Customer Rating:  
Summary: Pretty good, but missing a couple key songs
Comment: As a look at the John Frusciante years (which are MUCH better than the Hilel Slovak years), this album actually isn't bad at all. However, there are a couple hit songs missing here: notably The Zephyr Song (the one that got me into the group in the first place - why was it left off? It was HUGE back when it came out), Can't Stop (another must-have), Around the World (then again, it gives the listener reason to buy Californication, their best album), and Aeroplane (okay, maybe THAT'S what got me started on the group). The disc had sufficient room to fit these songs: I don't understand why they were left off, and why the average Save the Population (recorded specifically for the album, I believe) was put in their place. Now, you do get several deservedly classic songs, like the ballads Under the Bridge (which requires no further introduction - if you haven't heard it, you've clearly been living under a bridge for a while, and this is coming from the guy who can't tell you what the latest #1 hit is); Breaking the Girl; Californication; the non-album Soul to Squeeze; Scar Tissue; and Road Trippin': as well as some awesome funk-rockers that have been the group's bread and butter since the '80s (Higher Ground; Give it Away; Suck My Kiss; Fortune Faded, which deserves to be mentioned in the same class as the other three), as well as some great stuff that doesn't fit into either category, like Parallel Universe, Otherside and By the Way. While every song on this album but Save the Population is great - even the oft-criticized smash My Friends is, even though it's a cheap Under the Bridge rip-off, simply because it's a good Under the Bridge rip-off - too many key songs are missing. I advise you buy it just the same and pick up copies of Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Californication and By the Way (I don't have One Hot Minute, though I'm familiar with the singles), since all three are good albums anyway and they all have solid tracks to offer that were dropped from this album (Power of Equality, If You Have to Ask, Funky Monks, I Could Have Lied, My Lovely Man and Sir Psycho Sexy on BSSM; Around the World, Savior, This Purple Stain and I Like Dirt on Californication; The Zephyr Song, Can't Stop, Dosed, Minor Thing and Venice Queen on By the Way) - I also recommend their latest, Stadium Arcadium, though it's a bit uneven and a bit costly. Or you could hold out for a two-disc anthology, I guess - the group deserves one after all. Anyway, this is just three (okay, maybe four - forgot how much I liked Warped) missing tracks away from being the ultimate look at the Red Hot Chili Peppers' latest work (not counting key Stadium Arcadium tracks, since this was released a couple years before it): even casual fans should dig a bit deeper, but it's a great place to start.
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