californication

The Red Hot Chili Peppers came through a rough road to the other side to find elation and their greatest success with the lonely view of this mirror for the sun.  The group had struggled after the departure of guitarist John Frusciante during the tour for their blockbuster 'Blood Sugar Sex Magik' album.  They finished the tour with Arik Marshall and then recorded 'One Hot Minute' with Dave Navarro; but the magic was gone.  Navarro was ousted due to his drug problems and the group was ready to call it quits.  Bassist Flea said he would only be able to continue if they could get Frusciante back in the fold.  He had been caught up in a haze of heroin that had left him destitute; but Flea convinced him to get into treatment, after which he was invited to rejoin the band.  Frusciante reveals:   "When I originally decided to become a drug addict, it was a clear decision,  I was very sad, and I was always happy when I was on drugs; therefore, I [thought I] should be on drugs all the time. I was never guilty—I was always really proud to be an addict ... It was too high, too far, too soon. Everything happened or better everything seemed to be happening at once and I just couldn't cope with it...I really don't know how it all happened. There wasn't a single incident where I could put my finger on it and say, 'This was it.' It was just hard for me to cope with it all. You've got to remember that I was an absolute RHCP fan. Their music meant everything to me, and all of a sudden I was a part of them. They called me 'Greenie' because I was the youngest, but that didn't do it. I don't know what did it. I probably tried to fit in, make experiences the others made in a long time in a short time ...   It is a second chance for all of us. There is a weird chemistry between us. The way I play guitar, it only works when Flea is the bassist, and Flea can only write songs the way he does when Anthony sings. In a way we're all co-dependent and we know it, but we also trust each other."

Flea asserts:    "It's pretty simple. The old magic is back. Everything is possible and that's a great feeling. We've grown as people and musicians. So, the music is different. It's a different time, but it's still great, even better than it was...We're jamming and that works really well. We don't talk much about songs or how songs should be constructed. We just start to play and see what happens, how they develop. We improvise a lot. We find a groove. We experiment and somehow it turns into music. With Dave (Navarro), it wasn't possible to work like this. With him it was more like a long thought process, endless discussions and it took a long time. We talked about what riff should be played and all that. With John it's completely different. We just play. I don't mean to dis Dave in any way. He is a great person and he's a great guitarist, but the way we work is just different. You never know why it happens with some people and not with others. It's pointless. It's like asking why you fall in love. There is no real reason, nothing that can be explained or that would make sense."

Chad Smith says:   "We also found out that we work a lot better if we know what we want before we enter the studio. It took us only three weeks to record the album."  The sessions for 'Californication' took place at Cello Studios in Los Angeles, California with producer Rick Rubin and featured Anthony Kiedis on lead vocals;  Flea on bass and backing vocals;  John Frusciante on lead guitar, backing vocals, and keyboard;  and Chad Smith  on drums; with  Greg Kurstin on keyboards and Patrick Warren playing the Chamberlin organ on "Road Trippin'".  

Kiedis says the band's funk punk sound has always been spontaneous:   “Nothing’s ever been conscious, especially not at that point, because we were pretty high most of the time. Even now, when we get together, there’s never a discussion of what we’re doing. We just close our eyes and start playing...[On 'Californication'] there’s loss, but also joy and love and that little burst of euphoria when the whole world makes sense for about 30 seconds...I’m good at losing.  It’s one of my specialties...I feel like a new band.  When we get together to rehearse, we could write music together all day long—good music.”

'Californication' brought the Chili Peppers back on top all over the world.  The album went to twenty-two in Poland; seven in Belgium; six in Japan; four in Ireland; three in the US; two in Austria, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, and the UK;  and number one in Australia, Finland, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, and Sweden.  It has sold over fifteen million copies worldwide and been certified platinum in fifteen countries.







http://redhotchilipeppers.com/








'Scar Tissue' became one of their biggest hits, spending sixteen weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart, and ten weeks atop the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.  It went to number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100, number five in the UK, four in Canada, three in New Zealand, and number one on the Canadian alternative chart.  The song won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Song.  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzJj5-lubeM



'Around the World'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9eNQZbjpJk



'Otherside'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn_YodiJO6k



'Californication'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlUKcNNmywk



'Parallel Universe'




'Road Trippin''
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11GYvfYjyV0










'Californication'
full album:



1. "Around the World" 0:00
2. "Parallel Universe" 3:56 
3. "Scar Tissue" 8:26 
4. "Otherside" 12:02
5. "Get on Top" 16:17 
6. "Californication" 19:35 
7. "Easily" 24:53 
8. "Porcelain" 28:50 
9. "Emit Remmus" 31:35 
10. "I Like Dirt" 35:34 
11. "This Velvet Glove" 38:12 
12. "Savior" 41:59 
13. "Purple Stain" 46:50 
14. "Right on Time" 51:04 
15. "Road Trippin'" 52:56