no denying the record is such a seminal one and an absolute banger. The only problem is the mix, it's fatiguing and real shame because with a just a little bit more breathing space, it would be a much better listening experience. But with everything being so overcompressed, it gets a little bit tiring.

Goated

Road Trippin' is such a beautiful song. Stellar guitar.

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.

Low 3. The quieter tracks and far better. Second half of the album drags a bit

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.

this album absolutely fell off a cliff on the B side, I couldn’t move for this band when I was a teenager so I know the A side really well, and I enjoy the instruments but detest his vocal affectation, lyrics and demeanor. I think frusciante is a great guitarist and flea certainly knows his way around the bass which I can never be angry at. Overall ended up being a low 3 for me.

It's a good one not my favorite from the band

Je pensais aimer ça bien plus que j’ai réellement aimé ça, mais c’était pas tant le fun que ça, finalement. C’est pas mauvais, mais plutôt tranquille. Je m’attendais à un peu plus de funk et de groove.

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

started off strong

So funky

Great for pulling lines from to use to wind up your Californian boyfriend but much too long

Credit where it's due, that was good.

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.

Toi même tu sais

I'm so embarrassed to admit that I actually like this. I liked it when it came out a million years ago, and I still like it today. I know all the problems with it (namely Anthony Kiedis). I want to laugh at this like all the cool kids do, and yet here I am. Still liking this; still wanting to hide in shame for my questionable music tastes.

Like many other bands, Red Hot Chili Peppers declined in quality after a major album - Blood Sugar Sex Magik in this instance. Califonication represents a change in direction for the band following BSSM which takes them further from their roots established with Mother's Milk. This is not a terrible album, just one that hasn't satisfied my tastes for them as a band, even with the major hits this album produced. 3/5

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.

Parallel Universe

California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California

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.

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

90s nostalgia Favorite track: Californication other picks: otherside, road trippin, the velvet glove, scar tissue

Sigh, this band used to be really good. This one is OK I guess. Most of the songs have the same goofy cadence and why do they all seem to be about California? Parallel Universe is pretty good, otherwise I would have given this one 2 stars. Emit Remmus and Savior are pretty good too.

Demasiados himnos para no ser 5*

I liked the Chili Peppers a lot when I was younger, and some of this songs still hit the spot... but man are there some bad filler songs.

Brilliant album. Some of my fav Chili tracks on it.

The more albums from the 90s I get, the more it becomes clear that the CD gave too much room for filler. The good tracks are good, but it becomes too much after a while. A classic, but a bit one note near the end

Fantastic album, some proper 5* songs here: Around the World, Scar Tissue, Road Trippin', etc.

Legendary

It was fine.

Better hits on this one but I slightly prefer blood sugar sex magik

Brought back some good High School memories.

Such an amazing album! From the lyrics to the melodies to the guitar riffs- just fantastic. Good to reminisce on some old goodies from my HS years and find some new ones.

Meh

Without judgment, I say that it sounds like an RHCP album. That is all.

Had the pleasure of seeing them play live in Curitiba in November 2023, and they opened the concert with “Around the World,” the first song on the album. I’ve loved it since my teenage years. 10/10.

Conocía algunas de las canciones, pero no las asociaba ni al disco ni a Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Me ha gustado y recordado a The O.C. Suena a California novelero.

Before: The radio hits on this one are super nostalgic to me. Around the age of 5 or 6, this California and even larger west coast rock aesthetic really dug it's heels into my brain. I slowly began to love bands like the chili peppers, incubus, green day, sublime. I think my love for rock music can be traced to a lot of these bands even if I mostly only had access to them via radio. Excited to dig deeper on this one! After: A bit disappointed by this. There are some absolutely rocking moments, like the opening of the album which reminds me a lot of the opening of heart of the sunrise by Yes. The guitars and drums all over this thing sound great. He has his moments for sure, but most of the time when Anthony Kiedis opens his mouth, I find myself wishing he would just let the instrumental ride. ("Ding dong ding dong ding dang dang") The radio hits are undoubtedly the strongest tracks on the whole record, especially Scar Tissue and Californication. Californication works really well as a seeming thesis of the album. It's really where the song writing has the most to say and Kiedis' performance is the strongest. Porcelain is a nice surprise to me, it shakes up the sound of the rest of the album, and the metaphorical lyrics vibe a lot better with me than some of the more literal songwriting. Overall, it might be mostly nostalgia talking, but I don't think I was missing much having already heard and loved Other side, Scar Tissue, and Californication.

