40oz. to Freedom

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40 Oz. to Freedom is the 1992 debut album by the Southern California ska-punk band Sublime. 40 oz to Freedom received mixed critical reviews upon its first release, but is now generally approved as a sincere record, with many spots of brilliance and ingenuity. 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). 40 oz to Freedom is one of the most popular albums released in the third-wave of ska. Its 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"), hip hop ("Scarlet Begonias") and folk music ("Rivers of Babylon").

The album ranked at #10 for Top 100 Albums of 1992 and #402 for overall by Rate Your Music.

History

In 1995 (see 1995 in music), Sublime sent a radio CD to the influential radio station KROQ, and one of 40 oz to Freedom's songs, "Date Rape", became the most requested song on the station, leading the album to appear at #1 for five weeks on Billboard magazine's (North America) Pacific Region chart, and to appear on the Alternative Artist Albums Chart for fifty weeks. The band then signed with MCA Records, which, along with the birth of his son, convinced Nowell to voluntarily enter rehab. Though he remained clean for several months, Nowell died of a heroin overdose shortly before the release of Sublime's breakthrough album, Sublime.

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 folky religious song originally by The Melodians, and the outro, "Thanx", were hidden tracks.

The album has six covers: "Smoke Two Joints" (by The Toyes, commonly thought to originally be by Bob Marley), "We're Only Gonna Die" (by Bad Religion), "5446" (by Toots & the Maytals), "Scarlet Begonias" (by Grateful Dead), "Rivers of Babylon" (by The Melodians), and "Hope" (by the Descendents).

Track listing

  1. "Waiting for My Ruca" (Nowell)– 2:20
  2. "40 Oz. to Freedom" (Nowell)– 3:02
  3. "Smoke Two Joints" (C. Kay,M. Kay)– 2:53
  4. "We're Only Gonna Die for Our Arrogance" (Graffin)
    • Cover of the Bad Religion song "We're Only Gonna Die"
  5. "Don't Push" (Nowell)– 4:18
  6. "54-46 That's My Number (Hibbert) / Ball and Chain" (Nowell)– 5:17
  7. "Badfish" (Nowell)– 3:04
  8. "Let's Go Get Stoned" (Nowell)– 3:32
  9. "New Thrash" (Nowell)– 1:30
  10. "Scarlet Begonias" (Hunter,Garcia)– 3:31
  11. "Live at E's" (Nowell)- 3:08
  12. "D.J.s" (Nowell)– 3:18
    • Contains Lyrics from "A Message To You Rudy" by The Specials
  13. "Chica Me Tipo" (Nowell)– 2:16
  14. "Right Back" (Nowell)– 2:49
  15. "What Happened" (Nowell)– 3:27
  16. "New Song" (Nowell)– 3:14
  17. "Ebin" (Nowell)– 3:32
  18. "Date Rape" / "Rawhide"* (Nowell)– 3:37 (4:38)
  19. "Hope" (Auckerman)– 1:43
    • Originally recorded by the Descendents"
  20. "KRS-One" (Nowell,Parker)– 2:23
  21. "Rivers of Babylon" (Dowe,McNaughton)- 2:29
    • Melodians cover
  22. "Thanx Dub"** (Sublime)- 4:23 (6:23)

*"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. "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 22 and 23 are unlisted on the album sleeve. Track 23 is commonly referred to as "Thanx" or "Thanks Dub" and had an extended length of 6:23 on the original release of the album.

Personnel

Sublime

Additional personnel

  • Todd Foreman - saxophone
  • Chris Hauser - trumpet
  • Nick Martin - trombone
  • Brian Wallace - baritone sax
  • Duane Hartman - alto sax
  • Adam - vocals, congas
  • Jack Maness - vocals, guitar

Production

Chart positions

Album

Year Album Chart Position
1995 40 oz to Freedom Heatseekers No. 15
1995 40 oz to Freedom The Billboard 200 No. 140
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