“Christ, I’m a sidewinder, I’m a/ California King” bleeds the song “Parallel Universe”. It’s also a good way to sum up this entire album. Much of the album pays homage to the state the Peppers call home. With Californication, they’ve crafted a title through a little ingenious word play, splicing together California and fornication.
“Around The World” is quintessential Chili Peppers. It has a mix of the early funk with some newer, more mature Peppers. They also revisit an idea that the Beach Boys presented thirty years ago; California girls are the greatest of them all. It seems the reintroduction of former guitarist John Frusciante was the kick in the ass they needed. Dave Navarro is a great guitar player, but his dark sound and style didn’t fit the funk and animated vibe the Chili Peppers have always been known for. “Scar Tissue” is fabulous. Fans of “Breaking The Girl” will love this track with its deliriously simple yet pleasing harmonies and the tender voice of Anthony Kiedis stalling all thoughts in your head. “Otherside” is down the same road. I never quite expected the Chili Peppers to write tender songs so deftly. They’ve got it together. On initially listening you may find yourself annoyed by the slow pace, but don’t give up so quickly. In a week, you’ll come around.
Prepared to be wowed when the title track rolls into your head. Frusciante adds the thing that Dave Navarro lacked in simple yet effective riffs. Navarro was balls to the wall from beginning to end; Frusciante on the other hand knows when to tone it down. I’m sure you remember “Under The Bridge”. The guitar was simple but elegant. He’s done on this album something akin to what he pulled off on Blood Sugar Sex Magik.
Many of the lyrics are also wonderfully thought provoking. On “Easily”, Anthony spouts “I can’t tell you who to idolize/ you think it’s almost over/ but it’s only on the rise/ calling calling/ for something in the air/ calling calling/ I know you must be there/ the story of a woman on the morning of a war/ remind me if you will exactly what we are fighting for.”
“Emit Remmus”, summer time backwards, is about the blossoming love found and lost during the hot summer months. “Purple Stain” dances around Flea’s thick bass licks and tastes a lot like Mother’s Milk. “Right On Time” didn’t go sour either; it seems to have been fast-forwarded from the days when Kiedis did more rapping then singing.
The album ends with “Road Trippin’” and the sound of the beautiful choruses that the ’60’s so happily supported. You’ll find yourself caught up in the violins that add a finish to a voyage that begins in California and ends fifty minutes later, leaving you spinning no matter where you find yourself sitting.
+ rae gun
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