*** Red Hot Chili Peppers

CALIFORNICATION

(Warner Bros.)

Call it a triumphant return to form or just the articulate, soulful musings of a constantly evolving, quintessentially American quartet. Either way, Californication re-establishes the Red Hot Chili Peppers as a vital musical force.

You could argue that they never lost that vitality -- it's just that nearly four years have elapsed since the group's last full-length, and that's a long time in the current cultural climate. Boasting some surprising poignant tunes (the buoyant "This Velvet Glove," the reflective "Savior," and the harmony-packed single, "Scar Tissue"), as well as the expected raunch ("Purple Stain," "I Like Dirt," the percolating "Get on Top"), Californication finds the group sounding more cohesive and musically mature than ever before. Chalk it up to the miraculous return of guitar wizard John Frusciante, who, after spiraling into drug addiction during his absence from the band, re-emerges as a catalyst capable of energizing and focusing the Peppers. At times the disc sounds like a showcase for Frusciante's dynamic guitar work. Mostly, though, Californication just sums up a career's worth of punk-funk syntheses as it highlights the more subtle, often underestimated, nuances that make the Chili Peppers unique and relevant.

-- Mark Woodlief