40oz. to Freedom | ||||
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Released | June 1, 1992 | |||
Recorded | 1991–1992 at Mambo in Long Beach, California | |||
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Sublime chronology | ||||
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Singles from 40oz. to Freedom | ||||
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40oz. to Freedom is the debut studio album by American ska punk band Sublime, released on June 1, 1992, on Skunk Records. It was later reissued by MCA. 40oz. to Freedom's sound blended various forms of Jamaican music, including ska ("Date Rape"), rocksteady ("54-46 That's My Number"), roots reggae ("Smoke Two Joints"), and dub ("Let's Go Get Stoned", "D.J.s") along with hardcore punk ("New Thrash", "Hope") and hip hop (as in "Live at E's").
40oz. to Freedom received mixed reviews from critics upon release, but has since earned an improved public perception. Sublime would not achieve any mainstream success until the release of their self-titled album in 1996, two months after the death of Bradley Nowell. As of 2011, the album has certified sales of two million copies in the US. It is Sublime's second bestselling studio album there; the self-titled album leads with six million. Along with the Offspring's album Smash , 40oz. to Freedom is one of the highest-selling independently released albums of all time.
At the age of sixteen, Bradley Nowell began playing guitar and started his first band, Hogan's Heroes, with Michael Yates and Eric Wilson, who would later become Sublime's bassist. [1] At first, Wilson did not share Nowell's interest in reggae music. Nowell recalled the experience: "I was trying to get them to do (UB40's version of) 'Cherry Oh Baby', and it didn't work. They tried, but it just sounded like such garbage. We were horrible." [2]
In 1990, music student Michael "Miguel" Happoldt approached the band, offering to let the band record in the studio at the school where Happoldt was studying. The band enthusiastically agreed and broke into the school at night, where they recorded from midnight to seven in the morning. [3] The recording session resulted in the popular cassette tape called Jah Won't Pay the Bills, which was released in 1991. The tape helped the band gain a grassroots following throughout Southern California. Using the same tactics implemented for the recording of Jah Won't Pay the Bills, the band recorded 40oz. to Freedom in secrecy at the studios in California State University, Dominguez Hills. [4] Nowell recalled "You weren't supposed to be in there after 9 p.m., but we'd go in at 9:30 and stay until 5 in the morning. We'd just hide from the security guards. They never knew we were there. We managed to get $30,000 worth of studio time for free." [4]
Sublime themselves credit a number of local reggae and rap bands from California for inspiration in their Thanx Dub. In addition to explicit mentions of artists like KRS-One and Half Pint, Nowell makes copious allusions to others through his lyrics. The line "Stolen from an Africa land" in "Don't Push", for example, alludes to Bob Marley's "Buffalo Soldier". References are also made to Boomtown Rats, Eazy-E, Beastie Boys, Tenor Saw, Pink Floyd, The Specials, The Ziggens, Minutemen, Jimi Hendrix, Just-Ice, Fishbone, Public Enemy, and Flavor Flav, among others. [5]
The album has six covers:
The song "Don't Push" contains lyrics from the Beastie Boys song "Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun". The song "D.J.s" contains a lyric from Bob Marley's "Ride Natty Ride" with "Dred gotta a job to do". The song "D.J.s" closes with lyrics from the Dandy Livingstone song "Rudy, A Message to You" which was popularized by The Specials, another band often credited as a Sublime influence. In "New Thrash," the words "There ain't no life nowhere" can be heard in the background, a reference to the Jimi Hendrix Experience song "I Don't Live Today" where the same words can be heard. "New Song" starts similarly to the 1990 song 'The Nigga Ya Love To Hate' by Ice Cube, with the line "I heard that payback's a motherfuckin bitch".
The album was originally released by Skunk Records on compact disc and cassette. The original cassette version contained a longer version of the track "Thanx"; the cassette version was 5:56, while the length was 4:23 on all other releases of the album. A longer instrumental version of the recording appears on the compilation Second-hand Smoke as "Thanx Dub", with a length of 6:28.
