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Smash is the third studio album by American punk rock band The Offspring. Released on April 8, 1994, Smash became a worldwide commercial success, reaching #4 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and #1 on the Heatseeker's Chart. The album helped bring the 1990s punk scene into the mainstream,[1] and became Epitaph Records' best-selling album since the release of Bad Religion's Suffer.[citation needed]
Smash produced four hit singles for the band: "Come Out and Play", "Self Esteem", "Gotta Get Away" and the radio-only single "Bad Habit". As of 2008, Smash is credited as the highest selling independent album of all time selling 11 million copies worldwide,[2] and has continued to sell consistently well in the fourteen years since its release. The album has also been certified 6x Platinum in the United States.
Smash was The Offspring's last album released on Epitaph Records in North America (although a reissue of their 1989 self-titled debut album completed their contract). Their next album, Ixnay on the Hombre, was released on that label in Europe.
On June 17, 2008, Epitaph re-released Smash along with Ignition in a remaster form.[3]
Background and recording
In 1991, The Offspring released the Baghdad 7". This EP was the turning point for the band; due to its success the band signed with Epitaph Records. Thom Wilson, who produced The Offspring's first two albums, had been trying to get the Offspring to switch to Epitaph, a label run by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. Gurewitz felt that The Offspring was just not quite pronounced enough for his label, but Baghdad convinced him to give the band a shot. Wilson and The Offspring entered the studio again and recorded Ignition. Released in 1992, Ignition exceeded all of the label's and band's expectations.[4] In the fall of 1993, The Offspring began recording their third album, entitled Smash. The sessions took place at Track Record in North Hollywood. Recording sessions lasted from October to December 1993.
Writing and composition
Although Smash has a dark, punk rock sound, the album is heavily influenced by the emerging pop punk scene. Bands like Green Day and Rancid were gaining popularity, and riding on this wave of popularity, Smash's singles became modern radio rock hits. A good example of this was the success of The Offspring's first major single release, "Come Out and Play", which reached #1 on Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and has become one of the band's signature songs.[citation needed]
"Come Out and Play" with a pop punk sound radically different from any of The Offsprings earlier work, soon became popular on radio and then on MTV. The song makes reference to the issue of gun and gang violence in the context of a school campus. The lyrics read, "Your never ending spree of death and violence and hate is going to tie your own rope."
The second single released from the album, "Self Esteem," became a radio hit, managing to peak at number 4 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The lyrics are about an abusive relationship in which the girl takes advantage of her boyfriend, as he has "no self-esteem" to stand up to her. Contrary to popular belief, the song is not autobiographical as many people believe. In an interview Dexter revealed that it is about one of his old friends.
The third single, "Gotta Get Away" was another rock radio hit, although not quite as popular as the previous two singles. The song hit number 6 Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The lyrics describe a point in Dexter's life when he was suffering from extreme pressure due to the upcoming deadline of the album.
Although not technically released as a single, "Bad Habit" gained some minor popularity when the influential L.A. radio station KROQ began playing the song in early 1995. It was erroneously published that it would be released as the band's then new single following the success of "Self Esteem."
Reception
Smash album was released on April 8, 1994 and is the final Offspring album distributed via Epitaph Records. The album peaked at #4 on Billboard's pop albums charts and #1 on the Heatseeker's Chart,[5] performing better than thought possible for an independently released album.
The album received positive reviews, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic described the album a "solid record, filled with enough heavy riffs to keep most teenagers happy". Erlewine praised the music "relentlessly heavy". For the album, he claims that The Offspring had "crossed over", because of the success of its single "Come Out and Play," which "stopped and started just like Nirvana." Smash received a rating of four out of five stars, while "Come Out and Play", "Self Esteem" and "Gotta Get Away" earned The Offspring its heaviest airplay on MTV and radio stations until the release of Americana.[6]
Album art
Smash, as well as the CD singles "Come Out and Play," "Self Esteem," and "Gotta Get Away" all share imagery of an X-ray style skeleton on their covers.
