So why is Sublime’s Second-Hand Smoke on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
There are a handful of iconic Sublime songs for me, and none of them are the radio or MTV hits that launched the band into a brief period of superstardom in the mid-1990s.*
* Tragically, lead singer and guitarist Brad Nowell died of a heroin overdose in 1996, two months before the release of the self-titled Sublime album.
One of those songs is “Doin’ Time,” which made its debut on the Sublime album. The song actually hearkens all the back to the 1930s song, “Summertime,” first recorded by Abbie Mitchell, with George Gershwin on piano. The Sublime version becomes a masterpiece that meshes dub, hip hop, jazz (it pulls in a crusher of a Herbie Mann jazz flute sample), and other elements, and together gives you the sensation of being in the grungy, smoggy, and yet gloriously beautiful Long Beach, California scene in which Nowell and crew came up in.
Second-Hand Smoke, an album released in the wake of Nowell’s death that includes a treasure trove of material, includes two alternate versions of “Doin’ Time.” The “Uptown Dub” version, which ramps up the tempo while adding a hot ska feel, is a song I’ve listened to countless times over the years, and I still adore it to this day.
There’s also a spacy, chill-yet-groovy version (the “Eerie Splendor Remix”) that brings in the reggae rap stylings of Mad Lion.
There’s also an absolutely incredible version of “Doin’ Time,” remixed by Wyclef Jean, that was one of the first songs that I latched onto during the peer-to-peer/Napster era of the early 2000s. It was a song that pointed the way for me toward a digital music and streaming future – one where getting a hold of a universe of digital gems would be a few clicks on a keyboard away.
One of the YouTube commenters says it all with this one: “That riff is venomous.”
“New Realization” is a phenomenal acoustic rock number that proves out how rangy Sublime is in addition to how adept they are with different kinds of tones and textures.
I dig how improvisational and loose “What’s Really Goin’ Wrong” at the outset before launching into a delightfully fun ska punk riff.
And “Drunk Drivin’” is 18 seconds of weirdo country rock that I can never help but enjoy somehow.
Some stats & info about Sublime – Second-Hand Smoke
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Rock Music, Ska Punk, Punk Rock, Punk Revival, Third Wave Ska Revival, Alternative Rock, SoCal Bands
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 2 out of 5 stars (?!)
- When was Second-Hand Smoke released? 1997
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #242 out of 1,000
Sublime’s Second-Hand Smoke on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from Sublime’s Second-Hand Smoke that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
Wrapped around your finger but I think my time has come, but I never can be too sure ’cause I like to have a little fun.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.