40 oz. to Freedom

Hi Son,

Bradley Nowell was born on February 22, 1968 in Long Beach, California. During his upbringing, his parents (who divorced when he was 10) brought him up in music. His dad first exposed him to reggae music when he was 11 during a trip to the Virgin Islands. Reggae would become an integral part of his influence as a musician. In 1988 he started a band as the frontman with Eric Wilson (bass) and Bud Gaugh (drums). The band was named Sublime and during their tenure produced 3 studio albums. At the time of the releases of their first two albums, “40 oz. to Freedom” and “Robbin’ the Hood” were not commercial hits. The band did have a good following, but not one that could be considered extensive throughout the US or other parts of the world. In 1995, between the release of their second album and third album (Self-Titled), Bradley would have a son, Jakob, with his girlfriend Troy Dendekker. Bradley and Troy would then get married about 11 months later on May 18, 1996. Tragically, Bradley would lose his life 7 days later on May 25th from a heroin overdose. He was only 28.

About two months later they would release their third album, self-titled “Sublime.” The release of this album compounded with the loss of Nowell sparked interest in Sublime’s first two albums. Especially their first album “40 oz. to Freedom.” Growing up, especially in the 2000s, I heard a lot of Sublime’s more popular songs on the radio. Most of the songs played were off of their self-titled album, but there were a couple of songs that were played regularly. They were “Smoke Two Joints” and “What Happened.” Each of those were on “40 oz. to Freedom.” I never really listened closely to either of the songs. I always recognized them mostly on their guitar riffs and “What Happened” had a “Tequila"-type of riff in it, which made it easily distinguishable. Largely, I have gone through life knowing those two songs and many off of “Self-Titled.” However, it wasn’t until a few weeks ago I had read a post from a fellow writer, Mandy | Greater Ape, on the title track of “40 oz. to Freedom” that began to pique my interest. At that time I was listening and prepping for my note on 311 and was feeling some Reggae-influenced rock. I decided to give the album “40 oz. to Freedom” a try.

The first time going through the album, it just flowed so well. Each song into the next really segued seamlessly for me. The opener is “Waiting for My Ruca” which has a somewhat muted sound with bass throughout. Nowell sings quietly for the most part blending in with the sound, except for a few times where he belts out with a Reggae tone. Then it goes into track 2, the title track, “40 oz. to Freedom.” I’ve said this before and I will say it again. These two tracks compliment one another really well in the sense of their contrasting. “Waiting for My Ruca” is a fairly subdued and quiet compared to the beginning of the title track. The title track doesn’t come in as loud and aggressive as other examples that I’ve provided in the past (No Code, Tiny Music) but the beginning of the title track pops even more when you listen to it in sequence. It’s a very upbeat, Reggae-inspired intro that goes into a verse followed by a loud chorus section that does begin to build in more energy with the entire band’s sound.

The record as a whole is very long, at 23 tracks spanning a little over 75 minutes. They do mix in 6 covers, one of them being “Smoke Two Joints,” that are all performed really well. The cover that I enjoy the most is their rendition of the Grateful Dead’s “Scarlet Begonias.” The original was dropped in 1974 and is a really good song of the Dead. Sublime gives it an even more feel-good vibe that is more modernized without losing the tone set by the Dead. What I enjoy most about Sublime’s version is that they sample James Brown’s “Funky Drummer.” There is also an addition from Nowell with a rap verse halfway through the track that was not included on the original by the Dead. The other covers are “54-46 That’s My Number”, “We’re Only Gonna Die”, “Hope” and what is the penultimate track on the album “Rivers of Babylon.” Their version of “Rivers of Babylon” is a really good closing track. I consider it to be their closing track, but the actual closer called “Thanx” is Nowell giving shout-outs to several individuals and groups.

The tracks that I love the most of off “40 oz. to Freedom” are “Don’t Push”, “Badfish”, “Live at E’s” and “Chica Me Tipo.” The fifth track is “Don’t Push” which carries the theme of how Nowell doesn’t want anyone to get “pushy” with him. The song starts off with a bit of a stern tone to it until it reaches the bridge.

