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 by MCA Records. It is their first release following the death of singer Bradley Nowell and is the final studio album to feature him.

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 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

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. 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.'"

Recording and production

Sublime was largely recorded at Willie Nelson's Pedernales Studio in Austin, Texas between February and May 1996.

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. The album's original sequence, along with the original mix of "Doin' Time", was restored for the album's 10th Anniversary reissue.

Music and composition

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

Covered songs

  • "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".
  • 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".
  • "The Ballad of Johnny Butt" is largely a cover of a Secret Hate song from their Vegetables Dancing + Live & More album.
  • "Doin' Time" is a loose cover of the jazz standard "Summertime" by George Gershwin.
  • The heavy bass line of "Garden Grove" is based on Courtney Melody's 1988 7' single "A Ninja Mi Ninja", 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.
  • Part of the melody from "Seed" was taken from the Bel-Airs 1961 single "Mr. Moto" as well as "Lori Meyers" by NOFX.
  • 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.
  • "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.

Cover art

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. Ortiz's pop art had been featured on the band's albums before, namely their iconic "sun" logo used on 40oz to Freedom.

Release

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. Billboard deemed the band's posthumous success "a tale of tragic irony."

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