| 40oz. to Freedom | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Sublime | ||||
| Released | June 1992 | |||
| Recorded | 1991-1992 at Mambo in Long Beach, California | |||
| Genre | Ska punk, Reggae | |||
| Length | 69:15 | |||
| Label | Skunk, Gasoline Alley, MCA | |||
| Producer | Sublime | |||
| Sublime chronology | ||||
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40oz. to Freedom is the 1992 debut album by the Southern California ska-punk band Sublime released by Skunk Records and again by MCA. 40oz. to Freedom received mixed critical reviews upon its first release, but has earned an improved public perception since. Sublime would not achieve any mainstream success until the release of their eponymous album, two months after the overdose death of their lead singer and guitarist, Bradley Nowell, in 1996 (see 1996 in music). As of 2011, the album has certified sales of two million copies in the US, and is Sublime's second best-selling studio album there (the self-titled album leads with six million). Along with The Offspring's 1994 album Smash, 40oz. to Freedom is one of the highest-selling independently released albums of all time.
40oz. to Freedom's sound blended various forms of Jamaican music, including ska ("Date Rape"), rocksteady ("5446 That's My Number"), roots reggae ("Smoke Two Joints") and dub ("Let's Go Get Stoned", "D.J.s") with British and American hardcore punk ("New Thrash", "Hope"), and hip hop (as in "Live at E's").
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Early in their career, Sublime had developed a large following in California. After concentrating on playing live shows, the band released 40oz. to Freedom in 1992 under Nowell's label, Skunk Records. The record established Sublime's blend of reggae, punk, surf rock, and hip hop, helping to further strengthen the group's growing California following. Initially being sold exclusively at their live shows, the album became widely known in the greater Los Angeles area after rock radio station KROQ-FM began playing the song, "Date Rape". In June 1994, Sublime was signed to the label Gasoline Alley of MCA records by Jon Phillips, who subsequently became Sublime's manager.
On the original pressing of the album, which was distributed independently by Skunk Records, there were two additional songs. "Get Out!" appeared as the second track, and the theme from "Rawhide" was included on the same track as "Date Rape". Also, there were some samples included in "We're Only Gonna Die" and "Let's Go Get Stoned". The former two tracks and the latter samples had to be removed for national distribution due to copyright issues. Other differences on the original pressing include the fact that "Rivers of Babylon", a reggae song originally by The Melodians, and the outro, "Thanx", were hidden tracks. "Thanx" was also about 2 minutes longer in the original version.
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. "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, Beastie Boys, Tenor Saw, Pink Floyd, The Specials, The Ziggens, Minutemen, Jimi Hendrix, Just-Ice, Fishbone, Public Enemy and Flavor Flav among others.[1]
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" 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 "Love or Confusion" where the same words can be heard.
Since its release in 1992, the album has proved to be a seller over time, moving over 2,000,000 copies in the US alone and being certified Multi Platinum by the RIAA.[2] It was successful for Sublime's first album. Although the album was released in 1992, it hit its peak on the Billboard 200 in 1995 after the band had risen in popularity. The band would later release a picture disc limited edition vinyl album in 2002, followed by a limited edition vinyl release through Hot Topic in 2010.
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [3] |
| Punknews.org | [4] |
| This table needs to be expanded using prose. See the guideline for more information. | |
*"Get Out" and "Rawhide" were included on the original Skunk Records release of the album, but were removed from the later Gasoline Alley/MCA re-release due to legal issues with the samples and other copyrighted material used in them, however, in the album booklet, the lyrics for "Get Out" are still printed. "Rawhide" had originally been appended at the end of "Date Rape." "We're Only Gonna Die for Our Arrogance" and "Let's Go Get Stoned" had also used unlicensed samples on the original release which were later removed from the songs, hence the two different track lengths listed.
**Tracks 21 and 22 are unlisted on the album sleeve. Track 22 is commonly referred to as "Thanx" or "Thanx Dub" and had an extended length of 6:23 on the original cassette release of the album.
† indicates a cover song.
Sublime
| Year | Album | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 40oz. to Freedom | Heatseekers | No. 15 |
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