Smash (The Offspring album)
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Smash is the third studio album by American rock band the Offspring, released on April 8, 1994, through Epitaph Records. After touring in support of their previous album Ignition (1992), the band recorded their next album for nearly two months at Track Record in North Hollywood, California.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Smash was the band's final studio album to be produced by Thom Wilson, who had worked with them since their 1989 debut album The Offspring. Smash was put together on the spot in the studio and there was no systematic work behind the recording of the album.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>
The rise of grunge, especially Nirvana's successful release of Nevermind (1991), paved the way for American punk rock to reach a wider audience, with punk rock serving as an important base to the grunge sound. While Ignition had exceeded both the band's and the label's commercial expectations, it did not give the Offspring a major commercial breakthrough; Smash was the band's introduction into worldwide popularity. It produced a number of hit singles, including "Come Out and Play", "Self Esteem", and "Gotta Get Away". Along with Green Day's Dookie, Smash was responsible for bringing punk rock into the mainstream, and helped pave the way for the then-emerging pop punk scene of the 1990s.<ref name="rs">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
As a fan favorite, the album received generally positive reviews from critics and garnered attention from major labels, including Columbia Records, with whom the band would sign in 1996. Peaking at number four on the US Billboard 200, Smash has sold over eleven million copies worldwide,<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Epitaph sales">THE OFFSPRING CELEBRATE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF SMASH Template:Webarchive. Epitaph Records. Retrieved February 18, 2015.</ref><ref name="Offspring TheHistory">THE OFFSPRING HISTORY Template:Webarchive offspring.com/thehistory. Retrieved February 19, 2015.</ref><ref name="Alarm sales">Epitaph Announces Re-issues of Smash and Ignition by Offspring. Alarm. Retrieved February 18, 2015.</ref><ref>Bad Religion, the Offspring (performing 'Smash' in full), Pennywise announce summer tour Alternative Press. Retrieved January 31, 2015.</ref> making it the best-selling album released by an independent record label;<ref name="Sputnikmusic"/> it was also the first Epitaph release to obtain gold and platinum status.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the United States, Smash has sold over six million copies<ref>The Offspring Still Fly as 'Days Go By' Rises on Rock Charts Billboard</ref> and has been certified six times platinum by the RIAA.
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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Following the subsequent touring to support Ignition, the Offspring began writing new material for their third album in mid-1993.
Smash was recorded in 20 days between January and February 1994 at Track Record in North Hollywood.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On the recording process of the album, frontman Dexter Holland told Flux Magazine in 1994, "When we recorded this album, our last one has sold maybe 15,000 copies, so the possibility of us getting played on the radio or anything like that was pretty much nonexistent. Especially because this kind of music is not generally considered acceptable by the mainstream - so, for something like this to happen, it really took us by surprise."<ref name="fluxmagazine">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Smash had a small budget of $20,000, which frequently restricted the band. According to guitarist Noodles, "[we] were constantly calling our studio to find out when it was empty just so we could sneak in at a discount price". Holland recalled "writing up to the last minute". The last four songs recorded for the album were worked on through just two nights.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=rs/>
Writing and composition
Punk rock and pop-punk bands like Green Day and Rancid were gaining popularity, and riding on this wave of popularity, Smash's singles became radio rock hits. An example of this was the success of the Offspring's first major single release, "Come Out and Play", which reached No. 1 on Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.
The second single released from the album, "Self Esteem", became a radio hit, peaking at number 4 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.
