Californication is the seventh studio album by U.S. rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on June 8, 1999, on Warner Bros.

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.

The record marked a significant 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 epiphanic".

[7] In 1991, the Red Hot Chili Peppers released their breakthrough album Blood Sugar Sex Magik on Warner Bros.

[1][8] After the release of Blood Sugar Sex Magik, the guitarist John Frusciante left the Red Hot Chili Peppers, as he became overwhelmed by the band's newfound popularity.

[9] 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.

[11] Friends convinced Frusciante to enter drug rehabilitation, and in 1998, he rejoined the Red Hot Chili Peppers at the insistence of bassist Flea.

[13] 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.

[13] Singer Anthony Kiedis noted that as a result of this readjustment period, Frusciante adopted a minimalist approach to guitar playing.

[15] 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.

"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.

"[26] "Savior", a song found towards the end of the album, features heavy effects, most notably an Electro-Harmonix Micro Synth with 16-second delay.

[29] 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.

[30] 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.

[31] The Red Hot Chili Peppers also performed at various high school proms across the United States shortly before the release of the album.

[32] It debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200 chart, and sold 189,000 copies by June 26, surpassing the initial sales of Blood Sugar Sex Magik and One Hot Minute.

"[45] "Scar Tissue" was the lead single, and in the accompanying music video, the four band members ride in a convertible through Joshua Tree National Park.

[46] "Scar Tissue" spent 16 weeks atop the Mainstream Rock chart in the United States, and peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100.

[48] 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.

[49] 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.

"[6] Songs such as "Otherside" and "Porcelain" were called "Pumpkins-esque", while the album as a whole was "epiphanal" and the "RHCP furthermuckers are now moving toward funk's real Holy Grail: that salty marriage of esoteric mythology and insatiable musicality that salvages souls, binds communities and heals the sick.

"[6] Howard Cohen hailed Californication as a major improvement over its predecessor in the Miami Herald, finding it features the band's "most accomplished music" to date.

[65] The Edmonton Journal's Sandra Sperounes predicted that the "mighty dope" album would be a success, and "Scar Tissue" and "Otherside" would be chart toppers.

"[68] 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.

[62] Critic Robert Christgau gave the album a one-star honorable mention (), describing the band as "New Age fuck fiends" and citing "Scar Tissue" and "Purple Stain" as highlights.

[71] Additionally, the rise of the Internet and online music streaming platforms such as Napster gave consumers more options to listen to, which meant established bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers no longer had built-in followings.

[72] Writing about this period of the band's career, Ryan Leas of Stereogum said: "RHCP had already been around since the early days of the '80s, but they were now approaching the other side of another decade, one that had granted them stardom ... they were positioned for, in need of, a comeback moment.

"[71] Loudwire's Chad Childer's offers similar commentary, and believes Californication helped solidify the band's status as eventual inductees in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.