Californication is the seventh studio album by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on June 8, 1999, on Warner Bros. Records. It was produced by Rick Rubin. Along with Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Californication is one of the band's best-selling albums.
Californication marked the return of guitarist John Frusciante, who'd previously appeared on Mother's Milk and Blood Sugar Sex Magik, and shifted the band's style. The lyrics incorporated the sexual innuendos already associated with the band, but added themes including death, California, suicide, drugs, globalization and travel.
Californication is the Chili Peppers' most commercially successful studio release to date, with more than 15 million copies sold worldwide, and more than seven million in the United States alone. As of 2002, the album had sold more than four million copies in Europe. The record yielded several hits for the band, including "Otherside," the title track and the Grammy Award-winning "Scar Tissue." Californication peaked at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200.
The record marked a significant change in style for the band: Rolling Stones Greg Tate noted that "while all previous Chili Peppers projects have been highly spirited, Californication dares to be spiritual and epiphanic". Another critic, Billboards Paul Verna, mentioned that the album brought out "the group's softer, melodic side", as opposed to their previous six albums.
Background
In 1991, the Red Hot Chili Peppers released their breakthrough album Blood Sugar Sex Magik on Warner Bros. Records. After the release of Blood Sugar Sex Magik, guitarist John Frusciante left the Red Hot Chili Peppers, as he became overwhelmed by the band's newfound popularity. Dave Navarro was hired as his replacement, and incorporated elements of heavy metal and psychedelic rock on the band's 1995 album One Hot Minute. The album failed to match the critical and commercial success of its predecessor, and Navarro left in early 1998.
In the years following his departure, Frusciante became addicted to heroin and cocaine, leaving him in poverty and near death. Friends convinced Frusciante to enter drug rehabilitation, and in 1998, he rejoined the Red Hot Chili Peppers at the insistence of bassist Flea. While in rehab, Frusciante came to terms with rock stardom; in a Rolling Stone interview, he said: "It got into my head that stardom was something evil. If you were a rock star, you were trying to put people on. I don't see it that way anymore." With Frusciante, the Red Hot Chili Peppers began brainstorming ideas for a new album. Flea suggested the group record an album with electronic influences, akin to Zooropa by U2. When the band was turned down by multiple electronic music producers (including David Bowie), they decided to instead pursue an alternative rock direction with throwbacks to their roots.
Writing and recording
thumb|upright=0.8|alt=Rick Rubin in 2009|After producing the band's two previous albums, [[Rick Rubin (pictured in 2006) returned to produce Californication.]]
The majority of the music for Californication was written at Flea's makeshift garage studio in the summer of 1998. It took Frusciante several weeks to readjust to playing with bandmates, especially while recovering from drug addiction. Singer Anthony Kiedis noted that as a result of this readjustment period, Frusciante adopted a minimalist approach to guitar playing. According to biographer Jeff Apter, the Red Hot Chili Peppers wrote between 30 and 40 songs for the album, which would eventually get distilled to 15 for the release. The band members took on a laid-back approach to writing music. As Kiedis said: "Everyone was having fun. It was as if we had nothing to lose, nothing to gain. We didn't care; we were making music for the sake of making music."
Californication was recorded at Cello Studios in Los Angeles, and took a little over three weeks to complete. The band chose Rick Rubin to produce the album. Rubin had worked with the Red Hot Chili Peppers on their two previous albums, and Kiedis noted that there was some hesitation to reenlist him. "We thought that maybe it was time to get a new producer. Every time you make a record, it doesn't matter how good it was working with a producer, and even if you know you're going to end up making a record with that same person again, there's always a day when someone says, 'Do we want to get a new producer?'" About a week into the recording sessions, Jim Scott was brought in as a replacement audio engineer, as the band was not happy with the original production.
Composition
thumb|left|upright=0.75|Californication marked the return of guitarist [[John Frusciante (pictured in 2006), who had left the band in 1992.|alt=John Frusciante in 2006]]
Most of the material and lyrics throughout the songs in the album came from the "personal and professional turmoil" that different members of the band went through or were currently going through at the time. This resulted in the "sensitive approach that one might not expect from a band whose followers are skate-punks and fraternity boys". Kiedis's main point behind this album was to "tell tales of wandering souls who've lost their way searching for the American dream in California".
