40oz. to Freedom

For the drinking game, see Edward Fortyhands.

40oz. to Freedom
Studio album by Sublime
Released	June 1992
Recorded	1991-1992 at Mambo in Long Beach, California
Genre	Ska punk, Reggae
Label	Skunk
Producer	Sublime
Sublime chronology
Jah Won't Pay the Bills (1991) 40oz. to Freedom (1992) Robbin' the Hood (1994)

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.^{[citation needed]}

40oz. to Freedom's sound blended various forms of Jamaican music, including ska ("Date Rape"), rocksteady ("54-46 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").

Background

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 MCA Records subsidiary Gasoline Alley by Jon Phillips, who subsequently became Sublime's manager.

Influences

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.

The album has six covers:

• "Smoke Two Joints" (by The Toyes)
• "We're Only Gonna Die" (by Bad Religion)
• "54-46 That's My Number" (by Toots & the Maytals)
• "Scarlet Begonias" (by Grateful Dead)
• "Rivers of Babylon" (by The Melodians)
• "Hope" (by the Descendents)

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.

Release history

The album was originally released by Skunk Records on compact disc and cassette. The original cassette version contained a longer version of the track "Thanx"; the cassette version was 5:56, while the length was 4:23 on all other releases of the album. A longer instrumental version of the recording appears on the compilation Second-hand Smoke as "Thanx Dub", with a length of 6:28.

The album was reissued by Gasoline Alley Records and MCA with a different track listing, removing the song "Get Out!" and the hidden track "Rawhide" due to copyright issues — "Get Out!" contained unlicensed samples, and "Rawhide", which appeared at the end of "Date Rape", was an uncredited cover of the theme to the TV series of the same name. However, in the album booklet, the lyrics for "Get Out" are still printed. Additionally, other unlicensed samples were removed from the songs "We're Only Gonna Die for Our Arrogance" and "Let's Go Get Stoned".

The reedited version was released as a picture disc limited edition vinyl album in 2002 and a limited edition vinyl release through Hot Topic in 2010.

Reception

Sales

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. 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.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Punknews.org
This table needs to be expanded using prose. See the guideline for more information.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Sublime, except where noted. 

Skunk Records cassette version
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Waiting for My Ruca"		2:20
2.	"Get Out!"		3:32
3.	"40oz. to Freedom"		3:02
4.	"Smoke Two Joints"	Chris Kay; Michael Kay	2:53
5.	"We're Only Gonna Die for Our Arrogance"	Graffin	3:27
6.	"Don't Push"		4:18
7.	"5446 That's My Number / Ball and Chain"	Hibbert	5:17
8.	"Badfish"		3:04
9.	"Let's Go Get Stoned"		3:32
10.	"New Thrash"		1:30
11.	"Scarlet Begonias"	Garcia, Hunter	3:31
12.	"Live at E's"	Nowell	3:08
13.	"D.J.s"	Nowell	3:18
14.	"Chica Me Tipo"		2:16
15.	"Right Back"		2:49
16.	"What Happened"		3:27
17.	"New Song"		3:14
18.	"Ebin"		3:32
19.	"Date Rape"		4:38
20.	"Hope"	Aukerman	1:43
21.	"KRS-One"		2:23
22.	"Rivers of Babylon"		2:29
23.	"Thanx"		5:56
Total length:			75:22

Skunk Records compact disc
No.	Title	Length
23.	"Thanx"	4:23
Total length:		73:48

MCA Records version
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Waiting for My Ruca"		2:20
2.	"40oz. to Freedom"		3:02
3.	"Smoke Two Joints"	Chris Kay; Michael Kay	2:53
4.	"We're Only Gonna Die for Our Arrogance"	Graffin	3:27
5.	"Don't Push"		4:18
6.	"5446 That's My Number/Ball and Chain"	Hibbert	5:17
7.	"Badfish"		3:04
8.	"Let's Go Get Stoned"		3:32
9.	"New Thrash"		1:30
10.	"Scarlet Begonias"	Garcia, Hunter	3:31
11.	"Live at E's"	Nowell	3:08
12.	"D.J.s"	Nowell	3:18
13.	"Chica Me Tipo"		2:16
14.	"Right Back"		2:49
15.	"What Happened"		3:27
16.	"New Song"		3:14
17.	"Ebin"		3:32
18.	"Date Rape"		3:37
19.	"Hope"	Aukerman	1:43
20.	"KRS-One"		2:23
21.	"Rivers of Babylon"		2:29
22.	"Thanx"		4:23
Total length:			69:15

Personnel

Sublime

• Bradley Nowell – vocals, guitar, percussion, sampler, bass, congas
• Eric Wilson – bass, organ, percussion, vocals, congas
• Bud Gaugh – drums on tracks 7, 8, 12 and 16 (MCA release), sampler
• Marshall Goodman – drums on tracks 2-4, 6, 9, 11, 13-15, 17-19 and 22, turntables, vocals
• Michael "Miguel" Happoldt – sampler, guitar, vocals, piano, organ, sonicmanipultation

Additional personnel

• Todd Foreman – saxophone
• Chris Hauser – trumpet and bong rips
• Nick Martin – trombone
• Kelly Vargas – drums
• Brian Wallace – baritone sax
• Duane Hartman – alto sax
• Adam – vocals, congas
• Jack Maness – vocals, guitar

Production

• Producers: Michael "Miguel" Happoldt, Sublime
• Mastering: Brian Gardner
• Artwork: Opie Ortiz
• Photos: Josh Coffman

Chart positions

Album

Year	Album	Chart	Position
1995	40oz. to Freedom	Heatseekers	No. 15

External Links

• Official Sublime website