The Offspring (album)

The Offspring
Studio album by The Offspring
Released	June 15, 1989
Recorded	March 1989 at South Coast Recording in Santa Ana, California
Genre	Punk rock, hardcore punk
Length	32:17
Label	Nemesis
Producer	Tom Wilson
The Offspring chronology
The Offspring (1989) Ignition (1992)
Reissue cover
Singles from The Offspring
"I'll Be Waiting/Blackball" Released: 1986 (7")

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Kerrang!	[citation needed]
Sputnik Music

The Offspring is the debut studio album by the American punk rock band The Offspring, released on June 15, 1989 through Nemesis Records. After 6 years of discontinued print, the album was re-released by Nitro/Epitaph Records in 1995, with a different album cover. Both the re-releases on the two respective labels are nearly identical. Based on the moderate success of the album, the band was signed to a recording contract by Epitaph in 1991.

History

After in recording a demo tape in 1988, The Offspring began preparations for their first full-length album. They recorded it in March 1989 at South Coast Recording in Santa Ana, California, with Thom Wilson producing. During the sessions, the band re-recorded their early songs "I'll Be Waiting" and "Blackball", which originally appeared on the band's 1986 single with the same title.

The album was released on June 15, 1989 in limited numbers by Nemesis Records, only in 12" vinyl and cassette format. When it was released, the album initially sold 5,000 copies and it took the band two and a half years to sell them all. One of the copies was destroyed by Wally George at his show the Wally George Show in 1989, thus leaving only 4,999 copies left. Some copies also have the Cargo Records logo next to the Nemesis logo on the back cover. To support the album, The Offspring embarked on a six-week national tour, but Noodles was stabbed during their Hollywood anti-nuclear benefit. Following the moderate success of The Offspring, the band signed with Epitaph Records in 1991.

In order to fulfill contractual obligations with Epitaph, the album was reissued on CD (and again on vinyl and cassette) in 1995 after The Offspring gained fame with their then-current album Smash. This version is nearly identical to the one released on Nemesis. It features a different artwork instead of the controversial "Guitar Alien" front cover artwork, designed by the late Marc Rude. Six years later, the album was reissued once again on Nitro. Album pressings after June 26, 2001 (July 16 in the UK) do not feature the closing track "Kill the President"; according to frontman Dexter Holland, it was removed to prevent legal pressure falling upon the band and Nitro.^{[citation needed]}

Release history

The Offspring was reissued several times, with formats in different countries, and with different labels (see the table below).

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalog #	Notes
United States	June 15, 1989	Nemesis Records	12" vinyl Cassette	NEMESIS 6	First pressing.
Europe	November 18, 1995	Epitaph Records	CD 12" vinyl Cassette	86460	First CD pressing; features an alternative cover.
United States	November 21, 1995	Nitro Records	CD	NITRO 2	First CD pressing; features an alternative cover.
	November 21, 1995	Epitaph Records	CD 12" vinyl Cassette	86460	First CD and cassette pressing; features an alternative cover.
Poland	1996	Audio Max	Cassette	704	Rare collector's item, released without The Offspring's consent; features an alternative cover.
United States	June 26, 2001	Nitro Records	CD	15803	Does not feature the last song "Kill the President"; features the same cover as 1995 reissue.
United Kingdom	July 16, 2001	Nitro Records	CD		Does not feature the last song "Kill the President"; features the same cover as 1995 reissue.

Album covers

Two covers of this album exist. The original version had gained controversy because of its artwork, which features an image of a man's body exploding as a creature resembling the xenomorph from the Alien franchise holding a Stratocaster guitar emerges from his chest. On the 1995 re-release, the original cover was replaced with a different image.

The shadows on the back cover of the 1995 reissue also appear the cover of the "I'll Be Waiting/Blackball" single.

Track listing

CD issue

All songs written and composed by The Offspring. 

No.	Title	Note	Length
1.	"Jennifer Lost the War"		2:35
2.	"Elders"		2:11
3.	"Out on Patrol"		2:32
4.	"Crossroads"		2:48
5.	"Demons (A Mexican Fiesta)"		3:10
6.	"Beheaded"	Co-written by James Lilja	2:52
7.	"Tehran"		3:06
8.	"A Thousand Days"		2:11
9.	"Blackball"		3:24
10.	"I'll Be Waiting"		3:12
11.	"Kill the President"	Removed 2001.	3:22
Total length:			32:17

Original vinyl issue

Side 1

All songs written and composed by The Offspring. 

No.	Title	Note	Length
1.	"Jennifer Lost the War"		2:35
2.	"Elders"		2:11
3.	"Out on Patrol"		2:32
4.	"Crossroads"		2:48
5.	"Demons (A Mexican Fiesta)"		3:10
6.	"Beheaded"	Co-written by James Lilja	2:52

Side 2

No.	Title	Note	Length
7.	"Tehran"		3:06
8.	"A Thousand Days"		2:11
9.	"Blackball"		3:24
10.	"I'll Be Waiting"		3:12
11.	"Kill the President"		3:22
Total length:			32:17

• Track 11 was removed from album printings after June 2001. On the official Offspring website, "Kill the President" is not mentioned in the track list.

Track notes

• Track 1, "Jennifer Lost the War", is featured on Punk-O-Rama Volume 1.
• Track 6, "Beheaded", was later re-recorded as "Beheaded 1999" for the movie Idle Hands.
• Track 7, "Tehran", was later re-recorded as "Baghdad", which appears on their 1991 long-out of print EP Baghdad.
• Track 9, "Blackball", is featured on Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4.

Personnel

• Keith Holland (Listed as "Dexter Holland" on the CD version) - Lead vocals, rhythm guitar
• Noodles - Guitar, Backing Vocals on "Blackball"
• Greg K. - Bass, Backing Vocals on "Blackball"
• R. Welty - Drums

The song "Beheaded" was written by The Offspring and Jay Flinchwood.

References

General references

• (1989) Album notes for The Offspring by The Offspring [CD liner]. Nemesis/Epitaph/Nitro Records.