10 Best Rock Music Album Closers Of The 1990s
5. Road Trippin’ - Red Hot Chili Peppers Californication)
At the end of a 15-song album, you might expect a band to let off a firework of a song and go out with a bang. Not the Red Hot Chili Peppers; they rounded things off with an acoustic number.
The final song on 1999's Californication is Road Trippin', which features Anthony Keidis singing, John Frusciante on acoustic guitar, Flea on acoustic bass, and Chad Smith having a well-earned cup of tea.
On the surface, it seems to be about a group of friends planning a journey across the country. There's even a line about snacks, but there's more here than initially meets the eye.
There's something sinister about Road Trippin'. You start to wonder if the characters involved are running away from something, rather than just going on their holidays. Lines like "Let's go get lost anywhere in the USA" drive this point home and make this unorthodox ending to an album make a lot more sense.
Beautifully played, beautifully sung, and strangely haunting, Road Trippin' will keep you thinking about the album long after it actually ends. Also, "These smiling eyes are just a mirror for the sun". That's gorgeous.