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Californication (album)

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Californication is the seventh studio album by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Released on June 8, 1999 (see 1999 in music) on the Warner Bros. label, it saw John Frusciante, who had previously appeared on Mother's Milk and Blood Sugar Sex Magik, replace Dave Navarro as the band's guitarist. The album produced many hits for the band, including "Around the World", "Otherside", "Californication" and Grammy-award winning "Scar Tissue". Californication is the Chili Peppers' best-selling album to date, reaching #3 on the US Billboard 200 and selling more than 15 million copies worldwide.[1][2] It marked a change in style for the Chili Peppers; Greg Tate of Rolling Stone magazine noted that "while all previous Chili Peppers projects have been highly spirited, Californication dares to be spiritual and epiphanal".[3]

The title Californication is sometimes mistaken as a portmanteau of "California" and "fornication". However, in an interview with MTV in 2000, band member Anthony Kiedis stated that it is a not a sexual reference and that "californication" is "the act of the world being affected and saturated by the art and the culture being born and raised in California".[4]

Background

Guitarist John Frusciante had departed from the band, mid-tour, in 1992, due to his growing hatred for the fame the Chili Peppers were receiving, attributed mainly in part to their critically acclaimed album Blood Sugar Sex Magik.[5] While the band attempted to regain confidence, it took over a year before they found a new guitarist to officially begin recording with. Dave Navarro, formerly of Jane's Addiction, was invited to the band after Arik Marshall, who had finished the tour with the Chili Peppers, was fired.[6] Navarro influenced the band's ensuing album, One Hot Minute, by incorporating various elements of heavy metal and psychedelic rock[7], which was something that the Chili Peppers had not previously been notable for. One Hot Minute was a commercial success, selling roughly 5 million copies, but a let down compared to Blood Sugar Sex Magik.[8] Critics dismissed the album as weak and unfocused. [7][9] Shortly after the release of the album, Navarro was fired from the band due to internal differences. [10]

In the years following former guitarist John Frusciante's departure from the band, it became known that he had developed a heroin addiction that left him in poverty and near death.[11] He was talked into admitting himself to drug rehabilitation in January 1998.[12] In April 1998, following Frusciante's three month completion, Flea visited his former band-mate and openly invited him to re-join the band, an invitation an emotional Frusciante readily accepted. Within the week and, for the first time in six years, the reunited foursome gathered to play, and jump-started the newly reunited Red Hot Chili Peppers.[13]

Writing and composition

Guitarist John Frusciante's return showcases the band's stylistic changes.

A considerable amount of the album's formation took place in the band member's homes in the summer of 1998. Kiedis and Frusciante often spent days together at each other's homes, discussing song creation, guitar riffs and lyrical content. Much of the instrumental formation was pieced together through jam sessions, although this unrestricted nature was not present in the finished album which favored a more structured song configuration.[14]

While most of the album progressed rapidly, "Californication" itself remained a difficult song to put together. Frusciante felt compelled to write an appropriate guitar ensemble to accompany the powerful lyrics, but encountered difficulty.[15] The song was barely making progress, and was nearly scrapped had it not been for Kiedis' urgency to include it on the album. Only two days before the album’s initial recording ended did Frusciante set the final riff into place, and taught the rest of the band how to perform it. "Californication" is, essentially, a detailed classification of California, and, more specifically, the "fake" nature which is associated with much of Hollywood.

Californication's lyrics were derived from Anthony Kiedis' ideas, outlooks, and perceptions of life and its meaning. "Porcelain" resulted after Kiedis met a young mother at the YMCA, who was attempting to battle her alcohol addiction whilst living with her infant daughter.[16] Sarcasm had also been lingering in his mind for quite some time and he decided to devote an entire song to the concept. Kiedis found inspiration from former band mate Dave Navarro, who he considered the "King of Sarcasm".[17] Frusciante began playing a poignant guitar riff, which Kiedis immediately saw integrating smoothly into "Scar Tissue". Running outside with joy, he saw birds flying gracefully overhead which inspired the lyric "With the birds I'll share this lonely view."[18]

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The recording was a change of style for the Chili Peppers, especially when compared to their previous album, One Hot Minute, which combined various elements of psychedelic rock and hard rock. Although Californication still contained their once essential "funk rock" trademark sound (such as "Purple Stain", "Get On Top", "I Like Dirt" and "Around the World" and "Right on Time"), it leaned towards more melodic oriented melodies (for example, "Scar Tissue" and "Otherside") and focused on songs with implemented structure rather than jams. Alternative rock was tangible in tracks like "Easily" and "Emit Remmus".[19] This change was attributed by Greg Prato of All Music Guide to the return of Frusciante to the lineup.[20]

His return came with a more experimental style; one song in particular, "Emit Remmus", features a repeating guitar riff that was deliberately recorded backwards (hence the title "Emit Remmus", "Summer Time" backwards).[21] Experimental guitar work is consistent in "Savior", and “This Velvet Glove”, as a Mellotron and other distortion methods were employed. The album includes multiple references to drugs and Hollywood.[22]