I feel like since I grew up with Red Hot Chili Peppers as a household name I haven't really thought as much about them as I should. Funk metal is such an interesting fusion of genres that they're able to pull off so well. Are there any other bands that have been able to pull it off as well as they have? This record has amazing melodies, hooks, riffs, and such good bass lines. I love it. They deserve all the praise they've gotten. My main critique on this record is that the production isn't as good as it could be. It feels flatter than it should. It also should only be 10 tracks long. I'm going to have to go with a 4 because towards the end, it started feeling too long.

As a child of the 90s, Red Hot Chili Peppers are GOATS. What's wild to me is that this very strange band just kind of just existed and everyone thought it was normal music. This music and this album are so weird and so varied. You can hear the Bad Brains punk influence, but they're really ramping the funk inspiration throughout. Flee is such a driving force in this band that none of it really works without him, his brain is able to comprehend and punk, rock, funk, r&b, and psych. Which is what makes this so cool. But really everyone in this band is so dialed and so sharp. And it comes out so crisp in this entire record. I think what's impressive is that no one is ever really outshining the other. There are songs (mainly ballads: Californication, Porcelain, Otherside) that are all Anthony, then there songs where songs where John is just tapped into a different dimension and he's taking that guitar to new worlds (Get On Top, Parallel Universe). Chad is such a good drummer, he keeps things tight and keeps this thing grooving. This record rocks. I like almost every song. If I had any critique, its that its about 2 songs too long. I think thats just a symptom of the CD era. All 90s albums are 2 - 3 too long. This one is no different. After "I like Dirt" you have a few forgettable tracks. If I was being picky, I would give this a 4.5. But there's no doubt how impactful this record is. I love it, and I love this band, so round up to a 5!

trash

finally some good food

Very soft 3. I like RHCP but wouldn't say I am a big fan.

А что тут надо написать? Ну это буквально современная классика. Я до этого не особо как-то проникался RHCP, но в этот раз послушал и проникся, мне очень понравилось и очень хорошо легло на сегодняшнее настроение, не смотря на диссонанс между осенней погодой и солнечным настроением альбома. Лиричный, но оставляющий надежду саундтрек к жизни, так бы я это назвал. Как он звучит вы и так знаете, а если не знаете - вы наверное Диоген.

Oh my. Probably a 4. I think another 5.

Not here for the rock rap

3.5/5 album, the second half is kind of a snooze fest.

Chili Peppers at their peak popularity. Certainly not my favorite of their projects but undoubtedly the album I listened to the most as a teenager. Bleak lyrics of addicts dealing with their popularity. The band has really settled into their stereotypical sound by this album. Only a few outliers that keep it from being one cohesive sound. As the hands of time marched on and the members—in their own words—recounted sexual escapades with minors during this and earlier eras, my love for the band waned. I tried listening to this album with fresh ears. Remembering how well they played together. Songs that sound like a party but hold a deep sadness in their lyricism really spoke to me in my youth. Extremely pleasing vocal harmonies on a number of the tracks. Flea’s bass tone is one of the best. RHCP will always have a place in my heart, even with them being one of the harder artists to separate from the art.

Bland. A couple of ok songs but nothing special.

Dream of making better records

Too bad there is no way to take out Anthony Kiedis’ vocals out of this album. The rest of the band was solid. It’s the vocals that just get annoying after a while. I’m surprised that Flea never put out a jazz fusion album that I know of because I would rather listen to that than this album.

