40oz

40oz. to Freedom

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").

History

In 1995 (see 1995 in music), Sublime sent a 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).

Total sales

Since its release in 1992, the album has proved to be a seller over time, moving over 700,000 copies in the US alone and being certified Mutli Platinum by the RIAA. It is Sublime's first most successful album to date. Although the album was released in 1992, it hit its peak on the Billboard 200 in 1995 after the band had risen in popularity.

Track listing

"Waiting for My Ruca" (Nowell)– 2:20

Contains sample of "History Lesson - Part II" by the Minutemen
Contains sample of "Tough" by Kurtis Blow

"40 oz. to Freedom" (Nowell)– 3:02
"Smoke Two Joints" (C. Kay, M. Kay)– 2:53

Originally Recorded by The Toyes
Contains sample of Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
Contains samples of "Outside!" by The Ziggens
Contains sample of "No More" by Eazy-E

"We're Only Gonna Die for Our Own Arrogance" (Graffin)

Cover of "We're Only Gonna Die" by Bad Religion

"Don't Push" (Nowell)– 4:18
"54-46 That's My Number/Ball and Chain" (Hibbert, Nowell)– 5:17

"54-46 That's My Number" was originally recorded by Toots & the Maytals

"Badfish" (Nowell)– 3:04
"Let's Go Get Stoned" (Nowell)– 3:32

Contains samples of "Just Don't Bite It" by N.W.A
Contains samples of "Rebel Without a Pause" by Public Enemy
Contains sample of "Contract on the World Love Jam" by Public Enemy
Contains sample of "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)" by the Beastie Boys
Contains sample of "Let's Go Get Stoned" by Ray Charles

"New Thrash" (Nowell)– 1:30
"Scarlet Begonias" (Hunter, Garcia)– 3:31

Originally recorded by The Grateful Dead
Contains samples of "Funky Drummer" by James Brown

"Live at E's" (Nowell)- 3:08
"D.J.s" (Nowell)– 3:18

Contains lyrics from "A Message To You Rudy" by The Specials

"Chica Me Tipo" (Nowell)– 2:16
"Right Back" (Nowell)– 2:49
"What Happened" (Nowell)– 3:27

Contains sample from "Rhapsody in Blue" by George Gershwin
Contains elements of "Tequila" by The Champs

"New Song" (Nowell)– 3:14

Contains sample from "Atomic Dog" by George Clinton

"Ebin" (Nowell)– 3:32
"Date Rape/Rawhide"* (Nowell)– 3:37 (4:38)
"Hope" (Auckerman)– 1:43

Originally recorded by Descendents

"KRS-One" (Nowell, Parker)– 2:23

Contains sample from "Charlie Mack" by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
Contains samples from "The Style You Haven't Done Yet" and "You Must Learn" by KRS-One
Contains sample from "Tough" by Kurtis Blow

"Rivers of Babylon" (Dowe, McNaughton)- 2:29

Originally recorded by The Melodians

"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, however, in the album booklet, the lyrics for "Get Out" are still printed. "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 "Thanx Dub" and had an extended length of 6:23 on the original release of the album.