After a brief stint with Dave Navarro in the band, John Frusciante returned to the Red Hot Chili Peppers to make their masterpiece. "Californication" is the Peps top seller and the template for the band that we know today.  More after the jump.

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Yeah, some purists will tell you to go with "Blood Sugar Sex Magic" but the Chili Peppers of that time were still full of jagged edges and jams.  The Peppers followed with the Dave Navarro lead "On Hot Minute" which for all practical purposes was a bomb. When John returned a renewed focus on songs returned with him.  Like the best of albums "Californication" is best heard beginning to end.  The album had no shortage of radio singles, but even the tracks that never made the f.m. band are still good and part of the story that the album tells.  The big ones on the album were the funky "Around The World", the smooth jams of "Otherside" and the title track and, of course, the lead single "Scar Tissue".  On an 'album level', "Purple Stain", "Road Trippin'" and "Saviour" played solid back up.

Yes, you could go get the Red Hots "Greatest Hits" or download the tracks you like, but don't miss out on taking the "Californication" journey at least once in your life.

Here's a selection of videos from the album.

 

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