Red Hot Chili Peppers [1999] Californication

[01] Around The World
[02] Parallel Universe
[03] Scar Tissue
[04] Otherside
[05] Get On Top
[06] Californication
[07] Easily
[08] Porcelain
[09] Emit Remmus
[10] I Like Dirt
[11] This Velvet Glove
[12] Savior
[13] Purple Stain
[14] Right On Time
[15] Road Trippin'



amg: Many figured that the Red Hot Chili Peppers' days as undisputed alternative kings were numbered after their lackluster 1995 release One Hot Minute, but like the great phoenix rising from the ashes, this legendary and influential outfit returned back to greatness with 1999's Californication. An obvious reason for their rebirth is the reappearance of guitarist John Frusciante (replacing Dave Navarro), who left the Peppers in 1992 and disappeared into a haze of hard drugs before cleaning up and returning to the fold in 1998. Frusciante was a main reason for such past band classics as 1989's Mother's Milk and 1991's Blood Sugar Sex Magik, and proves once and for all to be the quintessential RHCP guitarist. Anthony Kiedis' vocals have improved dramatically as well, while the rhythm section of bassist Flea and drummer Chad Smith remains one of rock's best. The quartet's trademark punk-funk can be sampled on such tracks as "Around the World," "I Like Dirt," and "Parallel Universe," but the more pop-oriented material proves to be a pleasant surprise — "Scar Tissue," "Otherside," "Easily," and "Purple Stain" all contain strong melodies and instantly memorable choruses. And like their 1992 introspective hit "Under the Bridge," there are even a few mellow moments — "Porcelain," "Road Trippin'," and the title track. With the instrumentalists' interplay at an all-time telepathic high and Kiedis peaking as a vocalist, Californication is a bona fide Chili Peppers classic.
(amg 8/10)

Robert Wyatt [1997] Shleep

[01] Heaps Of Sheeps
[02] The Duchess
[03] Maryan
[04] Was A Friend
[05] Free Will And Testament
[06] September The Ninth
[07] Alien
[08] Out Of Season
[09] A Sunday In Madrid
[10] Blues In Bob Minor
[11] The Whole Point Of No Return



amg: Robert Wyatt continues to follow his singular musical path with the lovely Shleep, delivering another album of considerable quirky charm and understated beauty; a less melancholy affair than much of his recent work, the record is informed by a hazy, dreamlike quality perfectly in keeping with the elements of subconsciousness implicit in the title.
(amg 9/10)

Rick Wright [1996] Broken China

[01] Breaking Water
[02] Night Of A Thousand Furry Toys
[03] Hidden Fear
[04] Runaway
[05] Unfair Ground
[06] Satellite
[07] Woman Of Custom
[08] Interlude
[09] Black Cloud
[10] Far From The Harbour Wall
[11] Drowning
[12] Reaching For The Rail
[13] Blue Room In Venice
[14] Sweet July
[15] Along The Shoreline
[16] Breakthrough



amg: This rather humdrum effort from Pink Floyd's keyboard player does have touches of his former band's haunting ambience, but the tracks on Broken China lazily skim along on shallow waves of new age-like synthesizer passages and lilting rhythms rather than engulf its concept of a man who is experiencing the repercussions of clinical depression, which is in itself Pink Floyd-like. The album is divided up into four sections, each representing a different stage of the character's mental illness. The idea is interesting enough and, while Wright's vocals are eerily reminiscent of Roger Waters, the concept fails to gain any momentum from one cycle to another. The music is dark...but too dark, and the lyrics are abstract...only they're too abstract. Wright gets too caught up in the complexities of his imagery, so much so that he fails to extend his concept outwardly in the form of music or message. Rather than jut out or take hold, the tracks all converge into each other with little or no rhythmic resurgence or elevation. "Reaching for the Rail" and "Breakthrough" are sung by Sinead O'Connor, one of the album's upsides, while oboe and cello add noticeable weight to the music's somberness in all the right places. Wright's first solo release, entitled Wet Dreams, is a much more entertaining effort, as is Zee-Identity, his 1984 collaboration with Dave Harris.
(amg 8/10)