Release and critical recognition

The band played the songs "Scar Tissue", "Otherside" and "Californication" to their managers, in early 1999, where it was decided that "Scar Tissue" would be the lead single for the album.[23] To support their reunited line-up, the band played various proms across the country in order to promote Californication.[23] It sprouted a competition, which called upon High School students to write essays on "how they could make their schools better, safer, happier, more rocking places, so that they didn't have to go to school afraid. If you wrote the essay, you got a free ticket to the show."[23]

Californication was released on CD on June 8, 1999. It was certified 'gold' just over a month later, on July 22 1999, and its continuing sales have resulted in it being certified five-times multi-platinum.[24] With the return of John Frusciante playing guitar, the Red Hot Chili Peppers managed to regain their critical acceptance after its less popular predecessor, One Hot Minute, and it has achieved a far greater commercial success worldwide.[25][1]

"Scar Tissue" won a Grammy award for best rock song in 2000.[26] Over the years Californication has remained popular; in 2003, the album was ranked number 399 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time and, in 2006, the Chili Peppers recorded a five-set playlist for AOL Sessions that included "Californication" and "Scar Tissue".[27][19][28] The album produced many staple hits for the Chili Peppers, so much so that five of the fifteen songs on their Greatest Hits album were taken from Californication.[29]

The album has received criticism for what Tim Anderson of The Guardian called "excessive compression and distortion" in the process of digital remastering,[30] and was the subject of an online petition which garnered over 1,000 signatures.[31] Stylus magazine labelled it as one of the victims of the loudness war and commented that it suffered from digital clipping so much that "even non-audiophile consumers complained about it".[32]

In March 2006, the Red Hot Chili Peppers' albums were made available to purchase on iTunes.[33] Albums bought there included new previously unreleased tracks. The original tracks, unlike the bonus tracks, were not remastered.

Californication tour

Immediately following the release of Californication, the band embarked on a world tour to support the record, beginning in the United States. To culminate their initial US leg of the tour, the Chili Peppers were asked to play at Woodstock '99.[34][35] Planning to get to the venue one hour before they were set to perform, the band was informed of the hectic situation only minutes before arriving.[34] The situation escalated, however, when the Chili Peppers performed a tribute to Jimi Hendrix's song "Fire", from several casual bonfires to rapes and beatings.[36]

To kick off the band's European tour, the Chili Peppers staged a free show in Moscow's Red Square, on August 14, 1999, to a crowd of over 200,000. [37] Anthony Kiedis recalled of the situation: "Red Square was so filled with wall-to-wall Russians that we needed a police escort to get near the stage."[37] Following the leg, the group did a show in New York City, at the Windows on the World, for K-Rock radio contest winners, then Big Day Out in Australia following several Japanese tour dates.[38] Flea, however, began to feel the repercussions of touring and the band set up concerts which would be less strenuous to the foursome, but, consequently, less prosperous, financially; it would finish out Californication's ensuing tour.[39] As one of the last shows before the release of By the Way, the Chili Peppers played Rock in Rio 3.[40]

Accolades

The information regarding accolades attributed to Californication is adapted from AcclaimedMusic.net[28]

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Robert Dimery United States 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die[41] 2005 *
Rolling Stone United States The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time[42] 2003 #399
Classic Rock & Metal Hammer UK The 200 Greatest Albums of the 90s[43] 2006 *
Mojo UK The 100 Greatest Albums of Our Time 1993-2006 [44] 2006 80
Rolling Stone Germany The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time[45] 2005 #189

(*) designates unordered lists.

Track listing

The album was fully written by the four band members of the time, Anthony Kiedis, John Frusciante, Flea, and Chad Smith.

  1. "Around the World" – 3:58
  2. "Parallel Universe" – 4:30
  3. "Scar Tissue" – 3:37
  4. "Otherside" – 4:15
  5. "Get on Top" – 3:18
  6. "Californication" – 5:21
  7. "Easily" – 3:51
  8. "Porcelain" – 2:43
  9. "Emit Remmus" – 4:00
  10. "I Like Dirt" – 2:37
  11. "This Velvet Glove" – 3:45
  12. "Savior" – 4:52
  13. "Purple Stain" – 4:13
  14. "Right on Time" – 1:52
  15. "Road Trippin'" – 3:25

B-sides, outtakes and non-album tracks

Song Length Release(s)
"Gong Li" 3:43 B-side of "Scar Tissue" and bonus track on Japanese and Australian editions
"Instrumental #1" 2:48 B-side of "Scar Tissue"
"Teatro Jam" 3:06 B-side of "Around the World"
"How Strong" 4:43 B-side of "Otherside" and bonus track on Australian edition
"Instrumental #2" 2:34 Bonus track on Australian edition
"Fat Dance" 3:40 iTunes bonus track
"Over Funk" 2:58 iTunes bonus track
"Quixoticelixer" 4:48 iTunes bonus track

