I like them ok, the only album I really love is Blood Sugar Sex Magik, otherwise I find their albums a bit patchy.

Californication was when I became aware of the loudness war. The first time I listened to that album I thought the cd was defective! I findit very difficult to sit through the whole album.

rialb said:

I like them ok, the only album I really love is Blood Sugar Sex Magik, otherwise I find their albums a bit patchy.

Californication was when I became aware of the loudness war. The first time I listened to that album I thought the cd was defective! I findit very difficult to sit through the whole album.

But i like the loudness on the album

I don't get why Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magic is constantly seen as there best. It's a fantastic album and a HUGE turning point for the band. But By The Way had the band's best ballads and some of there best written stuff. The album is deep and the song's are all better written then Blood's. Stadium Arcadium showed every side to the band possible and it was a representation of all they where, what they had been through. And there growth throughout the years.....

Besides i even like the Uplift Mofo Party Plan more then BSSM lol

Gunsnhalen said:

I don't get why Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magic is constantly seen as there best. It's a fantastic album and a HUGE turning point for the band. But By The Way had the band's best ballads and some of there best written stuff. The album is deep and the song's are all better written then Blood's. Stadium Arcadium showed every side to the band possible and it was a representation of all they where, what they had been through. And there growth throughout the years.....

Besides i even like the Uplift Mofo Party Plan more then BSSM lol

Blood Sugar is where it all came together.

It has great and original funky tracks like If You Have To Ask & Give It Away that they have never quite been able to match since.

But it also had the first of their modern style songs, the melodic ballads. It had their "Stairway to Heaven" in Under the Bridge, to which all subsequent RHCP ballads are compared.

It really marked their entry into mainstream music with like 4-5 big hits on MTV.

The production and vocals are way better than on the earlier albums, and the music is way more diverse than, say, Freaky Styley.

Earlier albums had funky tracks, and later albums expanded on the melodic side, but Blood Sugar did it all the best IMO. Maybe it is not their best album, but I definitely see why people think it is.

Gunsnhalen said:

rialb said:

I like them ok, the only album I really love is Blood Sugar Sex Magik, otherwise I find their albums a bit patchy.

Californication was when I became aware of the loudness war. The first time I listened to that album I thought the cd was defective! I findit very difficult to sit through the whole album.

But i like the loudness on the album

You are a stronger man than I! I would dearly love to hear a remixed version of the album because there are a lot of great songs on it but, at least to my ears, they sound horrible.

rialb said:

Gunsnhalen said:

But i like the loudness on the album

You are a stronger man than I! I would dearly love to hear a remixed version of the album because there are a lot of great songs on it but, at least to my ears, they sound horrible.

Well, but that is how i grew up is listening to the albums loud guess i am used to it... but i would love to see all there albums get remastered!

NDRU said:

Gunsnhalen said:

I don't get why Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magic is constantly seen as there best. It's a fantastic album and a HUGE turning point for the band. But By The Way had the band's best ballads and some of there best written stuff. The album is deep and the song's are all better written then Blood's. Stadium Arcadium showed every side to the band possible and it was a representation of all they where, what they had been through. And there growth throughout the years.....

Besides i even like the Uplift Mofo Party Plan more then BSSM lol

Blood Sugar is where it all came together.

It has great and original funky tracks like If You Have To Ask & Give It Away that they have never quite been able to match since.

But it also had the first of their modern style songs, the melodic ballads. It had their "Stairway to Heaven" in Under the Bridge, to which all subsequent RHCP ballads are compared.

It really marked their entry into mainstream music with like 4-5 big hits on MTV.

The production and vocals are way better than on the earlier albums, and the music is way more diverse than, say, Freaky Styley.

Earlier albums had funky tracks, and later albums expanded on the melodic side, but Blood Sugar did it all the best IMO. Maybe it is not their best album, but I definitely see why people think it is.

Yeah, I think you summed it up pretty well. Plus, it took them quite a while to release a followup and by the time they did they had quite a different sound. I never got into One Hot Minute so by the time Californication, which in many ways is the real followup album, was released I had lived with Blood Sugar Sex Magik for quite a long time, roughly eight years. Had they released a killer followup to Blood Sugar Sex Magik in 1993/1994 with Frusciante in the band maybe people would not rate Blood Sugar Sex Magik quite so highly.

I do agree that Californication and By the Way are great albums but I do not think they sustain greatness in the same way that Blood Sugar Sex Magik does. I'm not nearly as familiar with Stadium Arcadium as I am with the other albums but it feels a bit undercooked to me. The songs are not quite as fully developed or as strong as they should be.

By the Way had potential to be a great album, but it is just too damn long. That is probably also true of Stadium, but it gets a pass for being a double album.