The album was reissued by Gasoline Alley Records and MCA with a different track listing, removing the song "Get Out!" and the hidden track "Rawhide" due to copyright issues — "Get Out!" contained unlicensed samples, and "Rawhide", which appeared at the end of "Date Rape", was an uncredited cover of the theme to the TV series of the same name. However, in the album booklet, the lyrics for "Get Out!" are still printed. Additionally, other unlicensed samples were removed from the songs "We're Only Gonna Die for Our Arrogance" and "Let's Go Get Stoned".
The reedited version was released as a picture disc limited edition vinyl album in 2002, following the sixth anniversary of the events of 1996. A limited edition vinyl was released through Hot Topic in 2010.
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [6] |
Pitchfork Media | 5.6/10 [7] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [8] |
Pitchfork gave the album a mixed review, acknowledging its influence while also critiquing the band for attempting to include too many contradictory styles and influences at once, creating an incoherent sound, saying, "The debut album from the SoCal trio is a flawed artifact of 1990s alt-rock, punk, ska, and hip-hop, but remains a fascinating document of Bradley Nowell as the honey-voiced musical tourist bro." [7]
The author of the article also called the album "prescient" in foreshadowing the role hip-hop would have on late 1990s rock, adding that much of the influence of the album was the lifestyle captured in the lyrics, adding, "the album resonated because it captured a lifestyle. Rejecting the smoldering angst of the grunge music that was beginning to take root on the radio, Sublime made revelry their primary muse, detailing parties, hookups, and bad decisions with such rowdy immediacy." The article also remarks that "time hasn't flattered" the album due to the lyrical content concerning consent and treatment of women. [7]
Remembering the album on the 25th anniversary of its release, LA Weekly wrote, "If 40oz. to Freedom revels in its careening, narcotic whimsy, that's partially why it's stood the test of time. At its core, music is utilitarian, and Sublime reached a universality of experience that can't become obsolete." [9]
Since its release in 1992, the album has proved to be a seller over time, moving over two million copies in the US alone and being certified Multi Platinum by the RIAA. [10]
All tracks produced by Sublime and Elephant Levitation, except where noted. The songwriting attribution in the liner notes states "all song by Sublime" with the exception of the cover songs. Various sources, including Spotify and Tidal, credit blues guitarist B. B. King for the song What Happened; it appears that this is the result of confusion with his unrelated 1969 song of the same title. Track listing adapted from Tidal. [11]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Waiting for My Ruca" | Sublime | 2:20 | |
2. | "Get Out!" | 3:32 | ||
3. | "40oz. to Freedom" |
| Sublime | 3:02 |
4. | "Smoke Two Joints" |
| Miguel | 2:53 |
5. | "We're Only Gonna Die for Our Arrogance" | Greg Graffin | 3:21 | |
6. | "Don't Push" |
| 4:18 | |
7. | "5446 That's My Number/Ball and Chain" | Frederick Hibbert | 5:17 | |
8. | "Badfish" | Nowell | Miguel | 3:05 |
9. | "Let's Go Get Stoned" |
| 3:40 | |
10. | "New Thrash" |
| 1:30 | |
11. | "Scarlet Begonias" | Miguel | 3:31 | |
12. | "Live at E's" |
| 3:08 | |
13. | "D.J.s" | Nowell | 3:18 | |
14. | "Chica Me Tipo" |
| 2:16 | |
15. | "Right Back" |
| 2:49 | |
16. | "What Happened" | Sublime | 3:27 | |
17. | "New Song" |
| 3:14 | |
18. | "Ebin" |
| 3:32 | |
19. | "Date Rape / Rawhide" |
| 4:38 | |
20. | "Hope" | Milo Aukerman | 1:43 | |