Californication's lyrics were derived from Kiedis' ideas, outlooks, and perceptions of life and its meaning. "Porcelain" resulted from Kiedis' meeting with a young single mother at the YMCA, who was attempting to battle her heroin addiction while living with her infant daughter in Los Angeles during the summer of 1998. Regarding the meeting that inspired the song, Kiedis said in 1999, "[the] Mum's in a haze, strung out on heroin, but the little girl's this beaming-wide sunball of an angel. The woman loves her daughter, but the juxtaposition of their energies is profound." Kiedis also had a love interest in Yohanna Logan, a fashion designer whom Kiedis met while she was working in New York City. Kiedis' involvement with Logan influenced his examination of love throughout Californication, in songs such as "This Velvet Glove". He had explored this technique on his first solo album, 1994's Niandra LaDes and Usually Just a T-Shirt. Frusciante considers "Scar Tissue" to be a "very simple example of the technique, but I think it's a style that sounds like me". The guitarist made use of slide guitar-playing for the solos in the song.
"Get on Top", a song which contains significant use of a wah pedal, was formed after a jam session conducted shortly after Frusciante had listened to Public Enemy: "I came up with [the rhythm to the song] on the way to rehearsal—just tapping it out with my foot."
Promotion and release
To promote Californication, the Red Hot Chili Peppers developed what biographer Jeff Apter called an "Internet presence opening themselves up to a whole new type of listener – the cyber geek." From June 4 to June 8, three new Californication songs were streamed every day on the band's website. Flea engaged with fans online with a series of Internet posts called "Fleamail", in which he would discuss the recording process, upcoming tour dates, and occasionally stream of consciousness style thoughts about his life. The Red Hot Chili Peppers also performed at various high school proms across the United States shortly before the release of the album. The idea was to reintroduce the Red Hot Chili Peppers to a younger audience. The theme of these performances was "Stop The Hate", which was in response to the Columbine High School massacre. The price of admission was a written suggestion on how to prevent bullying and hatred among high school students.
Californication was released on June 8, 1999, by Warner Bros. Records. By July 3, Californication dropped to number 7, and stayed on the Billboard 200 chart for 101 weeks.
A large part of Californication commercial success can be attributed to the popularity of its singles. "Scar Tissue" spent 16 weeks atop the Mainstream Rock chart in the United States, and peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. In addition, the song was added to the rotation of all 91 modern rock radio stations in the United States, the first song to accomplish the feat since "Discothèque" by U2. "Californication" and "Otherside" also saw significant radio play, peaking at number 69 and 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 respectively.
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 the United States leg of their tour, the Red Hot Chili Peppers were asked to close Woodstock '99, which became infamous for the resulting violence. The band was informed minutes before arriving that the crowds and bonfires in the fields had gone out of control. When the Red Hot Chili Peppers performed a cover of "Fire" by the Jimi Hendrix Experience to finish their set, the disruption escalated into violence when several women, who had been crowd surfing and moshing, were raped and nearby property was looted and destroyed.
To kick off the band's European tour, the band staged a free show in Moscow's Red Square, on August 14, 1999, to a crowd of over 200,000. Kiedis recalled the situation: "Red Square was so filled with wall-to-wall Russians that we needed a police escort to get near the stage." Following the European leg, the group did a show in New York City, at the Windows on the World, for KROQ radio contest-winners, and then at the Big Day Out festival in Australia following several Japanese tour dates. Flea, however, began to feel the repercussions of touring causing the band to set up concerts that were less strenuous, and consequently less financially rewarding, for them. These shows would finish the remainder of the Californication tour. As one of the last shows before the release of their next album By the Way, the Red Hot Chili Peppers played at Rock in Rio 3 in Rio de Janeiro.
Critical reception
Californication was very well-received by music critics in contrast to One Hot Minute and it was a greater success worldwide. The Edmonton Journal Sandra Sperounes predicted that the "mighty dope" album would be a success, and "Scar Tissue" and "Otherside" would be chart toppers. She praised the renewed instrumentation and harmonies but took issue with the numerous references to California.
Other critics credited the album's success to the return of Frusciante. AllMusic's Greg Prato said that the "obvious reason for [the band's] rebirth is the reappearance of guitarist John Frusciante", considering him to be the "quintessential RHCP guitarist".
