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Sublime (album)

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.

Sublime
Studio album by
Sublime
ReleasedJuly 30, 1996
RecordedFebruary–May 1996
Studio
Genre
Length58:31
LabelMCA
Producer
Sublime chronology
Robbin' the Hood
(1994) 		Sublime
(1996) 		Second-hand Smoke
(1997)
Singles from Sublime
  1. "What I Got"
    Released: August 27, 1996
  2. "Santeria"
    Released: January 7, 1997
  3. "Wrong Way"
    Released: May 25, 1997
  4. "Doin' Time"
    Released: November 25, 1997

By the time it came to record their major label debut, Nowell had been struggling with a heroin addiction. Sublime was recorded over a period of three months in Austin, Texas, in sessions characterized by heavy drug use and raucous partying. The album's musical style contains elements of punk rock, reggae, and ska, as well as dancehall, hip hop, and dub music, with tempos ranging wildly. Nowell's lyrical subject matter relates to relationships, prostitution, riots, and addiction. Nowell had been ejected from the recording near its completion. Nowell died due to a heroin overdose in May 1996, just two months prior to the band's major album release, which led to the band's dissolution.

Bolstered by numerous hit singles, among them "What I Got", "Santeria", and "Wrong Way", the record proved to be enormously successful, despite the band being defunct and thus not able to promote the album through touring. It sold over five million copies in the United States by the end of the decade, and it continues to be a popular catalog album. The album was released during the third wave ska peak, and etched Sublime into a permanent place among the stars of the 1990s. Critical reviews were positive, praising Nowell's songwriting ability and the album's musical variety. Sublime has since been listed as one of the most well-regarded albums of the 1990s by Spin and Rolling Stone.

Background

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Sublime formed in Long Beach, California in 1988 by vocalist/guitarist Nowell, bassist Eric Wilson, and drummer Bud Gaugh. The group originated as a garage punk band, and they eventually began to infuse elements of reggae and ska over the course of their existence.[1] The group formed playing backyard parties, attracting crowds of 300–400 people.[2] The band toured heavily over the ensuing years, leading to a major following among the beach-oriented surfing/skateboarding subcultures.[1] By 1990, the band had become a mainstay along the Southern California coast scene, and Nowell dropped out of California State University Long Beach one semester shy of graduating.[3] The trio recorded their debut album, 40 Oz. to Freedom, in 1992, selling the independent release at live performances. Local radio station KROQ began spinning the single "Date Rape" two years following its release, and Sublime rose to fame.[1] By this point, the band had dropped "Date Rape" from their setlists, but the ensuing success of the single led 40 Oz. to place on Soundscan's alternative chart for 70 straight weeks.[2]

MCA signed the group shortly thereafter, releasing their second album Robbin' the Hood in 1994. The record was nevertheless carried by various independent distributors, which placed it in independent record shops, surf/skate shops, and "head shops", in a marketing effort designed to appeal to the band's fan base.[4] The band also adopted the Internet as a viable promotional tool, distributing their albums through early online music retailers.[4] Despite this, Nowell had developed an addiction to heroin; at live performances, he would often be unable to make it through sets.[2] On several occasions, he would steal the band's equipment for a night's performance to pawn for drug money, knowing band manager Michael "Miguel" Happoldt would find a way to re-acquire the equipment.[2] He used clonidine patches in an attempt to quit,[2] determined to do so both before signing to MCA and before the birth of his son the following year.[3]

Robbin' the Hood performed well on college radio, and Sublime continued to grow in popularity, largely "on the back of the California punk explosion engendered by Green Day and the Offspring."[1] Nowell's addiction worsened over the course of 1995–96; on May 25, 1996, Nowell died at age 28 in a San Francisco hotel room of a heroin overdose. According to one report, Gaugh had raided Nowell's stash and shot up while he was away; he awoke hours later beside the deceased Nowell in bed. Gaugh later told a reporter that "I thought, 'That was probably supposed to be me.'"[2]

Recording and production

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Sublime was largely recorded at Willie Nelson's Pedernales Studio in Austin, Texas between February and May 1996.[3] Although he had previously attempted to stay clean, Nowell returned to using heroin, "more vigorously than ever."[3] According to Leary, on some days, the band would arrive at 9am "with margaritas in one hand and instruments in the other," ready to record; on others, "they nearly burned the place down."[3]

Nowell was so addled with the drug that he was sent home by Leary before the recording process was complete.[5] "There were times where someone had to go into the bathroom to see if Brad was still alive," he remarked.[3] According to Nowell's father, it took his son three days to recover, commenting, "It was the worst I'd ever seen him."[3]

The album was originally intended to open with a cover of Bob Marley's "Trenchtown Rock", followed by "Doin' Time" – a loose cover of "Summertime" by George Gershwin.[3] However, Sublime were initially unable to get the rights for "Summertime", so Nowell discarded "Doin' Time" as well as "Trenchtown Rock" entirely and re-sequenced the album.