This album sounded great as a 19-year old, but with each passing year it seems to lose its shine. Love the bass slapping and funky sounds, but it just feels a bit boring. Scar tissue is still a beautiful song.

Great songwriting (especially the music). This album is a classic without a doubt. However, it's very difficult to listen to self-acclaimed nonce Anthony Keidis sing about "girls" so much. Also, what is up with the distortion during the loud bits??? So distracting!

Funky as rock

Incredibly great album. Packs a lot of energy, and there’s just no filler at all. I only knew Scar Tissue off this album, and I might’ve heard bits of the title track here and there. So it was a real surprise to me that I was loving the entire thing for the whole hour. Fantastic music.

There's a few cool song, but it's far from their best album. Probably why I didn't buy the CD when it was released.

Ebin

Idk much about RHCP previous work, but I really enjoyed his vocals, the guitar work and the bass. Overall, very jammy and safe sounding. Really liked listening to it. I saw people talking about his “rapping” but for me he is just speaking in the rhythm, calling it rapping would offend even Post Malone. Fav: Parallel Universe, This Velvet Glove, Around the World.

Classic. Reminds me of childhood, of course Scar Tissue and Californication are top tracks.

This was so good but I think a lot of its power was front-loaded. It seemed to lose steam in the second act, which is too bad because it could’ve easily been cut down to a regular-length, 5-star LP. As it is, there’s still a lot of great tracks here.

This was a difficult one for me to listen to without bias. This album really defined my tween years and to this day anytime I think about dirt or doing something easily I hear Anthony Keidis singing from my subconscious. That being said, from the first track the album presents itself as some hardcore shit is about to break out at you. Then Keidis starts rapping. I know it's their schtick, but it takes away from the music for me. I love this album and always will. If it were presented more as an EP, perhaps just with the first 7 tracks, it would be an easy 5 stars. But it's not. I leave it with a 4.

Very enjoyable

Good album

Primeira metade do disco com músicas muito boas e hits do RHCP mas a segunda metade decepcionante (tirando Road Trippin).

I don't think this one needs an introduction. Peak rhcp

Pre: live hate relationship with rhcp these days but owned this cd and loobed as teen Post: great album still but corny at times

bass on Get on Top is fire Holy shit Porcelain is such a vibe The Velvet Glove was goated Purple Stain lowk sounds like "my dick so long I'm so long" reel

Started off hot (ah hah hah hah) then half-way through just became fairly generic 90's rock. Porcelain was a nice change of pace, I just felt that it could have been better executed and it frankly did not really flow with the album. Favorite song: Parallel

Some beautiful moments but let down by meandering long dull length, lack of cohesion and boredom.

This is surely the band’s best work. “Otherside,” “Scar Tissue,” and especially the title track are good, if not quite great, songs. The lyrics are often heavy-handed and juvenile. And Kiedis’s vocals are sometimes just a bit short of, well, musical or interesting.

Very cool but a few duds here and there

Great album, many hits and well know tunes as well as some great, lesser-known deep cuts. These guys were absolutely their own thing with their own sound when they broke out, and still stand alone in so many ways. Really amazing instrumental playing and vocals. It's got rock for days, grungy, funky, rap elements... such a cool fusion and sound. The hits certainly had their popular appeal as well, but there's a lot here to dig into.

Amazing album, now my favourite chili peppers album.

Haven't heard this in years but it quickly came flooding back. Great album.

Kiedis acknowledges in his autobiography Scar Tissue that he had sexual relations with a 14-year-old girl when he was 23, before and after learning of her age, in the 1980s. Kiedis had a relationship with actress Ione Skye in the late 1980s starting when he was 24 and she was 16. Fuck this pedophile.

Never listened to the album in full before but it did give the world all the classics. Favorite songs: Around the World, Scar Tissue, Otherside, Californication, Easily

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.

Bangers up and down & a true set it and forget it album... just press play. The perfect way to wrap up 1999. Grunge had already "died" and remember not thinking they still had a great album in them due to age/drugs/etc. Californication and In Rainbows always stand out as perfect albums released late in a band's career. First time seeing them was Bonnaroo 2006 and think I'm up to 3 or 4 now... the sound is always off... always.