Stolen from an Africa land
I was chased out of the bar
Mmm, I saw my best friend tonight, so
Don't push me too far

The tone then gets really laid back. The music is so Reggae-forward and honestly a perfect song to play in the background while on the beach. The album as a whole just exudes Summer, but I think this song more than any on “40 oz. to Freedom” does this. “Live at E’s” is the eleventh track. I mentioned at the beginning that the founding drummer of Sublime was Bud Gaugh. However, for a short period of time their drummer was not Bud due to some issues popping up in 1990-1991. Bud had bothered Eric and Bradley so much that they brought on Marshal Goodman (Ras MG) for a period of time, which included an EP called “Jah Won’t Pay the Bills.” During those sessions they recorded “Live at E’s,” but later decided not to include it on the EP. Marshall described the inspiration and title of the song to be Eric “Eazy-E” Wright. In a publication called The Pier, Marshall was quoted:

It is called ‘Live At E’s’ because Dominquez Hills is near Compton, CA and Miguel and Brad were intrigued by Eazy E being from Compton. Cal State Dominquez is right next to Compton so that’s why it was called ‘Live At E’s’ because we were ‘live in Compton’ essentially.”

Marshall would also drum on several of the tracks on “40 oz. to Freedom” but would later give way to Bud after the release of the record.

“Chica Me Tipo” is the thirteenth track on the record. The song is sung in Spanish. It comes off sounding kind of sweet. However, the translation to English reveals a lot of crude humor.

No me importa que se lleva, porque todo se quitará
Ay, no puedo verlo, ni en pintura
Cuando empecemos, no me dio cuenta
De que luego, tuviera que pagar
Pero si se cambie, me voy a acostarme con ti, con ti

Translates to:

I don’t care what you wear, because you will take it all off. I can’t stand the sight of you. When we started, I didn’t realize that after you would make me pay. But if things change, I will go to bed with you, with you.

“Badfish” which is track seven is probably my favorite track off of the record. It’s one of their better known songs. There’s some irony in the meaning to the song in relation to Nowell’s issues with heroin. The term “badfish” is reference to someone who gets another person(s) addicted to heroin. The beginning of the song sounds like a scene at a bar where the guys are meeting up. Again, very Reggae-forward upbeat flowing song. However, the lyrics are pretty dark and imply exactly what a “badfish” is. The person is the song is wanting to get “off of this reef” so they aren’t lured into taking heroin and becoming a prisoner to it.

The last track I’m going to mention is “Date Rape.” This is one of their most popular songs. Nowell said he was inspired by the idea of this song from a party he was at. The conversation was talking about how bad date rape was until some dude spoke up and said “Date rape isn’t so bad. If it weren’t for date rape, I’d never get laid.” The latter part of that quote is a lyric in the song. For me this is somewhat of a fantasized scenario of how any asshole who does or even attempts to take advantage of a woman should end up. The narrative goes into the creep getting caught by the police and having the justice system not buy any of his lies. The song ends with the creep getting a “taste of his own medicine” while in jail. The song is really a precautionary tale of what can happen to you if you attempt to try something as fucked up as date rape.

A lot of the music experiences in my life are letting groundbreaking, incredible music by me go unnoticed in real time. Only to discover it later, sometimes decades later, and then double back to go experience it. In a sense this could be true for a lot of the listeners of Sublime. Unfortunately, it was somewhat prompted by the loss of Brad Nowell. The band’s work during the early-to-mid 90s is somewhat immortalized. “40 oz. to Freedom” would go on to become certified multi platinum. Shit, “Sublime” the self-titled album was certified diamond earlier this year around it’s 30th anniversary. The band understandably broke up after Nowell’s death. However, I mentioned Jakob, Brad’s son who was only 11 months old at the time of his death. In 2023, Bud and Eric started to play with Jakob at various gigs. A couple years later, they announced that there would be work on a new Sublime album. That album was released only 2 months ago from the time of this note on June 12. To be honest, I have yet to check it out. “Until the Sun Explodes” has already charted 19th on the US Billboard 200 and 4th on the US Top Rock & Alternative Albums. Despite the 30-year gap between album releases, there are still a lot of listeners who are dedicated to Sublime.

Love,

Dad

*Quick note. This is in essence one of my own experiences of being “Late to the Record.” There is a wonderful series by Her Vinyl called “Late to the Record” that I highly recommend checking out!

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