Actually I think Blood Sugar is too long to listen to all the way through, but at least it doesn't have any real weak tracks

Gunsnhalen said:

rialb said:

You are a stronger man than I! I would dearly love to hear a remixed version of the album because there are a lot of great songs on it but, at least to my ears, they sound horrible.

Well, but that is how i grew up is listening to the albums loud guess i am used to it... but i would love to see all there albums get remastered!

Me too. I grew up around a brother and a couple of cousins who had loud boom boxes in the back of their car.

Love these guys!

I'm a fan. I really liked Stadium Arcadium.

That being said, I'm not really looking forward to the new album.

I'm big John Frusciante fan, and I'm sure Josh Klinghoffer is a hell of a guitarist. It's just John's my guy!

I know long, long, time RHCP fans felt the same way about John after Hillel died. I think it's different because Hillel passed away.

John is an outstanding player, and an underrated singer.

I just feel like the Chili Peppers without John just doesn't feel right. Even Dave Navarro felt that way when he joined the band.

His playing on the last tour was great! I don't know. I'm definitely gonna keep an ear out for any new solo stuff from John, tho!

Timmy84 said:

Gunsnhalen said:

Well, but that is how i grew up is listening to the albums loud guess i am used to it... but i would love to see all there albums get remastered!

Me too. I grew up around a brother and a couple of cousins who had loud boom boxes in the back of their car.

The problem is that even on headphones Californication just assaults your ears. I love blasting great music loud but I also like to really listen to it too. With the way Californication is mixed/mastered there are no subtleties, everything is turned up to ten the whole way through.

Moi!

I like their earlier work better though. When did they stop writing their own songs?

HotGritz said:

Moi!

I like their earlier work better though. When did they stop writing their own songs?

I don't think they did

NDRU said:

HotGritz said:

Moi!

I like their earlier work better though. When did they stop writing their own songs?

I don't think they did

Oh ok. For awhile now I've been hearing that they collectively haven't written much of their own material since Frusciante left and that he was the main song writer of the group. I love them anyway and if Flea says they wrote 70 songs on the new album then cool.

HotGritz said:

NDRU said:

I don't think they did

Oh ok. For awhile now I've been hearing that they collectively haven't written much of their own material since Frusciante left and that he was the main song writer of the group. I love them anyway and if Flea says they wrote 70 songs on the new album then cool.

I had not heard that. But Fruciante definitely writes a lot, maybe it's true

Timmy84 said:

You know their history is quite odd looking back. In the beginning Hillel Slovak was the guitarist but they couldn't get off the ground commercially (guess they were just too weird for the mainstream). Oddly enough when Frusciante joined, that's when they start to find their ground commercially (Mother's Milk). But that only lasted until another album (Bloodsugarsexmajik) until drug problems caused Frusciante out of the group and Kiedis constantly struggled with his addiction when Navarro joined for One Hot Minute. Then they were in limbo until Frusciante got sober and rejoined for Californication. Now they have a new guitarist, who is Frusciante's best friend, so we'll see where this new album goes. I won't judge before I hear the album itself.

Yeah...and I loved when they were "weird"...good old days....the true essence of the Chili Peppers was in their craziness...sad that a huge part of the craziness was related to the drugs...

The new guitarist... he was the second guitarist in the last years....in the shows...when they finally decide to add the second guitar...

rialb said:

Timmy84 said:

Me too. I grew up around a brother and a couple of cousins who had loud boom boxes in the back of their car.

The problem is that even on headphones Californication just assaults your ears. I love blasting great music loud but I also like to really listen to it too. With the way Californication is mixed/mastered there are no subtleties, everything is turned up to ten the whole way through.

Hey rialb, there's an unmastered version of Californication that doesn't have anywhere near the same loudness issues circulating. It's only 192kbps but still much better than the awful sounding released version.

cindymay said:

Timmy84 said:

You know their history is quite odd looking back. In the beginning Hillel Slovak was the guitarist but they couldn't get off the ground commercially (guess they were just too weird for the mainstream). Oddly enough when Frusciante joined, that's when they start to find their ground commercially (Mother's Milk). But that only lasted until another album (Bloodsugarsexmajik) until drug problems caused Frusciante out of the group and Kiedis constantly struggled with his addiction when Navarro joined for One Hot Minute. Then they were in limbo until Frusciante got sober and rejoined for Californication. Now they have a new guitarist, who is Frusciante's best friend, so we'll see where this new album goes. I won't judge before I hear the album itself.

Yeah...and I loved when they were "weird"...good old days....the true essence of the Chili Peppers was in their craziness...sad that a huge part of the craziness was related to the drugs...

The new guitarist... he was the second guitarist in the last years....in the shows...when they finally decide to add the second guitar...