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

3.5/5

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

Fuera de los singles poco y poco. Aún así es disfrutable. Nota: 3.4

que de bons souvenirs

Yah this album is interesting to talk about legacy wise. So right off the bat, this album is HUGE, and for them, it might be their most important album for becoming a household name. If I was giving a rating based off of how culturally important this album is it would get a 5, no question. But for my personal taste, I think it’s alittle lopsided on the A side. Nobody remembers the b side tracks on this album because most are skips, the only huge stand out is purple stain which I enjoyed. But honestly think as a whole this is a horribly overrated pop rock album that wows u with huge hits upfront and then meanders for the remaining 30-40 mins. Iconic rock album, with an ok tracklist.

RHCP has a special place in my heart because a guy introduced them to me in high school and it was my first real introduction to “rock” which lead me on a decade’s journey catching up on this massive genre as a southern Black girl. 4/5

Boring as shit

10/10 really enjoyed the vibes and all the instrumental and vocals everything is just it

So so in parts.

I love this album as much as Anthony Kiedis loves California.

It helps if you have a good voice snd can sing in tune.

9/10… funk rock / alt.rock

Full on 5

Despite all its flaws, my nostalgia goggles tell me this album still slaps and is a staple of 90's alternative

A really solid album full of great hooks and story telling

3.5 rounded down because side B is really a big comedown from the first half

This is #day424 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… Californication was a significant part of my later school years (mid-to-late 2000s). Those were the CD-R years, like when someone with a PC in your class had an album on their hard drive, ripped from hell knows where, and you'd come over to burn your own copy. Or, if your parents gave you some allowance and you were lucky enough to buy a licensed CD (like American Idiot), you became the source for ripping. Anyway, this album (along with By the Way and Stadium Arcadium) holds memories, and always will. It's a great record, though dragged down by a bunch of fillers. I think, however, Blood Sugar Sex Magik is greater and more essential. Still, this is a 5 out of 5. Looking forward to #day425.

есть несколько бенгеров, но я обычно их скипаю если попадаются, поэтому 4 наверное...

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.

I understand the arguments about Kiedis’s lyrics, and I kind of agree. The band still works for me, because I can’t imagine what they would sound like with a different front man. The musicianship is unimpeachable. However, there’s a huge dropoff in quality after track 8, making the album almost twice as long as it needs to be. The score reflects that I am probably biased in favor of this album, since it was a big one for me in high school.

A few cracking tracks - Scar tissue, Californication, Road Trippin & Parallel Universe - and a lot of bang average/ poor fillers inbetween. I definitely lean towards the Frusciante influenced tracks rather than more traditional BSSM slap bass funky tracks... Scraps a 4 due to the strength of the above songs.

Their best album. Some great tunes on the album (Scar Tissue, Otherside, Californication) but some filler too, especially the ones sounding like a noisy Level 42.

Hilariously quintessential RHCP. Listening to new songs off this album feels like I'm reading a meme making fun of RHCP. But at the same time, this shit rips so hard. I'm a simple boy. I love this shit.

excellent. love the punk roots.

Hmmm. I really enjoy listening to this album, have to be honest. They're just great musicians and that's on display here. I don't disagree with the criticisms of Keidis' vocals and lyrics. That's really nothing new, and is just part of their sound; the vapidity of it is wearing, though, and it is tedious to listen to a then-nearly 40 year old man continue to make sophomoric and questionable sexual innuendo. But there's a great range of music on this album, and I didn't find it bland nor did I find the non-hits to be filler. Great rock music all the way around. I'd probably give it a 3.5 if I could give half stars.

I actually like some of the songs on here but they suffer like almost all bands with a famous bass player, too much bass in the mix.

Nothing to add for this magic album. Love Frusciante&Flea mood

It's good, but not as good as Blood Sugar Sex Magik. The lyrics are better, the music is good but somehow not quite as good.

