10 Albums Turning 20 In 2019
3. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication
The Red Hot Chili Peppers have had an unstable lineup to say the least. With bassist Flea and frontman Anthony Kiedis at the helm, the band has carried on through several guitarists and drummers. After their breakthrough with Blood Sugar Sex Magik, the band lost guitarist John Frusciante due to a falling-out.
A few years later, the Peppers regrouped with Frusciante in 1999 for Californication and struck gold. The album boasted stellar singles, but the deep cuts have some of the band's most eclectic moments.
"Easily" is a freewheeling rock tune, "Savior" is an epic tribute to one of the band's former guitarists, and "Porcelain" is a gentle lullaby song. Even the closer "Road Trippin" is a wistful send-off with acoustics and Kiedis' laid-back vocals.
It's at this point that I need to remind you that these are the same guys that were making nothing but funky frat-boy bangers for the first 5 years of their existence. Don't get me wrong, "Around the World" and "I Like Dirt" certainly bring the funk, but that's not what the album is going for.
Instead, the band took the opportunity to show the public a different side of themselves. And we're all glad they did.