The third single, "Gotta Get Away" reached number 6 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. Being the last song written for the album, the lyrics describe a point in Dexter's life when he was suffering from extreme pressure due to the then-upcoming deadline of the album. "What Happened To You" is driven by a Jamaican ska beat.<ref name="ProofofPunk">Template:Cite web</ref>
The only cover in the album was "Killboy Powerhead" by Didjits.<ref name=rs/>
Artwork
Smash, as well as the 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. The music videos for "Self Esteem" and "Come Out and Play" also have several scenes with a similar skeleton. This symbol is believed to represent the core motifs of the album: death, greed, 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 end of the human race). The art direction is credited to Kevin Head and Fred Hidalgo, who also designed the artwork for the Bad Religion album Recipe for Hate.<ref>"Smash" Liner Notes</ref>
Release
Chart performance and sales
Despite obtaining early support from the Los Angeles modern rock radio station KROQ, Smash initially received little attention from radio and television stations. On October 29, 1994, it peaked at number four on the Billboard 200, and since then, was in various places on the chart for 101 weeks.<ref name="billboard">[[[:Template:BillboardURLbyName]] Smash - The Offspring]. Billboard. Retrieved 2011-02-21.</ref> It also peaked at number one on the Heatseeker's Chart.<ref>[[[:Template:AllMusic]] Chart information] at AllMusic</ref> On June 19, 1999, Smash peaked at number 12 on the Catalog Albums chart for one week.<ref name="billboard"/>
Smash made history becoming the first album released on Epitaph Records to obtain gold and platinum status, and has been certified multi-platinum in three countries, including the US,Template:Certification Cite Ref Australia,Template:Certification Cite Ref and Canada.Template:Certification Cite Ref Additionally, it has achieved platinum status in SwedenTemplate:Certification Cite Ref and SwitzerlandTemplate:Certification Cite Ref, and gold status in AustriaTemplate:Certification Cite Ref and Norway.Template:Certification Cite Ref Smash had sold over 11 million copies worldwide, with 6.3 million sales in the US according to Nielsen SoundScan and reported by Billboard in 2012. In France, it is the best selling album on an independent label, with 650,000 sales and 2× Platinum certification.<ref name="France sales"/>
On July 30, 1994, "Come Out and Play", the album's first single, topped the Modern Rock Tracks, and stayed on the chart for 26 weeks.<ref name="billboardcharthistory">[[[:Template:BillboardURLbyName]] The Offspring Album & Song Chart History]. Billboard. Retrieved 2011-02-21.</ref> The song also charted at number 39 on the Pop Songs chart,<ref name="billboardcharthistory"/> while it reached number ten on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. "Self Esteem" reached number four on Modern Rock Tracks and would remain on that chart for 26 weeks,<ref name="billboardcharthistory"/> while it hit number seven on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. "Gotta Get Away", the album's third and last single, peaked at number six on the Modern Rock Tracks chart on January 14, 1995, where it would maintain some lower position on the chart for 20 weeks.<ref name="billboardcharthistory"/> Around the same time "Gotta Get Away" was officially chosen as the follow-up to "Self Esteem", "Bad Habit" was expected to be the third or fourth single from Smash when KROQ added it to its playlist and it became one of the radio station's most requested songs; however, no music video nor standard single was released to promote "Bad Habit".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Still, although it was never released as a single, it became one of the most popular songs on the album, and gained recognition for the lyric which kept it off network television: "I feel like I'm God/You stupid dumbshit goddamn motherfucker".
Touring and promotion
The Offspring toured for more than two years to promote Smash. They began a two-month U.S. tour in May 1994, supporting such bands as SNFU, Battery Club and Pennywise, and then that summer, the band toured North America with Guttermouth and Big Drill Car, and Europe with Desaster Area.<ref name="tourdates">Template:Cite web</ref> In the wake of the success of Smash, the Offspring was reportedly offered but turned down opening arena tours with bands like Stone Temple Pilots and Metallica (replacing Alice in Chains on the latter's summer 1994 U.S. tour), due to their desire to continue playing in clubs; Holland has been quoted as saying, "It just really didn't seem like the right thing to do. I still like the club thing, even if it's a big club. I like Stone Temple Pilots—it's not like we're saying we're too punk for that."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Offspring's next U.S. tour took place in October–November 1994, and was supported by Rancid, who were promoting their second album Let's Go. The band wrapped up the year with a European tour in November and a series of theater performances in December.<ref name="tourdates"/>
In January 1995, the Offspring embarked on their first tour of Japan and Australia, where they co-headlined Big Day Out with Ministry, Primal Scream, Hole, and the Cult. They toured the U.S. with Quicksand and No Use for a Name in February–March 1995, and then headlined a European tour, which was followed by another U.S. tour with the Vandals and Lunachicks, and another European tour in June–July.<ref name="tourdates"/> The Offspring took the rest of 1995 off before playing three shows in Southern California in December, and a one-off show in Orange, California with Rancid in April 1996.<ref name="tourdates"/> In August 1996, the band played its final dates of the Smash tour in Europe.<ref name="tourdates"/>
The Offspring embarked on a full-scale tour in the summer and fall of 2014 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the release of Smash. On this tour, they played the Smash album in its entirety.<ref name="2014 reissue">Template:Cite web</ref>
Reception
Professional reviews
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Critical reviews of Smash were mostly positive. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic called it a "solid record, filled with enough heavy riffs to keep most teenagers happy". Erlewine praised the music as "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."<ref name=Allmusic/> Sputnikmusic reviewer Mike Stagno called it "a fun album to listen to."<ref name="Sputnikmusic"/> Robert Christgau was less favorable, giving the album a "neither" rating.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Legacy
Smash has inspired a number of musicians. During Trivium's early days, guitarist Matt Heafy performed a cover version of "Self Esteem" at his middle school talent show at Lake Brantley High School, while the British synthpop group Cuban Boys also covered that song on their only full-length album Eastwood. The album's other hit, "Come Out and Play", was covered by Richard Cheese on his 2000 album, Lounge Against the Machine and again released on the 2006 best-of album The Sunny Side of the Moon. Brett Gurewitz, the guitarist of Bad Religion and president of Epitaph, had also mentioned that he liked Smash and described it as "a very good record".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Along with Green Day's Dookie, Smash was among the most commercially successful punk rock albums released in 1994, a year when the genre reached arguably its greatest popularity. By the end of the year, Dookie and Smash had both sold millions of copies.<ref>Bestseller lists and Diamond Certification available at the RIAA website: Template:Cite web</ref> The commercial success of these two albums attracted major label interest in punk rock, with bands such as Rancid, NOFX and Pennywise, all of whom had been labelmates with the Offspring at the time, being offered lucrative contracts to leave their independent record labels, though this offer was rejected.