21. | "KRS-One" |
| 2:23 | |
22. | "Rivers of Babylon" |
| 2:29 | |
23. | "Thanx" |
| 5:56 | |
Total length: | 75:22 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
23. | "Thanx" | 4:23 |
Total length: | 73:48 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Waiting for My Ruca" | Sublime | 2:20 | |
2. | "40oz. to Freedom" |
| Sublime | 3:02 |
3. | "Smoke Two Joints" |
| Miguel | 2:53 |
4. | "We're Only Gonna Die for Our Arrogance" | Greg Graffin | 3:07 | |
5. | "Don't Push" |
| 4:18 | |
6. | "5446 That's My Number/Ball and Chain" | Frederick Hibbert | 5:17 | |
7. | "Badfish" | Nowell | Miguel | 3:04 |
8. | "Let's Go Get Stoned" |
| 3:32 | |
9. | "New Thrash" |
| 1:30 | |
10. | "Scarlet Begonias" | Miguel | 3:31 | |
11. | "Live at E's" |
| 3:08 | |
12. | "D.J.s" | Nowell | 3:18 | |
13. | "Chica Me Tipo" |
| 2:16 | |
14. | "Right Back" |
| 2:49 | |
15. | "What Happened" | Sublime | 3:27 | |
16. | "New Song" |
| 3:14 | |
17. | "Ebin" |
| 3:32 | |
18. | "Date Rape" |
| 3:38 | |
19. | "Hope" | Milo Aukerman | 1:43 | |
20. | "KRS-One" |
| 2:23 | |
21. | "Rivers of Babylon" |
| 2:29 | |
22. | "Thanx" |
| 4:23 | |
Total length: | 69:15 |
Sublime
Other
Year | Album | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|---|
1995 | 40oz. to Freedom | Heatseekers | No. 1 |
Chart (2002) | Position |
---|---|
Canadian Alternative Albums (Nielsen SoundScan) [12] | 133 |
Bud Gaugh is an American drummer who is a member of the band Sublime, and previously played in Long Beach Dub Allstars (1997–2002), Eyes Adrift (2002–2003), Volcano (2004), and Sublime with Rome (2009–2011), as well as Phil & the Blanx, Del Mar, and Jelly of the Month Club.
Bradley James Nowell was an American musician and the lead singer of the band Sublime.
The Long Beach Dub Allstars are an American dub/ska/reggae rock band formed in 1997 and disbanded in 2002, but reformed 10 years later.
Second-hand Smoke is a compilation album by the band Sublime. It was released in 1997 following the death of lead singer Bradley Nowell the year before. Although this is technically a compilation album, it features some unreleased material as well as recycled and remixed versions of previous tracks. Even though the surviving members of Sublime stated that the band would not make any more albums after Nowell's death, which would result in the band's breakup, MCA bound them by their contract and made the remaining members follow out their contract with the next three albums. Instead of recording more albums with Sublime, Wilson and Gaugh would record together in their later projects Long Beach Dub Allstars and Sublime with Rome.
Sublime is the third studio album by American ska punk band Sublime. Produced by Paul Leary and David Kahne, the album was released on July 30, 1996, in the United States by MCA Records. It is their first release following the death of singer Bradley Nowell and is the final studio album to feature him.
Robbin' the Hood is the second studio album by American ska punk band Sublime, released on March 1, 1994, on Skunk Records. It is noted for its experimental nature, low production values, and numerous samples and interpolations of other artists. It is their final studio album released in lead singer Bradley Nowell's lifetime.
Stand by Your Van is a retrospective compilation live album by the band Sublime. Tracks 1 to 11 were recorded live at Komotion, San Francisco, on September 9, 1994. Tracks 13 and 14 were recorded on the Warped Tour at Asbury Park, NJ in August, 1995. Tracks 12 and 15 were recorded at The Palace, Hollywood in October 1995. Track 16 was recorded at the House of Blues, Hollywood in April 1996. Lead singer and guitarist Bradley Nowell died less than two months later while still on tour.