While many critics found the band's new sound refreshing, NME criticized the Chili Peppers for rarely using their trademark funk sound, asking: "Can we have our brain-dead, half-dressed funk-hop rock animals back now, please? All this false empathy is starting to make my removed rib tingle." Pitchfork, while considering the album a triumph over One Hot Minute, felt Californication lacked the funk that was ever-present in Blood Sugar Sex Magik.
Retrospective commentary
Since its release, some journalists have credited Californication with revitalizing the Red Hot Chili Peppers' image and relevancy. During the eight-year period between the band's breakthrough album–Blood Sugar Sex Magik–and Californication, the Red Hot Chili Peppers' only release was One Hot Minute, which was seen by fans and critics as a failure. This criticism persisted throughout the 2000s, and some journalists cited Californication as an example of an album affected by the loudness war, a trend in which audio levels are increased at the expense of audio fidelity. In his 2009 book Perfecting Sound Forever, Greg Milner notes that Californication became one of the most heavily derided albums within online audio mastering communities, and that there are multiple online petitions for Warner Bros. to remaster Red Hot Chili Peppers albums without the excessive compression and distortion.
In 2003, Rolling Stone released their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time with Californication ranking at 399. It fell to 401 in the 2012 revised list, but moved up to 286 in both the 2020 and 2024 revised lists. In 2015, the staff of Ultimate Classic Rock named Californication one of the best rock albums of the 1990s. The album was also included in the 2018 edition of Robert Dimery's book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In 2024, Loudwire staff elected it as the best hard rock album of 1999.
Track listing
Personnel
Credits per Californication liner notes, and Sound on Sound.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Anthony Kiedis – lead vocals, backing vocals
- John Frusciante – electric guitar, slide guitar, acoustic guitar on "This Velvet Glove" and "Road Trippin'", backing vocals
- Flea – bass guitar, acoustic bass guitar on "Road Trippin'", backing vocals
- Chad Smith – drums, percussion
Additional musicians
- Greg Kurstin – keyboards
- Patrick Warren – Chamberlin organ on "Road Trippin'"
Design
- Sonya Koskoff – photography
- Tony Wooliscroft – back cover photography
- Red Hot Chili Peppers – art direction
- Lawrence Azerrad – art direction
Production
- Rick Rubin – production
- Jim Scott – engineering, mixing
- John Sorenson – additional engineering, engineering assistance
- Greg Fidelman – additional engineering
- Greg Collins – additional engineering, engineering assistance
- David Schiffman – additional engineering
- Jennifer Hilliard – engineering assistance
- Ok Hee Kim – engineering assistance
- Lindsay Chase – production coordinator
- Vlado Meller – mastering
Charts
Weekly charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Weekly chart performance for Californication
! Chart (1999)
! Peak<br />position
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
!scope="row"|Danish Albums (Hitlisten)
| style="text-align:center;"|8
|-
|-
!scope="row"|European Albums (Billboard)
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
!scope="row"|Irish Albums (IRMA)
| style="text-align:center;"|4
|-
!scope="row"|Italian Albums (FIMI)
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
!scope="row"|Japanese Albums (Oricon)
| style="text-align:center;"|7
|-
|-
|-
!scope="row"|Portuguese Albums (AFP)
| style="text-align:center;"|2
|-
|-
!scope="row"|Spanish Albums (AFYVE)
| style="text-align:center;"|7
|-
|-
|-
!scope="row"|UK Albums (OCC)
| style="text-align:center;"|5
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Chart (2002)
! Peak<br />position
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Chart (2011)
! Peak<br />position
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Chart (2019)
! Peak<br />position
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Chart (2020)
! Peak<br />position
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Chart (2024)
! Peak<br />position
|-
! scope="row"| Croatian International Albums (HDU)
| 3
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
! Chart (2025–2026)
! Peak<br />position
|-
! scope="row"| German Rock & Metal Albums (Offizielle Top 100)
| 14
|-
! scope="row"| Norwegian Rock Albums (IFPI Norge)
| 7
|}
Year-end charts
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+Year-end chart performance for Californication
!scope="column"|Chart (1999)
!scope="column"|Position
|-
!scope="row"|Australian Albums (ARIA)
|9
|-
!scope="row"|Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)
|13
|-
!scope="row"|Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
|32
|-
!scope="row"|Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)
|55
|-
!scope="row"|Canadian Albums (RPM)
|8
|-
!scope="row"| Danish Albums (Hitlisten)
|39
|-
!scope="row"|Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)
|17
|-
!scope="row"|European Albums (Music & Media)
|7
|-
!scope="row"|French Albums (SNEP)
|47
|-
!scope="row"|German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)
|18
|-