Smash has been listed on several publications' best album lists. In November 2011, the album was ranked number two on Guitar World magazine's top ten list of guitar albums of 1994, between Bad Religion's Stranger than Fiction and Weezer's Weezer.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Guitar World also ranked Smash at number 31 in their "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994" list.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Although the Offspring is a punk rock band, Loudwire placed Smash at No. 4 on its "10 Best Hard Rock Albums of 1994" list.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The album was included at number 6 on Rock SoundTemplate:'s "The 51 Most Essential Pop Punk Albums of All Time" list.<ref>Bird, ed. 2014, p. 73</ref> NME listed the album as one of "20 Pop Punk Albums Which Will Make You Nostalgic".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Reissues
Smash has been reissued at least twice. Remastered issues of Ignition and Smash were released on June 17, 2008, the same day as the Offspring's eighth studio album Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace. On April 8, 2014, the 20th anniversary of its original release, the Offspring announced that they would be releasing a special edition of Smash in mid-August on Epitaph. It was released as a special package that contained the remastered album on both CD and vinyl, restyled artwork, and a large format 24-page booklet containing never-before seen photos. The reissue was also released as a box set; it came with an art print (the first 250 of which are signed and on linen), a live photo print, tour pass replica and 20th anniversary items, including a pin, patch and guitar pick.<ref name="2014 reissue"/> The band toured in support of the reissue.<ref name="2014 reissue"/>
Track listing
Charts
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Weekly charts
| Chart (1994–1995) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Alternative Albums (ARIA)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 1 |
| Danish Albums (Hitlisten)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 6 |
| Estonia Top CD Albums (Eesti Top 10)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 3 |
| European Albums (European Top 100 Albums)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 3 |
| French Albums (SNEP)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 4 |
| Icelandic Albums (Tónlist)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | 1 |
| Spanish Albums (AFYVE)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> | 17 |
| US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }} |
| Chart (1999) | Peak position |
| Chart (2001) | Peak position |
|---|
Year-end charts
| Chart (1994) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)<ref name=aria94>Template:Cite web</ref> | 52 |
| Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)<ref name="CAYearend94">Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 44 |
| US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite magazine Digit page 81 on the PDF archive.</ref> | 37 |
| Chart (1995) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 11 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 11 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 5 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 18 |
| European Albums (European Top 100 Albums)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 5 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 9 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 12 |
| Spanish Albums (AFYVE)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 42 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 28 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 6 |
| UK Albums (OCC)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 75 |
| US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite magazine Digit page 78 on the PDF archive.</ref> | 11 |
Decade-end charts
| Chart (1990–1999) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200<ref name="1990sbb">Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 56 |
Certifications and sales
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Personnel
The Offspring
- Dexter Holland – vocals, guitar
- Noodles – guitar, backing vocals
- Greg K. – bass
- Ron Welty – drums, backing vocals
Additional musicians
- Jason "Blackball" McLean – additional vocals on "Come Out and Play (Keep 'Em Separated)" (uncredited, but mentioned on Greatest Hits)
- John Mayer – spoken word on "Time to Relax", "Genocide" and "Smash" (uncredited)
Production
- Thom Wilson – producer, engineer
- Ken Paulakovich – engineer
- Eddy Schreyer – mastering
- Mike Ainsworth – assistant engineer
- Ulysses Noriega –assistant engineer
- Christopher C. Murphy – assistant engineer/runner
- Fred Hidalgo – art direction
- Lisa Johnson – photography
Release history
| Year | Type | Edition | Label | Catalog | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | CD | — | Epitaph | 86432 | <ref name="main entry">Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 1994 | LP | — | Epitaph | ||
| 1994 | CS | — | Epitaph | ||
| 1994 | CD | Australian version | Shock Records | ||
| 1994 | CD | Brazilian version | Epitaph/Paradoxx Music | OXX 1127 | |
| 1996 | CS | Russian version (Unofficial Release) | Global Music | ? | |
| 2008 | CD | Remastered version | Epitaph | 86868 | <ref name="main entry"/> |
| 2008 | LP | Remastered version (translucent orange vinyl); came with a coupon for a free MP3 download | |||
| "—" denotes that it was a standard release. | |||||