California (Mr. Bungle album)

California
Studio album by Mr. Bungle
Released June 13, 1999
Recorded 1998
Genre Experimental rock
Length 44:16
Label Warner Bros.
Producer Mr. Bungle
Mr. Bungle chronology

Disco Volante
(1995)		 California
(1999)

California is the third and final studio album by American experimental band Mr. Bungle. It was released on June 13, 1999, through Warner Bros.

Musical style

In keeping with much of the band's output, the album incorporates a wide variety of musical styles, including Hawaiian music, Eastern music, electro-funk, doo-wop, folk music, pop music, surf rock, circus music, kecak, thrash metal, lounge music, jazz rock, avant-garde music, piano ballads and music influenced by science fiction, spaghetti western and horror film scores.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [1]
Alternative Press [2]
NME 6/10[3]
Pitchfork 7.3/10[4]

California has been well received by critics. A positive review came from Pitchfork, who called it "one of those albums that you can't believe a major label had anything to do with", writing, "the more I listen to California, the more I'm convinced that Mike Patton is really the devil on holiday."[4]

Accolades

Year Publication Country Accolade Rank
1999 Rolling Stone Germany "Albums of the Year" 15

Feud with the Red Hot Chili Peppers

California was originally scheduled for release on June 8, 1999, but Warner delayed it by several days so as not to coincide with RHCP's similarly titled album Californication. During the summer and fall tour to promote the album, Mr. Bungle's agent booked the group for several major music festivals in Europe, but the band got removed from all of them at the last minute, apparently at the behest of RHCP frontman Anthony Kiedis (because they were the headlining band, they retained the right to choose what acts could and couldn't perform with them). The incident was a resurfacing of an old quarrel between RHCP and Mike Patton's previous group Faith No More that had occurred in 1989 when Kiedis accused Patton of copying his mannerisms on stage, especially in the music video for the song Epic.

Upset at the cancelled festival dates, Mr. Bungle retaliated by giving a concert on Halloween Night where they parodied several RHCP songs and ridiculed their onstage mannerisms and sound. Trevor Dunn later published a lengthy diatribe on his personal website which stated "Flea, in all seriousness, really isn't that good. I mean, c'mon. The Red Hot Chili Peppers were vaguely interesting in the late 80s, but Christ they fucking suck, they suck."

Track listing

No. TitleLyricsMusic Length
1. "Sweet Charity"  Mike PattonPatton 5:05
2. "None of Them Knew They Were Robots"  Trey SpruanceSpruance, Patton, Danny Heifetz 6:03
3. "Retrovertigo"  Trevor DunnDunn 4:59
4. "The Air-Conditioned Nightmare"  PattonPatton, Clinton "Bär" McKinnon 3:55
5. "Ars Moriendi"  PattonPatton 4:10
6. "Pink Cigarette"  PattonSpruance, Patton 4:55
7. "Golem II: The Bionic Vapour Boy"  SpruanceSpruance 3:34
8. "The Holy Filament"  DunnDunn 4:04
9. "Vanity Fair"  PattonDunn, Patton 2:58
10. "Goodbye Sober Day"  PattonPatton, McKinnon 4:29
Total length:
 44:16

Personnel

Mr. Bungle

Additional personnel

  • Bill Banovetz – English horn
  • Sam Bass – cello
  • Ben Barnes – violin and viola
  • Henri Ducharme – accordion
  • Timb Harris – trumpet
  • Marika Hughes – cello
  • Eyvind Kang – violin, viola
  • Carla Kihlstedt – violin and viola
  • Michael Peloquin – harmonica
  • David Phillips – pedal steel guitar
  • Larry Ragent – French horn
  • Jay Stebley – cymbalom
  • Aaron Seeman – piano on "Pink Cigarette"
  • William Winant – timpani, mallets, tam tam and bass drum
  • Billy Anderson – engineering
  • Gibbs Chapman – mixing
  • Ryan Cooper – publicity
  • Elizabeth Gregory – legal representation
  • Josh Heller – engineering
  • Malcom Hillier – sleeve photography
  • George Horn – mastering
  • Adam Muñoz – engineering, mixing and editing
  • Mackie Osborne – sleeve layout and graphic design
  • Justin Phelps – engineering
  • Rob Worthington – mixing

References

  1. ↑ Huey, Steve. "California - Mr. Bungle : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  2. ↑ Alternative Press: 93. August 1999. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. ↑ "NME Album Reviews - California". nme.com. December 7, 1999. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Mirov, Nick. "Mr. Bungle: California: Pitchfork Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on December 24, 2001. Retrieved August 22, 2012.