The band managed to gain the rights to the song before the album was released, and "Doin' Time" was added to the end of the tracklist at the 11th hour. In order to release the song using the Gershwin sample, the band had to agree to use the line "summertime" instead of "doin' time". However, the song was already recorded with the "doin' time" lyric, and lead singer Bradley Nowell had recently died of a heroin overdose. The lyric was re-recorded by Sublime's friend/producer Michael Happoldt singing "summertime". It is this version of the song that appears on the album.[6] The album's original sequence, along with the original mix of "Doin' Time", was restored for the album's 10th Anniversary reissue.[7]

Music and composition

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Sublime features elements of punk rock, dub, hardcore punk, hip hop, reggae, blues, folk, ska and surf music.[8][9]

The album has been classified by critics as ska punk[10] and alternative rock.[10]

Covered songs

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  • "Pawn Shop" is a cover of "War Deh Round A John Shop" by the Wailing Souls with modified lyrics.
  • "What I Got" is based on Half Pint's "Loving" and features a similar melody to the Beatles's "Lady Madonna".[11][12][13]
  • Sublime also covers the Wailers' 1965 song "Jailhouse", written by Bunny Wailer, combining it with a partial cover of Tenor Saw's "Roll Call" in "Jailhouse".[14]
  • "The Ballad of Johnny Butt" is largely a cover of a Secret Hate song from their Vegetables Dancing + Live & More album.[15]
  • "Doin' Time" is a loose cover of the jazz standard "Summertime" by George Gershwin.[3]
  • "Get Ready" is largely based on Frankie Paul's 1987 single of the same name.

Samples

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Some of the album's original compositions also have samples:

  • While "April 29, 1992" is an original song, it features samples from "La Di Da Di" by Doug E. Fresh featuring MC Ricky D (a.k.a. Slick Rick), "Original Gangster of Hip-Hop" by Just-Ice, and "Shook One (Part 1)" by Mobb Deep.[16]
  • The heavy bass line of "Garden Grove" is based on Courtney Melody's 1988 7' single "A Ninja Mi Ninja",[17] and a synth loop in the third verse is lifted from the Ohio Players' "Funky Worm."
  • Much of the rhythm and melody of "Wrong Way" was borrowed from the Specials "It's Up To You" off their 1979 self-titled album.[18]
  • Part of the melody from "Seed" was taken from the Bel-Airs 1961 single "Mr. Moto" as well as "Lori Meyers" by NOFX.[19]
  • The guitar solo and chords in "Santeria" were a reuse of the ones in their song "Lincoln Highway Dub" featured on the previous album, Robbin' the Hood.[20]
  • "Burritos" is a reworked version of one of Sublime's earliest recordings called "Fighting Blindly", albeit with vastly different lyrics.
  • The bass line of "Caress Me Down" features the famous Sleng Teng riddim from Wayne Smith's 1985 song "Under Me Sleng Teng" and lyrics and melody are primarily from the 1980s 12-inch single "Caress Me Down" by Clement Irie.[21]

Cover art

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The cover art shows frontman Bradley Nowell posing with his back turned showing off his tattoo of the band's logo. The tattoo was applied by Long Beach artist Opie Ortiz on September 29, 1995.[22] Ortiz's pop art had been featured on the band's albums before, namely their iconic "sun" logo used on 40oz to Freedom.[23]

Release

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Sublime was released in the United States on July 30, 1996, with releases in Europe following that October and in Australia and Japan in December.[4] MCA drafted the band's former promotional team at Gasoline Alley (renaming the team Sublime Marketing) to promote Sublime through methods that played to the band's fan base. This marketing included posters and advance copies at independent shops, and advertisements in board-sport and alternative magazines.[4] Promoting the album proved to be challenging due to Nowell's death, with no band to provide touring support or broadcast appearances.[4]

The album soon began to expand upon the band's surf/skate fan base, appealing to consumers not associated with that community.[4] At least one retailer attributed this to Nowell's death, remarking to Billboard that "death sells," comparing a similar situation in which Roy Orbison's discography rose in sales following his passing.[4] Eric Weissbard, in a Spin column, compared Nowell's posthumous success to that of Jonathan Larson, the composer of the Broadway musical Rent, who died the day before the musical's scheduled premiere earlier in the year.[24] Billboard deemed the band's posthumous success "a tale of tragic irony."[4]