"Smoke Two Joints" is a song originally written by The Toyes, who performed it in traditional Reggae style and released it in 1983. According to The Toyes, "one fine fall day on a small island" of Oahu in Hawaii, two of the band members, Mawg and Sky, were sitting under a large banyan tree on Kuhio Beach, "tokin' on some sweet bud & jammin' on a rootsy reggae funky town" when they conceived the song "Smoke Two Joints."
"Scarlet Begonias" is a song by the Grateful Dead. The lyrics were written by Robert Hunter and the music by Jerry Garcia.
"Date Rape" is a song by American ska punk band Sublime, originally recorded for their 1992 debut album, 40 Oz. to Freedom. It was first released as a single in 1991, but did not become a hit until four years later, when the Los Angeles radio station KROQ began adding it into their playlists and it quickly became one of their most requested songs.
Everything Under the Sun is a 2006 box set of rarities from the band Sublime. It is composed in large part of tracks that can be found on previously released bootleg albums. The collection features material from throughout the band's career, from their earliest demos to other rare recordings, mostly live performances, which never saw release. A DVD is also included and features videos of the band's most well-known songs as well as unreleased tracks. The box set peaked at number 97 on the Billboard 200 albums chart in December 2006.
Michael "Miguel" Happoldt is an American musician, producer, songwriter, mixing engineer, and label executive.
Badfish: A Tribute to Sublime is a Rhode Island–based tribute band dedicated to playing the music of Sublime. The group is named after a song appearing on the album 40oz. to Freedom. Formed in 2001 at the University of Rhode Island, the group's members, who were computer science majors, began playing local Rhode Island clubs and quickly began selling out shows. They continued touring the East Coast and Midwest of the U.S., becoming popular on college campuses and among Sublime fans who never were able to see the band due to frontman Bradley Nowell's death in 1996. Since then the group has done multiple national tours per year. In 2008, the band was nominated for Best Tribute Act in the Boston Music Awards.
Sublime is an American band from Long Beach, California that plays a mix of ska, punk, and reggae. Formed in 1988, the band's original lineup consisted of Bradley Nowell, Eric Wilson (bass), and Bud Gaugh (drums). Lou Dog, Nowell's dalmatian, was the mascot of the band. Nowell died of a heroin overdose in 1996, resulting in the band's breakup. In 1997, songs such as "What I Got", "Santeria", "Wrong Way", "Doin' Time", and "April 29, 1992 (Miami)" were released to U.S. radio.
"Badfish" is a song by American ska-punk band Sublime, released as part of their 1992 debut album, 40oz. to Freedom. The single was released in 1993, and again in 1997. The song was written by Bradley Nowell and originally recorded in 1989, reportedly influenced by The Ziggens song "All the fun that we missed" and Nowell's love of reggae. First released on the band's 1991 demo tape, Jah Won't Pay the Bills, "Badfish" appeared again on most of the band's compilation albums. An extended play (EP) was released in 1995 named after the track.
Marshall Goodman, known professionally as Ras MG is an American musician, songwriter and producer.
3 Ring Circus – Live at the Palace is a live album by American band Sublime. The tracks were recorded live at The Palace, Hollywood, California, on October 21, 1995. Lead singer and guitarist Bradley Nowell died less than seven months later on tour. According to the liner notes written by Jon Phillips, this is the band's "first-ever, official full-length concert release".
Bumpin Uglies is an American punk reggae band from Annapolis, Maryland.
Jakob James Markus Nowell is an American musician based in Southern California. He was a founding member of the band LAW, and was their vocalist until his departure in 2021. Nowell went on to form the band Jakobs Castle. In 2023, Nowell was brought on as the frontman of Sublime, a role previously held by his father Bradley Nowell.
Gold is a greatest hits album by the American rock band Sublime, released by Gasoline Alley and Geffen Records in 2005.