Smash, as well as the hit singles "Come Out and Play," "Self Esteem," and "Gotta Get Away" have a common artwork theme: an ominous (and highly distorted) skeleton on the cover, disc, and back of the CD case. This symbol is believed to represent the core themes of the album: death, suicide, violence, addiction, and abuse. The skeleton is used to represent that the continuation of these acts will inevitably lead to death (Or alternatively, the death of the human race). The art direction is credited to Fred Hidalgo and Kevin Head.[7]
Total sales
Since its release in 1994, Smash has proved to be a seller over time, moving over 6,000,000 in the US alone and being certified six times platinum by the RIAA. By 2008, the same year the album was remastered, it had sold over 16,000,000 copies worldwide.[8] Many consider this to be The Offspring's most successful album to date. Despite its massive commercial success, it is not The Offspring's highest charting album on Billboard 200, peaking at #4; their fifth album Americana would hit #2 in 1998. Smash also sold well outside the US, particularly in Australia, where it debuted #1 on the ARIA Charts for three weeks in 1995.
Track listing
All songs written by The Offspring except where noted:
- "Time to Relax" – 0:25
-
- This track does not appear on the vinyl and cassette version of the album.
- "Nitro (Youth Energy)" – 2:27
- "Bad Habit" – 3:43
- "Gotta Get Away" – 3:52
- "Genocide" – 3:33
-
- After "Genocide", a spoken interlude is heard.
- "Something to Believe In" – 3:17
- "Come Out and Play" – 3:17
- "Self Esteem" – 4:17
- "It'll Be a Long Time" – 2:43
- "Killboy Powerhead" (The Didjits) – 2:02
- "What Happened to You?" – 2:12
- "So Alone" – 1:17
- "Not the One" – 2:54
- "Smash" – 10:42
-
- After "Smash", a spoken outro is heard.
- A version of the intro from "Genocide" is used after the spoken outro for "Smash". This is also the intro to "Change the World" from "Ixnay on the Hombre".
- After five minutes of silence, there is an instrumental Middle Eastern style reprise of "Come Out and Play". The track is called "Come Out and Play (Acoustic Version)" (as found on the "Come Out and Play" single).
Charts
[] Album
Album - Billboard (North America)
-
| Year |
Chart |
Position |
| 1994 |
Heatseekers |
1 |
| 1994 |
The Billboard 200 |
4 |
| 1995 |
Australian Albums Chart |
1 |
Singles
Singles - Billboard (North America)
-
| Year |
Single |
Chart |
Position |
| 1994 |
"Come Out and Play" |
Modern Rock Tracks |
1 |
| 1994 |
"Come Out and Play" |
Mainstream Rock Tracks |
10 |
| 1994 |
"Come Out and Play" |
Top 40 Mainstream |
39 |
| 1994 |
"Self Esteem" |
Modern Rock Tracks |
4 |
| 1994 |
"Self Esteem" |
Mainstream Rock Tracks |
7 |
| 1994 |
"Gotta Get Away" |
Modern Rock Tracks |
6 |
| 1995 |
"Gotta Get Away" |
Mainstream Rock Tracks |
15 |
Accolades
The information regarding accolades attributed to Smash is adapted from AcclaimedMusic.net.[9]
* denotes an unordered list
Personnel
The Offspring
Additional Personnel
- Lisa Johnson - Photography
- Ken Paulakovich - Engineer
- Eddy Schreyer - Mastering
- Thom Wilson - Producer, engineer
- Fred Hidalgo - Art direction
- Mike Ainsworth - Assistant engineer
- Ulysses Noriega - Assistant engineer
- Christopher C. Murphy - Assistant engineer/Runner
See also
References
General references
- (1994) Album notes for Smash by The Offspring [CD liner]. Epitaph Records.
Notes
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