Red Hot Chili Peppers
Californication
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Red Hot Chili Peppers
Californication
Warner Bros., 1999
RiYL: 311, George Clinton, Fishbone |
Back in the band after a four-year, one-album hiatus, the guitarist with which the Chili Peppers made their best music helps them get back to the old glory days on Californication. Unfortunately, reminiscence has not allowed the Peppers to push their sound to its limits and really explore their creativity.
Californication lives up to its title, in that there's reference in about every song to either the band's home state or the state of sex (or both). But this kind of consistency comes up redundant more often than not.
Opener "Around The World" sets the tone well. Starting out with a whiplash Flea bass riff emanating from a chaotic rumble, the music ranges from verses of staccato funk to lilting choruses with a classic Anthony Kiedis melody. But while the instrumental track shines, Kiedis' lyrics in the verses are as inane and ridiculous as ever.
Try these on:
Come back baby / 'cause I'd like to say / I've been around the world / back from Bombay
Bonafide ride / step aside my Johnson / yes I could / in the woods of Wisconsin.
Though the instrumentation on the new album is classic Peppers, bringing to mind the honest brilliance they achieved on Mother's Milk and Blood Sugar Sex Majik, too much of Californication's lyrics sound like outtakes from those records rather than wiser reflections. The band reaches a great groove, such as "Get On Top," but it's stifled by Kiedis screaming "Go-rilla! / Cunt-illa! ... Come with me 'cause I'm an ass killer!"
Frusciante's magnificence shines on many tracks, like the dynamic "Parallel Universe," where his guitar and Flea's ever-excitable bass intertwine to sublime effect. And slower tracks like "Scar Tissue" and the title song set enticing moods in the vein of Blood Sugar-era tunes like "Soul To Squeeze" and "Under The Bridge."
But through the course of the whole album, the high points can't make up for Kiedis' silliest moments. The Peppers are growing up, but slowly. They have their niche though, and it's about time they threw Californication into it.
TROY CARPENTER | Troy Carpenter founded NATN from a Chicago apartment during the ambitious winter of 1998 with co-conspirators Ben French and Jonathan Cohen. After a five-year stint in New York, he and wife Lourdes have recently relocated to Indianapolis, where he spends days listening to music and nights in the kitchen at Elements restaurant. Musical heroes: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Super Furry Animals. What else makes life worth living: Sushi, Phucty, runs in the park, and the Atlanta Braves.