Red Hot Chili Peppers
Californication
Warner
It is with great sorrow that I sit here and write this review. I like this group immensely and have listened to them since the beginning. But with this, their latest offering and reunion with ex-guitarist John Frusciante, I will not beat around the bush. This is their worst album to date. This is the most half-hearted un-inspired piece I have ever listened to. I figured after Frusciante did those two forgettable solo offerings, he would be back with a new vigor and excitement not seen in six years. But his playing barely raises an eyebrow or jump starts the heart. In fact, on two songs, “Scar Tissue” and “Savior”, you would almost swear he repeated the solo. Beyond that, there are no solos, at least none worth mentioning. And Flea? His playing is the most simplistic he’s ever done. And whoever decided to do the song “Porcelain” should be shot, maybe with heroin. The aforementioned song sounds like a reject from the movie Blue Velvet . The main problem is that these guys have become very formulaic. Out of 15 songs, two have that familiar Chili funk in it. Beyond that, pure boredom. There’s no funk and there is none of the Chili raps that we love so much. Which begs the question: Why do bands get to where they are with their fans, and then yank the carpet out from underneath them? See Metallica.
Warner Brothers Records, 75 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10019-6908