!scope="row"|Italian Albums (FIMI)
|6
|-
!scope="row"|New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)
|22
|-
!scope="row"|Spanish Albums (AFYPE)
|36
|-
!scope="row"|Swedish Albums & Compilations (Sverigetopplistan)
|12
|-
!scope="row"|Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)
|20
|-
!scope="row"|UK Albums (OCC)
|59
|-
!scope="row"|US Billboard 200
|36
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
!scope="column"|Chart (2000)
!scope="column"|Position
|-
!scope="row"|Australian Albums (ARIA)
|6
|-
!scope="row"|Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)
|7
|-
!scope="row"|Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
|20
|-
!scope="row"|Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)
|38
|-
! scope="row"|Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)
|14
|-
! scope="row"| Danish Albums (Hitlisten)
| 47
|-
!scope="row"|Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)
|6
|-
!scope="row"|European Albums (Music & Media)
|7
|-
!scope="row"|French Albums (SNEP)
|55
|-
!scope="row"|German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)
|6
|-
!scope="row"|Italian Albums (FIMI)
|19
|-
!scope="row"|New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)
|3
|-
!scope="row"|Swedish Albums & Compilations (Sverigetopplistan)
|7
|-
!scope="row"|Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)
|13
|-
!scope="row"|UK Albums (OCC)
|40
|-
!scope="row"|US Billboard 200
|24
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
!scope="column"|Chart (2001)
!scope="column"|Position
|-
!scope="row"|Australian Albums (ARIA)
|84
|-
!scope="row"|Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)
|72
|-
!scope="row"|Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
|86
|-
!scope="row"|Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)
|88
|-
!scope="row"|UK Albums (OCC)
|113
|-
!scope="row"|US Billboard 200
|180
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
!scope="column"|Chart (2002)
!scope="column"|Position
|-
!scope="row"|Canadian Alternative Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)
| 126
|-
!scope="row"|Canadian Metal Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)
| 62
|-
!scope="row"|UK Albums (OCC)
|124
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
!scope="column"|Chart (2003)
!scope="column"|Position
|-
!scope="row"|UK Albums (OCC)
|162
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
!scope="column"|Chart (2018)
!scope="column"|Position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Vinyl Albums (ARIA)
| 88
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
!scope="column"|Chart (2019)
!scope="column"|Position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Vinyl Albums (ARIA)
| 56
|-
!scope="row"|US Alternative Albums (Billboard)
|47
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
!scope="column"|Chart (2020)
!scope="column"|Position
|-
!scope="row"|Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
|174
|-
!scope="row"|US Alternative Albums (Billboard)
|37
|-
!scope="row"|US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)
|68
|}
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
!scope="column"|Chart (2021)
!scope="column"|Position
|-
!scope="row"|Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
|168
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
!scope="column"|Chart (2022)
!scope="column"|Position
|-
! scope="row"| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
| 97
|-
! scope="row"| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)
| 141
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
!scope="column"|Chart (2023)
!scope="column"|Position
|-
! scope="row"| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
| 96
|-
! scope="row"| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)
| 163
|-
! scope="row"| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)
| 98
|-
!scope="row"| Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)
| 76
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
!scope="column"|Chart (2024)
!scope="column"|Position
|-
! scope="row"| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
| 102
|-
! scope="row"| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)
| 157
|-
! scope="row"| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)
| 94
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
!scope="column"|Chart (2025)
!scope="column"|Position
|-
! scope="row"| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
| 72
|-
! scope="row"| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)
| 135
|-
! scope="row"| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)
| 72
|}
Decade-end charts
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+Decade-end chart performance for Californication
!scope="col"|Chart (2000–09)
!scope="col"|Position
|-
!scope="row"| Australian Albums (ARIA)
|align="center"|83
|-
!scope="row"| US Billboard 200
|align="center"|138
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
!scope="col"|Chart (2010–19)
!scope="col"|Position
|-
!scope="row"|UK Vinyl Albums (OCC)
|align="center"|71
|-
|}
Certifications and sales
References
Bibliography
- Larkin, Colin. Red Hot Chili Peppers – Californication." Encyclopedia of Popular Music, 4th ed. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. Web. September 27, 2016.