Abbey Konowitch, vice president of MCA Records, remarked to trades on the album's timing:

It's so unfortunate that Brad isn't here to see the way his music is being appreciated and accepted by the public. This is a very significant album in a significant time in music, and we're fortunate to have this music, though we're very unfortunate to not have one of the artists around that created it.[4]

Eric Wilson, the band's bassist, was "more pragmatic about the issue":

We just want the album to do well so that Brad's kid can go to a good school, and so that we can continue [to make a] living.[4]

Commercial performance

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By October 1996, the disc had moved 145,000 units; its success led to renewed interest in the band's back catalog, which experienced marked growth.[4] By April 1997, the album cracked the top 20 of the Billboard 200,[3] and it eventually peaked at position 13.[25] Sixteen months following the album's release, it still sold 40,000 albums per week.[3] It eventually spent 208 weeks on the chart.[25] As of April 2024, it has sold nearly 7 million copies in the United States, according to Luminate Data.[26]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [27]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music     [28]
Entertainment WeeklyB[9]
Los Angeles Times    [8]
Rolling Stone     [29]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide     [30]
USA Today    [31]
The Village VoiceA−[32]

David Fricke of Rolling Stone complimented the band's "bright, wired bounce and the shell-game shuffle of funk beats, snappy Jamaican rhythms and mosh-pit, shout-it-out choruses in Nowell's writing," deeming it "the stuff of a band with great promise and the confidence to make good on it. If only that were still possible."[29] RJ Smith of Spin praised Nowell's songwriting craft, writing, "It might seem a daring experiment if it hadn't so effortlessly sprung from a Long Beach surf scene that featured acoustic jams on the beach that naturally flowed from Wailers to Descendents classics [...] Sublime succeeds not just on vibe but on songcraft."[2] Nisid Hajari of Entertainment Weekly called the album a "respectable testament" to Nowell's memory, ultimately noting that the record "coheres more on an intellectual rather than emotional level, its sound too diffuse to be dramatic."[9] Robert Christgau of The Village Voice gave the record an A−, commenting, "Junkies who retain enough soul to create music at all are generally driven to put their brilliance and stupidity in your face. Nowell is altogether more loving, unassuming, good-humored, and down-to-earth — or so he pretends, which when you're good is all it takes."[32]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic reports that Nowell's death allowed the album to be "slightly overrated in some critical quarters".[27] His critical review deems the album engaging and a demonstration of their potential, but also at times meandering: "The low moments don't arrive that often — by and large, the album is quite engaging — but they happen frequently enough to make the record a demonstration of the band's blossoming ability, but not the fulfillment of their full potential."[27]

Accolades

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Spin included the album on its list of the best albums of the decade, opining that it "redeemed" modern rock radio in the post-grunge era. It deems Sublime "a tragic contradiction: a confident, clearheaded work by an artist coming into his own and at the same time losing control."[5]

Year Publication Rank Country List
1997 Spin 8 United States The 20 Best Albums of '96[33]
1999 48 The 90 Greatest Albums of the '90s[5]
Rolling Stone * The Essential Recordings of the 90's[34]
2011 25 100 Best Albums of the Nineties[35]

Track listing

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All songs written by Bradley Nowell, Eric Wilson, and Bud Gaugh, except where noted.[36]

Sublime track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Garden Grove"
Paul Leary4:22
2."What I Got"
David Kahne2:51
3."Wrong Way" Leary2:16
4."Same in the End" Leary2:36
5."April 29, 1992 (Miami)"
Kahne3:53
6."Santeria" Leary3:03
7."Seed" Leary2:10
8."Jailhouse" Leary4:53
9."Pawn Shop"
  • Nowell
  • Wilson
  • Gaugh
  • LLoyd Mcdonald
  • Winston Matthews
Leary6:06
10."Paddle Out" 
1:15
11."The Ballad of Johnny Butt"
  • Kevin Roach
  • Mike Davis
  • Rick Selga
Leary2:11
12."Burritos" Leary3:55
13."Under My Voodoo" Leary3:25
14."Get Ready"
  • Nowell
  • Wilson
  • Gaugh
  • Parker
Leary4:50
15."Caress Me Down" Kahne3:31
16."What I Got" (Reprise)
  • Nowell
  • Wilson
  • Gaugh
  • Roberts
Leary3:01
17."Doin' Time"
Kahne4:14
Total length:58:31

