I think the previous week or two I was saying that I was trying cover as many different styles as I possibly could of bands that I liked. After 186 albums, I realized that I had never covered one by ska/punk/reggae legends Sublime. The band’s third and final eponymous album was one that if you were a teenager in the 90’s, you had this CD cause it made you look cool to have it. It was the band’s third and final album because singer/guitarist Bradley Nowell died of a heroin overdose at the age of 28 in 1996. It wasn’t until a month after his death that the self titled album would be released. The rest f the band was made up of Eric Wilson (Bass), Bud Gaugh (Drums) along with DJ Smash (Turntables), Marshall Goodman (turntables, percussion, drums, drum programming), Michael “Miguel” Happoldt (Guitar, Space Echo), David Kahne (Organ, Piano), Paul Leary (Guitar), Todd Forman (Saxophone), Jon Blondell (Trombone), and Lou Dog (The band’s Dalmatian). The album peaked at Number 13 on the Billboard Top 200 Charts and it has gone 5X platinum since.
1. Garden Grove– The song starts off with that hip hop like drum beat with that reggae/ska guitar riff. The heavy bass riff is based off of Cortuney Melody’s track A Ninja Mi Ninja. 4/5
2. What I Got– This is sort of a cover song because it’s based off Half Pint’s Loving and it features a melody similar to The Beatles Lady Madonna. Still such an amazing track, one of my personal favorites. 5/5
3. Wrong Way– is a purely a punk/ska track that is about a girl who is forced into prostitution by her brothers and her dad. She is rescued by the narrator, but he soon regrets mistreating her too. 5/5
4. Same in the End– A fast tempo ska/punk track that could be talking about drug addiction. 4/5
5. April 29, 1992 (Miami)– a track with a very cool reggae/hip hop sound to it that talks about the LA Riots.The track samples Doug E. Fresh’s La Di Da Di, Original Gangster of Hip-Hop by Just-Ice, and Mobb Deep’s Shook One (Part 1) 5/5
6. Santeria– Another favorite of mine on the record about a guy who wants to take revenge on a man for stealing his girlfriend. 5/5
7. Seed– Is a track that kind of has ADHD where it’ll go punk and then it’ll slow down to a reggae tempo. 4/5
8. Jailhouse– is the band’s cover of the Bob Marley track which features a little of Tenor Saw’s Roll Call in it. 4/5
9. Pawn Shop– is a cover of The Wailing Souls’s War Deh Round A John Shop with modified lyrics. 4/5
10. Paddle Out– a fast tempo punk track about the west cliff area of Santa Cruz, California. 4/5
11. The Ballad of Johnny Butt– Is The band’s cover of the Secret Hate track. 4/5
12. Burritos– if you remember the Fighting Blindly track which is Sublime’s early work, this track is a reworked version of it. 4/5
13. Under My Voodoo– a track that is a little bluesy at times before it gets punkified. I have no idea what the lyrics mean. 4/5
14. Get Ready– a great track to get you in the mood to toke up with the best of them. Love this track. 5/5
15. Caress Me Down- Probably my favorite track on the whole album whose bass line features the Sleng Teng Riddim from Under Me Sleng Teng by Wayne Smith. 5/5
16. What I Got (Reprise)– Just the reprise of the classic track. 5/5
17. Doin Time– Another favorite of mine on the record about a man whose trapped in a relationship with a girl who is cheating on him. 5/5
My Final Thoughts– If you don’t love this album, then you either do not like ska, reggae, or didn’t like growing up in the 90’s. This album is a classic from beginning to end. That is why I am giving the album 4.5 stars out of five for a final grade.
Moshpits And Movies 