Red Hot Chili Peppers. One Hot Minute (1995)

One Hot Minute is the sixth studio album by American alternative rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on September 12, 1995 on Warner Bros. Records. The worldwide success of the band's previous album, Blood Sugar Sex Magik, caused guitarist John Frusciante to become uncomfortable with their status, eventually quitting mid-tour in 1992.

It would be the first and only album former Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro would record with the band. His presence altered the Red Hot Chili Peppers' sound considerably. One Hot Minute contains fewer sexual themes than previous records, and explores darker subject matters such as drug use, depression, anguish and grief. It also integrated use of heavy metal guitar riffs. Vocalist Anthony Kiedis, who had resumed addictions to cocaine and heroin in 1994 after being sober for more than five years, approached his lyricism with a reflective outlook on drugs and their harsh effects.

One Hot Minute was a commercial disappointment despite producing three hit singles and reaching #4 on the Billboard Top 200. Blood Sugar Sex Magik had sold twice as many copies as One Hot Minute and received far more critical acclaim. Navarro was ultimately fired from the band due to creative differences in 1997. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of All Music Guide said that "One Hot Minute is as musically ambitious as Blood Sugar Sex Magik, but is even more unfocused, which means it provides the fewest thrills of any of the group's albums."

The Red Hot Chili Peppers had released Blood Sugar Sex Magik in 1991. The album was an instant hit, selling over seven million copies in the United States, and turned the band into international sensations. Guitarist John Frusciante was having difficulty coping with the band's newfound fame, and started to dislike it. Frusciante often argued with his bandmates, and sabotaged performances. He began experimenting with heroin, and steadily increased his usage of the drug as time progressed. Frusciante quit the band in 1992, during their Japanese leg of the tour. He returned to his home in California and became a recluse.

Stunned, the remaining Chili Peppers, who had no suitable replacement for Frusciante, hired Arik Marshall to play the remaining dates after being forced to reschedule. Upon returning to Hollywood, the band placed an ad in the L.A. Weekly for open guitar auditions, which Kiedis considered to be a waste of time. After several months of unsuccessfully looking for a suitable guitarist, drummer Chad Smith suggested Dave Navarro. He had always been the band's first choice, but had been too busy following the 1991 breakup of Jane's Addiction. Navarro eventually accepted the position after productive jam sessions.

Track Listing

All songs written by Red Hot Chili Peppers.

1. "Warped" – 5:04
2. "Aeroplane" – 4:45
3. "Deep Kick" – 6:33
4. "My Friends" – 4:02
5. "Coffee Shop" – 3:08
6. "Pea" – 1:47
7. "One Big Mob" – 6:02
8. "Walkabout" – 5:07
9. "Tearjerker" – 4:19
10. "One Hot Minute" – 6:23
11. "Falling into Grace" – 3:48
12. "Shallow Be Thy Game" – 4:33
13. "Transcending" – 5:46

DOWNLOAD ALBUM
SING IT

Red Hot Chili Peppers. Californication (1999)

Californication is the seventh studio album by American alternative rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on June 8, 1999 on Warner Bros. Records. Produced by Rick Rubin, Californication marked the return of John Frusciante, who had previously appeared on Mother's Milk and Blood Sugar Sex Magik, to replace Dave Navarro as the band's guitarist. Frusciante's return was credited with changing the band's sound altogether. The record was a notable shift in style from what was produced with Navarro. The album's subject material incorporated various sexual innuendos commonly associated with the band, and introduced themes of lust, death, contemplations of suicide, and drugs. Californication produced several hits for the band, including "Around the World", "Otherside", "Californication" and the Grammy-award winning "Scar Tissue". Californication peaked at #3 on the U.S. Billboard 200. It is the Chili Peppers' most commercially successful album to date, selling more than fifteen million copies worldwide; a revitalization in comparison to their previous album, One Hot Minute. The record marked a change in style for the band; Rolling Stone's Greg Tate noted that "while all previous Chili Peppers projects have been highly spirited, Californication dares to be spiritual and epiphanal."

Guitarist John Frusciante departed from the band mid-tour in 1992, while touring their critically acclaimed album Blood Sugar Sex Magik. It took over a year before the band found a new guitarist to officially begin recording with. Dave Navarro, formerly of Jane's Addiction, was invited to join the Chili Peppers after Arik Marshall, who had finished the remaining tour dates for Blood Sugar Sex Magik, was fired. Navarro influenced the band's ensuing album, One Hot Minute, by incorporating various elements of heavy metal and psychedelic rock, which was something that the Chili Peppers had not previously been notable for. One Hot Minute was a commercial success, selling roughly five million copies (although a let down compared to Blood Sugar Sex Magik). Critics, however, dismissed the album, claiming it was weak and unfocused. Shortly after the release of One Hot Minute, Navarro was fired due to internal differences.

In the years following Frusciante's departure from the Chili Peppers, he had developed a heroin addiction that left him in poverty and near death. He was talked into admitting himself to drug rehabilitation in January 1998. In April 1998, following Frusciante's three month completion, Flea visited his former band-mate and openly invited him to re-join the band, an invitation an emotional Frusciante readily accepted. Within the week, and for the first time in six years, the foursome gathered to play and jump-started the newly reunited Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Track Listing

All songs written by Red Hot Chili Peppers.

1. "Around the World" – 3:58
2. "Parallel Universe" – 4:30
3. "Scar Tissue" – 3:37
4. "Otherside" – 4:15
5. "Get on Top" – 3:18
6. "Californication" – 5:21
7. "Easily" – 3:51
8. "Porcelain" – 2:43
9. "Emit Remmus" – 4:00
10. "I Like Dirt" – 2:37
11. "This Velvet Glove" – 3:45
12. "Savior" – 4:52
13. "Purple Stain" – 4:13
14. "Right on Time" – 1:52
15. "Road Trippin'" – 3:25

DOWNLOAD ALBUM
SING IT