Awful Album Reviews #10: The Offspring - Smash

Well folks, it's finally time to review this record, because it celebrates its 25th anniversary tomorrow. You may be asking, "Why not just wait until its actual anniversary?", and the answer to that is I don't want to wait and I want to dive in as soon as I can. Also, this isn't going to be as much of a review as a lot of my posts on other albums were, it's going to be more of me raving about how good and iconic this album is, so if you're looking for more of a review then you might want to not read any further. Anyways, let's get started!



INTRODUCTION

Smash is the third studio album released by American punk rockers The Offspring. It was released on April 8, 1994, by Epitaph Records, an independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. The band recorded this record after touring for their previous album, Ignition, in over two months in North Hollywood. It was produced by Thom Wilson, who also produced their previous two albums. Many hit singles came out of the album, including "Come Out and Play", "Self Esteem", and "Gotta Get Away", with "Bad Habit" also being a minor radio single. This album, along with Green Day's Dookie (which I reviewed a couple months ago if you want to go check that out), is widely credited for helping pop punk music emerge in the mid-1990s, which could be one reason why critics loved it so much. The success from this album also allowed the band to sign with Columbia Records in 1996. It is the all-time best selling album released by an independent record label, and has been certified platinum six times in the U.S. That is pretty good if you ask me. So, now you wonder what exactly is the big deal with this album, and why was it so successful? Well, how about we dive in and see why.



REVIEW

Before I start raving, can I just say that I've listened to this album well over 50 times in the past few months because of how good it is, and that when I say something about it, I'm not wrong. So if you want a legitimate answer as to whether or not this album is worth a listen and deserved its success, then you're in the right place. Let's get started.

So first of all, I'd like to discuss what I think this album means to this band and their discography, and also a little bit the growing punk scene of the 1990s. I often think of the first half of The Offspring's career in two phases: The first one being the beginnings, when they had a classic-punk kind of sound that kind of resembled early Bad Religion and a little bit the Descendents. You can really hear it in their self-titled album and there are some songs in Ignition that show it as well. And the second phase is when they developed the pop-punk style that they are widely known and recognized for. That style is easily audible in Ixnay On The Hombre, Americana, and Conspiracy of One, and once you hear it, you can't help but really enjoy it. I think that this record is very unique because it was kind of a gateway to their sound that they are known for. It's sort of like a bridge from their classic-punk sounding style to their pop-punk albums. I personally think those bridge-type albums can be very interesting to hear because of the good mix of songs they have in them, and Smash is a perfect example. There are some lower-tempo mainstream sounding songs like "Gotta Get Away" and "Self Esteem" that the band definitely went on to make more of, some hard, driving punk tracks that help define the album's sound, including, "Bad Habit" and "Something To Believe In", and some album tracks later in the album that are just cool. Some of the songs stick out when matched up with the rest of their discography, and the ones that do make this album as a whole stick out like that.

As for the growing punk scene of the 90s that this album helped build, it can be easily compared to Green Day's Dookie because of how both albums show a good example of a pop-punk sound and how they worked together in making pop-punk more popular. While I don't think Dookie was necessarily a bridge-type album (I would call Nimrod a good Green Day bridge album), it had a good mix of songs that made it sound like one. There were other albums from around 1994 that helped that scene grow, such as Bad Religion's Stranger Than Fiction, NOFX's Punk In Drublic, and Rancid's ...And Out Come The Wolves, but out of that group of albums, this has to be the best and most iconic one. There is good in pretty much every part of it: Catchy singles and energetic album tracks in the first half, and lots of pure punk and Offspring in the second half. An album often starts good and dwindles a lot towards the end, but this is not one of them. It starts off on a good note and ends off on a good note. I always love to hear that.

And then there's the content in the songs. Energy is a big one. Pretty much every song on here has at least a good amount of energy, and as someone that often gets bored listening to albums, that is a huge pro. Also, lots of rock artists have upbeat bangers towards the beginning of the album, it settles down slightly as it goes on, and then has a closer that is a slower ballad or stripped-down type song. I tend to like those types of albums most of the time, but not as much as ones that bring the heat at the beginning and then keep the heat going for the entire time. The Offspring are very good at doing that, which is one reason why I love them so much. As for instruments, they all are a big reason why. Noodles and his upbeat guitar riffs shine as usual, and Greg K. is responsible for many of the album's great basslines (especially the one in "Gotta Get Away") , so props to him. The album also showcases how talented drummer Ron Welty is, and while new drummer Pete Parada is good, he doesn't quite match Welty. He can drum fast and hard and make the drumlines almost as good as the guitar riffs and bass lines. And of course there's Dexter Holland who does an amazing job on the vocals as usual. I feel like his singing style played a huge role in developing his band's iconic pop-punk sound, so it is one thing to pay attention to. I'm not sure what tracks he played rhythm guitars on, or if he did at all, but whatever else it was, I'm sure it was good. Thom Wilson did a pretty good job on producing this album, and while I prefer later producers like Dave Jerden and Brendan O'Brien, the band may not have developed a good sound without his help. Honestly, everything was just good, and everyone who did work on this album played a good role in making it what it is. If one little thing changed, it might be totally different. That's what I like, everything coming together in the right way. This is for sure one of the best-made albums I have heard in a long time, and if you have the opportunity to listen to it, please use my advice and take it. You won't regret it. Let's review the songs now.



