Smash (album)

Infobox Album |
Name = Smash
Type = studio
Artist = The Offspring


Background = Orange
Released = April 8, 1994
June 17, 2008 (Remaster)
Recorded = October–December 1993 at Track Record in North Hollywood
Length = 46:47
Label = Epitaph
Producer = Thom Wilson
Reviews = *Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=Alzaxqj2uoj6a link]
*"Rolling Stone" Rating|3|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/theoffspring/albums/album/160074/review/5944641/smash link] |
Last album = "Ignition"
(1992)
This album = "Smash"
(1994)
Next album = "Ixnay on the Hombre"
(1997)
Misc = Singles
Name = Smash
Type = studio
single 1 = Come Out and Play
single 1 date = 1994
single 2 = Self Esteem
single 3 = Gotta Get Away
single 2 date = 1994
single 3 date = 1995|For|the electronic music album|Smash (Jackson and His Computer Band album)

"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, [ [http://www.sortedmagazine.com/Albums.php3?nID=222 Sorted magAZine - Bad Religion] ] and became Epitaph Records' best-selling album since the release of Bad Religion's "Suffer".

"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 14 million copies worldwide, [cite web | url=http://www.offspring.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Offspring.woa/wa/bio|title=Band Bio|accessdate=2008-02-02|publisher=TheOffspring.com] 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. [ [http://www.epitaph.com/artists/album/545/Smash_Remastered "Smash" Remastered] ]

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. [ [http://www.thetabworld.com/Offspring_biography.html Offspring Biography] ] 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 the band's signature song."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, [ [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:difixqwhld6e~T3 Chart information @ All Music Guide] ] 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".cite web|title=Smash| publisher=Allmusic.com|url= http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=Alzaxqj2uoj6a|accessdate=2008-02-02]

Album art

"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. ["Smash" Linear Notes]

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 11,000,000 copies worldwide. [cite web | url=http://www.offspring.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Offspring.woa/wa/bio|title=Band Bio|accessdate=2008-02-02|publisher=TheOffspring.com] 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 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 (Reprise)" or, as found on the "Come Out and Play" single, and "Come Out and Play (Acoustic Version)".

Charts

Album

Album - Billboard (North America):

* denotes an unordered list

Personnel

The Offspring

*Dexter Holland - Guitar, vocals
*Noodles - Guitar, backing vocals
*Greg K. - Bass guitar, backing vocals (uncredited for backing vocals)
*Ron Welty - Drums, backing vocals

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 - Runner

ee also

*List of best-selling albums in the United States

References

General references

*cite album-notes| title = Smash| albumlink = Smash (album)| bandname = The Offspring| year = 1994| notestitle = | url = | first = | last = | pages = | format = CD liner| publisher = Epitaph Records| publisherid = | location = | mbid =

Notes

succession box
before = "No Need to Argue" by The Cranberries
title = Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album
years = February 5 - February 25 1995
after = "Hi Fi Way" by You Am I