Personnel

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Sublime

Additional personnel

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Production

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Charts and certifications

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d John Bush. "Sublime – All Music Guide". Allmusic. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g RJ Smith (January 1997). "Drug Bust". Spin. 12 (10). SPIN Media LCC: 63–67. ISSN 0886-3032. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Mark Kemp (December 25, 1997). "Bradley Nowell: Life After Death". Rolling Stone (776–777). New York City: Wenner Media LLC. ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Doug Reese (October 5, 1996). "MCA's Sublime Climbs Up From Grass-Roots". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 40. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 1/105. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  5. ^ a b c Eric Weisbard (September 1999). "The 90 Greatest Albums of the '90s". Spin. 15 (9). SPIN Media LCC: 144. ISSN 0886-3032. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  6. ^ Sublime – Stories, Tales, Lies and Exaggerations (1998) DVD
  7. ^ ""Sublime Deluxe Edition," out August 15, Celebrates 10-Year Anniversary of Landmark Modern Rock Album; Two-Disc Set Boasts Original Version of Hit Single "Doin' Time" and Original Unreleased Album Sequence" (Press release). BusinessWire. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  8. ^ a b Boehm, Mike (July 28, 1996). "A Swan Song That Wails and Soars". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  9. ^ a b c Hajari, Nisid (August 16, 1996). "Sublime". Entertainment Weekly. No. 340. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  10. ^ a b Peacock, Tim (July 30, 2020). "How Sublime's Self-Titled Third Album Yielded Triumph And Tragedy". UDiscoverMusic.
  11. ^ MacMichael, Ryan A. (1998). "Half Pint: Still Levelling the Vibes". Reggae Report. 16 (2).
  12. ^ "What I Got by Sublime Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  13. ^ "sublime STP". sublime STP. 1992-04-29. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  14. ^ "Jailhouse by Sublime Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  15. ^ "sublime STP". sublime STP. 1992-04-29. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  16. ^ "April 29, 1992 (Miami) by Sublime Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  17. ^ "sublime STP". sublime STP. 1992-04-29. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  18. ^ "sublime STP". sublime STP. 1992-04-29. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  19. ^ "sublime STP". sublime STP. 1992-04-29. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  20. ^ "Santeria by Sublime Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  21. ^ "sublime STP". sublime STP. 1992-04-29. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  22. ^ "Sublime's Bradley Nowell Gets Iconic "SUBLIME" Tattoo 24 Years Ago Today". 29 September 2019.
  23. ^ "The Story of Sublime's Iconic Sun Logo and How It's Rising into the Mainstream – OC Weekly".
  24. ^ Eric Weissbard (December 1996). "Whatever". Spin. 12 (9). SPIN Media LCC: 147. ISSN 0886-3032. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  25. ^ a b "Sublime / Sublime". billboard.elpee.jp. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
  26. ^ Lipshutz, Jason (2024-04-10). "Sublime Rises Again: Bradley Nowell's Son Jakob Could Lead a Huge New Era (If External Conflicts Don't Weigh It Down)". Billboard. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  27. ^ a b c Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Sublime – Sublime". AllMusic. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  28. ^ Larkin, Colin (2009). "Sublime". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-972636-3. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  29. ^ a b Fricke, David (December 2, 1996). "Sublime: Sublime". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 20, 2007. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
  30. ^ Harris, Keith (2004). "Sublime". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 790. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  31. ^ Gundersen, Edna (August 27, 1996). "Sublime". USA Today.
  32. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (March 11, 1997). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
  33. ^ Ann Powers (January 1997). "The 20 Best Albums of '96". Spin. 12 (10). SPIN Media LCC: 58. ISSN 0886-3032. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  34. ^ "The Essential Recordings of the 90's". Rolling Stone. New York City: Wenner Media LLC. April 21, 1999. ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  35. ^ "100 Best Albums of the Nineties". Rolling Stone. New York City: Wenner Media LLC. April 27, 2011. ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  36. ^ "Try the TIDAL Web Player". listen.tidal.com. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  37. ^ "Official IFPI Charts – Top-75 Albums Sales Chart (Week: 29/2024)". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on July 25, 2024. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
  38. ^ "Charts.nz – Sublime – Sublime". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  39. ^ "Sublime Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  40. ^ "Sublime Chart History (Top Catalog Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  41. ^ "Sublime Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  42. ^ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1996". Billboard. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  43. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 1997". The Official NZ Music Charts. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  44. ^ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1997". Billboard. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  45. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 1998". The Official NZ Music Charts. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  46. ^ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1998". Billboard. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  47. ^ "Canada's Top 200 Alternative albums of 2002". Jam!. Archived from the original on September 2, 2004. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  48. ^ "Top 100 Metal Albums of 2002". Jam!. Archived from the original on August 12, 2004. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  49. ^ "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  50. ^ "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  51. ^ "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  52. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Sublime – Sublime". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 2024-11-20.
  53. ^ "American album certifications – Sublime – Sublime". Recording Industry Association of America.
 
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