TRACK-BY-TRACK REVIEWS

1. "Time to Relax"
Rating: N/A
Comments: This doesn't get a rating because it's only a short spoken intro, but it does a good job at preparing you for the album. Seriously, you just need to relax when listening. Indulge yourself, kick off your shoes, put your feet up, lean back and just enjoy the melodies. Because after all, music soothes even the savage beast.

2. "Nitro (Youth Energy)"
Rating: 10/10
Comments: This is a pretty good opener and it starts the album off on the right foot. It's kind of short, but there's enough energy to give the album its first push into greatness.

3. "Bad Habit"
Rating: 10/10
Comments: Who knew that road rage would make such a good song? I didn't. But the band packs so much energy into making it as good as it is. Also, that bass intro tho.

4. "Gotta Get Away"
Rating: 100/10 10/10
Comments: This is by far one of the most depressing songs I've heard in my existence, but that doesn't make it bad. It's actually the complete opposite. You have to really listen to this song a lot of times to see the deal (it took me 30-40 listens to get it), and once you do it's just a masterpiece. I might talk more about this song and what's behind it in a separate post, but for now just know that it slaps.

5. "Genocide"
Rating: 10/10
Comments: Really catchy song. It has many catchy guitar riffs throughout the song that come together really well and make it what it is. Not one of the album's best but it is worth a listen.

6. "Something To Believe In"
Rating: 9.5/10
Comments: To me, it's one of the more forgettable tracks off of the album, but I'm not sure why I got that into my head because this song is great. The chorus rocks and gives the song a good feeling. But in terms of quality it doesn't quite match up with anything else I've talked about so far. Though it is still good.

7. "Come Out and Play"
Rating: 10/10
Comments: The story behind this song is really interesting and singer Dexter Holland did a great job writing about it. The way that the catchy melody and riffs were put behind those lyrics sounds great to me, although I think the mixing could be slightly better.

8. "Self Esteem"
Rating: 10/10
Comments: OH WAYYYYYY OOOOOOOOOH YEEEEEEEAH, YEEEEEEEAH....
While that may be how I feel when listening to the song, it's also a part that makes the song stand out and have a good vibe. I think calling it the band's best song is a bit extreme, because other songs like "The Kids Aren't Alright" and "Gone Away" exist, but I can sort of see why. Glad it was a hit, though.

9. "It'll Be a Long Time"
Rating: 9.5/10
Comments: This song sort of marks where the driving album tracks start, at least it's what I thought. It's not a perfect song, but I like it a lot and it plays a good role in defining this album.

10. "Killboy Powerhead"
Rating: 10/10
Comments: Fun fact: This song is actually a cover, and I didn't know that until after I first listened to it. But it didn't affect my opinion on the song. It's short, but it goes hard for all 122 seconds and becomes sort of a standout because of it. It's hard to get sick of, which is also a plus.

11. "What Happened To You?"
Rating: 9/10
Comments: Although this is one of the album's weaker songs, it is still fun to listen to after how hard "Killboy Powerhead" goes. It's not a typical Offspring song, but they made a decent use out of this style.

12. "So Alone"
Rating: 9/10
Comments: This is really good for how short it is. Again, I think it's on the weaker side of the album, but it is still pretty good.

13. "Not the One"
Rating: 9.5/10
Comments: This sounds more like a straight-up Offspring song, and songs like these sort of helped the band develop the pop-punk style that they are known for today. Also, listen to the lyrics in this. They're pretty interesting and they make up a pretty interesting meaning.

14. "Smash"
Rating: 10/10
Comments: So, this track is very interesting, as it's sort of a four-in-one. Let's go through each part.

1. The final song on the album, called "Smash". I think it's a very good song about being yourself and not sticking with trends if you don't want to. Musically it is great as well. The rating comes from this song, by the way.

2. A short spoken coda that is the beginning of the end, at least to me. It says things like, "I hope you enjoyed our time together today," and something else about sitting back and enjoying the finer things in life. I'm pretty sure that means things like classical music, wine, cigarettes, and poetry, as I saw a video of Noodles saying he liked the finer things and then listed those. But aside from that, I think it's a cool outro that reflects on the album and helps end it on a good note.

3. A slowed-down reprise of the track "Genocide" that lasts for about a minute and five seconds. This riff was later used for Ixnay On The Hombre's closer, "Change the World". I really like the riff and reprise and it helped make "Change the World" as good as it is.

4. After about five minutes of silence, an acoustic reprise of "Come Out and Play" starts nine minutes and ten seconds in. I really like this reprise and think it's the perfect way to close out this amazing album. It's not quite as good as the "Pretty Fly" reprise from Americana, but it's still enjoyable.



OVERALL ALBUM SCORE

136.5/140 = 9.75/10 = 0.975 = 97.5%



FINAL WORDS

So that is the review. This was more than just another excuse for me to listen to this album, as I never thought I could dig deeper. I had fun doing it and I hope you had fun reading it. If you think that you would like this album after all I've said about it, then feel free to check it out on Spotify here or on YouTube here. I recommend it to anyone who just wants to hear something good, and I'm sure that's pretty much all of you. So go right ahead. You will love it. Thank you to anyone who read this far, and don't forget that you can suggest any post you want me to do and chances are, I will be glad to do it. You can comment here or talk to me on Discord if you want to suggest anything, but whatever it is, don't be afraid and just go for it. Thanks again and I'll see you guys next time!