Credits


Chart positions

Album

Chart positions
Billboard 200 [1] UK Top 40 [46] Swedish Top 60 [47] New Zealand [48] Austria [49] France [50] Finland [51] Switzerland [52]
#3 #5 #1 #1 #2 #2 #1 #3

Singles

Year Song Chart positions
Billboard Hot 100 [53] US Modern Rock Chart[53] US Mainstream Rock Chart[53] UK Top 40 [46] Sweden [47] New Zealand [48] France [50] Switzerland [52]
1999 "Scar Tissue" #9 #1 #1 #15 #3 #66
1999 "Around the World" #7 #16 #35 #35
2000 "Otherside" #14 #1 #2 #33 #19 #5 #65
2000 "Californication" #69 #1 #1 #16 #37 #8
2000 "Parallel Universe" #37
2000 "Road Trippin'" #30 #44 #91

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c "Red Hot Chili Peppers album chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
  2. ^ "Chili Peppers' album tops survey". BBC. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
  3. ^ Greg Tate. "Californication review". Rolling Stone magazine. Retrieved 2007-04-20. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ "Red Hot Chili Peppers: Californication". MTV. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
  5. ^ Kiedis, Anthony - Scar Tissue; page 295
  6. ^ Kiedis, Anthony - Scar Tissue; page 307
  7. ^ a b "One Hot Minute review - by Stephen Thomas Erlewine". All Music Guide. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accesssdate= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ Kiedis, Anthony - Scar Tissue; page 344, 358, 401.
  9. ^ "Red Hot Chili Peppers Biography". Rolling Stone Magazine. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |accesssdate= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ Kiedis, Anthony - Scar Tissue; page 361-377.
  11. ^ Skanse, Richard (1998-04-30). "Red Hot Redux". RollingStone.com. Retrieved 2007-03-31. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ All Music Guide John Frusciante Biography [1]
  13. ^ (Entire Paragraph) Anthony Kiedis - Scar Tissue; pages 389-400
  14. ^ Anthony Kiedis - Scar Tissue; Page 401-406
  15. ^ Anthony Kiedis - Scar Tissue; page 407
  16. ^ Anthony Kiedis - Scar Tissue; page 404
  17. ^ Anthony Kiedis - Scar Tissue; page 409
  18. ^ Anthony Kiedis - Scar Tissue; page 408
  19. ^ a b "The RS 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2007-04-20. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  20. ^ Greg Prato (2004). "Californication". music.com. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
  21. ^ "Red Hot Chili Peppers trivia". tv.com. Retrieved 2007-04-27.
  22. ^ David Browne (1999). "Californication". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
  23. ^ a b c Kiedis, Anthony - Scar Tissue; page 422.
  24. ^ "RIAA Certification Database". Retrieved 2007-05-25.
  25. ^ Ross Delaney. "Californication review". Sputnik Music. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
  26. ^ "42nd Annual Grammy Awards nominations". CNN. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
  27. ^ "AOL Sessions". AOL Music. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
  28. ^ a b "Accolades". AcclaimedMusic.net. Retrieved 2007-06-05.
  29. ^ "Red Hot Chili Peppers: Greatest Hits". All Music Guide. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
  30. ^ "How CDs are remastering the art of noise". The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
  31. ^ "Sound Quality petition". Petition Online. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
  32. ^ "Stylus magazine".
  33. ^ Jonathan Cohen. ""The Red Hot Chili Peppers' catalog is now available digitally for the first time."". Billboard. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
  34. ^ a b Kiedis, Anthony - Scar Tissue; page 423
  35. ^ . VH1. http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/red_hot_chili_peppers/bio.jhtml. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Text "Red Hot Chili Peppers bio" ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accesssdate= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  36. ^ Kiedis, Anthony - Scar Tissue; page 424
  37. ^ a b Kiedis, Anthony - Scar Tissue; page 426
  38. ^ Kiedis, Anthony - Scar Tissue; page 427.
  39. ^ Kiedis, Anthony - Scar Tissue;page 435
  40. ^ ""Really Randoms" Nov 01, 2000 (paragraph 9)". Rolling Stone Magazine. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |accesssdate= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  41. ^ Dimery, Robert - 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die; page 856
  42. ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2007-06-05. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  43. ^ "Acclaimed Music - Classic Rock and Metal Hammer 200 List". AcclaimedMusic.net. Retrieved 2007-06-05.
  44. ^ "A Selection Of Lists From Mojo Magazine". Mojo. Retrieved 2007-06-05. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  45. ^ "(Germany) The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone (Germany). Retrieved 2007-04-07. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  46. ^ a b "everyhit.com". Retrieved 2007-04-20.
  47. ^ a b "Swedish album chart archives". hitparad.se. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
  48. ^ a b "New Zealand album chart archives". charts.org.nz. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
  49. ^ "Austrian Chart Archives". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
  50. ^ a b "French Chart Archives". lescharts.com. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
  51. ^ "Finnish Chart Archives". finnishcharts.com. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
  52. ^ a b "Swiss Chart Archives". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
  53. ^ a b c "Red Hot Chili Peppers single chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2007-04-20.

References


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