I can dig it. I originally gave this a 2, but came back two months later and changed it after incorporating it into some of my daily mixes. It’s great for what it is, late 90s-early 00s hard pop rock. Maybe it’s nostalgia, but this album has held up better than a lot of others on here.

great

RHCP дуже сильно так щоб прям на повторі купу разів ніколи не слухав. В Нікополі якось на межі 90х-00х чогось до рук повноформатний альбом не потрапив, а коли вже пізніше слухав сам альбом, то оцього ефекту «музики з дитинства» він якось не мав. Альбом - топ. Майже без філерів, буквально дві пісні, які мені здались просто ок. А так скрізь супер бенгери або круті пісні. Гурт цікаво слухати, бо для мейнстрім артистів всі музиканти дуже топові і за ним банально цікаво спостерігати в піснях. Однойменний хіт досі важко слухати через його інтенсивну ротацію на будь-якому музичному каналі. Альбом слухав останній раз мабуть перед їх провальним концертом в Києві на якійсь з перших ітерацій UPark. Для мене альбом на 4.5, але той випадок, коли можна округлити до 5.

дінь-дон-дон каліфоУурнія Якщо серйозно, то хз як вже можна оцінювати цей альбом обʼєктивно. До того ж тут є моя улюблена пісня рхчп - road trippin'. З іншого боку я не можу сказати що хоч раз включив послухати каліфорнікейшн в останні років 10 десь. Тому поставлю 4, хоча звісно цей альбом обʼєктивно заслуговує на пʼятірку.

бенгер афтер бенгер. мені все одно на заслуханість, попсовість, це просто дійсно класно проведений час за прослуховуванням. люблю цей альбом

own

F the RHCP.

Californication is the when the Chili Peepers became a more sensible and "beatlesque" kind of band. I hear songs like Scar Tissue or parallel Universe and I'm instantly Transported back to that summer. Californiacation and By The Way( the follow up to Californiacation could have easily been a double album.

he leik dirt :) 5/5

Trust. I do not need to listen to this album to rate it. 10 Stars. Update. I listened to it. 20 stars.

dnf - I can’t get down with the red hot chili peppers

I’ve never thought this album was anything special—it’s just alright. Sometimes it even sounds like they’re making fun of themselves

Was this the beginning of the end of RHCP or were they already done?

Once I got past the singles, this was a grind to listen to.

I thought to myself a few times listening to this album that I really dug the guitar sound. This is much more pop oriented. I thought Kedis' delivery was improved on this one as well. Even though a few of the songs do sound almost like a parody of what you think a RHCP song would sound like, I found myself enjoying this album very much.

The first 6 tracks all sound great. There is some cheesy rapping and other things that would be easy to hate on, but it doesn’t matter because it sounds great and is very catchy with nice melodies. However, the second half falls off a bit and has the negatives without the highs.

Ranges from mild bop to "why was this done"....often in the same track.

This is a great album, lots of nostalgia and I refuse to let any one shame me!!

I have to hear these songs on indie radio everyday it’s crazy they must be paying this station or something

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.

I had only heard the singles before this. But I found the other songs pretty enjoyable also.

I feel molested by this album

Fucking strait gas

Kind of like the Chili Peppers in general, this album for me is an example of the whole being less than the sum of its parts. Some real standout songs - Scar Tissue, Otherside, Around the World, Parallel Universe, and Purple Stain are all solid - but as a full album, it doesn't quite get there for me. And this is coming from a decently big Chili Peppers fan. Love a lot of what they have done, but I don't think they have any great full albums outside of Blood Sugar Sex Magik.

I must be in the minority with cringing every time I hear Anthony Keidis's voice because these guys have been huge for what feels like my entire life. I remember when this album came out and the world was obsessed. +1 star for Flea being an absolute beast on the bass, but then -1 star for his seeming inability to keep his dick covered up.

I liked this album when it was first released. I like his voice.

Very much enjoyed this album! rock/funk fusion goodness.

Some great songs, and lots of terrible ones.

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. (⌐■_■)