Title: Californication
Artiste: Red Hot Chili Peppers
Year: 1999
Chronological position: Seventh album
Previous experience of this artiste?: Bits here and there; listened (with one ear) to their greatest hits
Why is this considered a classic? Their most commercially successful album, it also saw the return of guitarist John Frusciante after an extended period in rehab. He's credited with changing the Peppers' complete musical sound. Apparently.
My thoughts
One minute (or thereabouts in) ---- Good, great, bad, meh, still waiting or other? Meh
One track in --- Meh
Halfway through --- Good
Finished --- Good to meh, hard to decide really.
Comments: I'v enever been that big a fan of RHCP. Not that I don't like them or think they're a good band, but that's just it: I think they're a good band, but not a great band. Mind you, I haven't heard enough of their music really to be making that sort of judgement, but given the adulation tracks like “Under the bridge” and “Give it away” received I was left sort of shrugging my shoulders and asking why? I don't care for the opener --- too much rap in it for me, and you know how I feel about that! --- but the second is good. But just good, not great. Not yet anyway. I've heard
Scar tissue and like that, more rap in
Get on top, bit of funk too which again really isn't my thing but I see it was theirs in the past.
I of course know the title and do like that a lot, and
Emit remmus (guffaw!) is good hard rock with a sort of Clash-ish sense of anger in it. More funk in
I like dirt; it's okay but I don't. Like it, that is. I do like
Saviour though but hate
Purple stain. And so it goes. It's not really an album of enough strong tracks to impress me personally. Just all right, I guess. I remember hearing
Road trippin' and liking that, and there's no change here, so a good closer. But it doesn't do enough to override the tracks I don't like.
Favourite track(s): Parallel universe, Otherside, Californication, Emit remmus, Saviour, Road trippin'
Least favourite track(s): Around the world, Get on top, Purple stain (Seeing a pattern here?
)
Right on time
Final impression --- Yeah, a decent album but it's got a lot of weak points for me. Probably too many tracks as well. I suppose I'd have to know more about them to comment on the change in musical direction, but it's not really an album I'd be in too much of a rush to go back to, to be honest. Sexual innuendos are a little too close to the bone for me and not at all clever; too in-your-face, as it were.
Do I feel, at the end, A) I wish I had listened to this sooner
B) I'm sorry I bothered
C) I might end up liking this
D) Have to wait and see
E) Bit underwhelmed; was ok but a classic?
F) Definitely enjoyed it, but again would I consider it a classic?
Gotta say E on this occasion.