It's still interesting how until I saw their Rockumentary that I thought Frusciante and Chad were the original members but it turned out to be Hillel and Jack Irons. That was a trip and even more of a trip when it was revealed how Hillel died then I was like "damn".

funkee, rockin, great stage presentation and skilled muscians. i like their cover of

the beach boys 'I GET AROUND'

http://www.youtube.com/wa...VYhhF7bRa0 they're all club like here. sweeeeeeeeet.

seriously though, the RHCP's are in the league of major great musicians imo. flea's my fav

Saw them last Tuesday night in Hong Kong. It was one hell of a show. They don't miss a beat with the new guy on guitar. The new stuff is killer, but a bit different that the other stuff on the album. Very satisfiying. My only complaint would be the length of the show. They played for an hour and a half, and EVERYBODY wanted more. They had Dream Theater as the opening act. I felt I deserved more because of the suffering.

leonche64 said:

Saw them last Tuesday night in Hong Kong. It was one hell of a show. They don't miss a beat with the new guy on guitar. The new stuff is killer, but a bit different that the other stuff on the album. Very satisfiying. My only complaint would be the length of the show. They played for an hour and a half, and EVERYBODY wanted more. They had Dream Theater as the opening act. I felt I deserved more because of the suffering.

I would sooner see Dream Theater over RHCP, i saw RHCP on the stadium arcadium tour and was a little dissapointed and bored with the funk jam shit they did, i did something i've only ever done twice in my life and that was to leave halfway through the encore to avoid getting held up in the underground tube station.

the new song has grown on me alot but itt still sounds like everything else they've done. i'd say my favourite album is By The Way, some great pop songs on that album.

bigd74 said:

leonche64 said:

Saw them last Tuesday night in Hong Kong. It was one hell of a show. They don't miss a beat with the new guy on guitar. The new stuff is killer, but a bit different that the other stuff on the album. Very satisfiying. My only complaint would be the length of the show. They played for an hour and a half, and EVERYBODY wanted more. They had Dream Theater as the opening act. I felt I deserved more because of the suffering.

I would sooner see Dream Theater over RHCP, i saw RHCP on the stadium arcadium tour and was a little dissapointed and bored with the funk jam shit they did, i did something i've only ever done twice in my life and that was to leave halfway through the encore to avoid getting held up in the underground tube station.

That dudes voice is just so......

bigd74 said:

the new song has grown on me alot but itt still sounds like everything else they've done. i'd say my favourite album is By The Way, some great pop songs on that album.

That is the thing about the Chili Peppers, and in a way like Prince. You KNOW when you are hearing one of their songs for the first time. That style is that recognizable.

bigd74 said:

leonche64 said:

Saw them last Tuesday night in Hong Kong. It was one hell of a show. They don't miss a beat with the new guy on guitar. The new stuff is killer, but a bit different that the other stuff on the album. Very satisfiying. My only complaint would be the length of the show. They played for an hour and a half, and EVERYBODY wanted more. They had Dream Theater as the opening act. I felt I deserved more because of the suffering.

I would sooner see Dream Theater over RHCP, i saw RHCP on the stadium arcadium tour and was a little dissapointed and bored with the funk jam shit they did, i did something i've only ever done twice in my life and that was to leave halfway through the encore to avoid getting held up in the underground tube station.

lol i love dream theatre!!!

But i mean you have to expect the funk jam stuff from the peppers!~

What do you people think of "Purple stain"

DaniCalifornia said:

What do you people think of "Purple stain"

LOVE LOVE LOVE

mynameisnotsusan said:

rialb said:

The problem is that even on headphones Californication just assaults your ears. I love blasting great music loud but I also like to really listen to it too. With the way Californication is mixed/mastered there are no subtleties, everything is turned up to ten the whole way through.

Hey rialb, there's an unmastered version of Californication that doesn't have anywhere near the same loudness issues circulating. It's only 192kbps but still much better than the awful sounding released version.

Great, thank you for the information. Typically I am not much of an audiophile but right away my ears told me there was something a bit off about the Californication cd. It will be nice to hear a different version.

I assume that this is what you were referring to:

[img:$uid]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9BusZ5e9_fE/SD-vBvqLvdI/AAAAAAAADdc/1avkOAIh9-0/s320/Californication+Unmastered.jpg[/img:$uid]

After a quick google search there was also talk of another different version available as a download from amazon which sounded better than the cd.

Has anyone heard the amazon download?

rialb said:

Timmy84 said:

Me too. I grew up around a brother and a couple of cousins who had loud boom boxes in the back of their car.

The problem is that even on headphones Californication just assaults your ears. I love blasting great music loud but I also like to really listen to it too. With the way Californication is mixed/mastered there are no subtleties, everything is turned up to ten the whole way through.

I see. It worked really well on my stereo when I bought it though lol