Sublime: Brad Nowell (vocals, guitar, percussion, samples, bass, congas); Eric Wilson (bass, organ, percussion, vocals, congas); Bud (drums, samples).

Additional personnel includes: Adam (vocals, congas); Miguel (samples, guitar, vocals, piano, organ, sound effects).

Recorded at Mambo, Long Beach, California. Originally released on Skunk (001).

A notable Japanese issue containing two additional songs.

CD contains 2 bonus tracks.

The sound is a blistering blend of ska, reggae, and '80s West Coast thrash a la Black Flag, with a healthy dose of spoken-word and rub-a-dub dancehall thrown in for good measure. This magnificent debut was required listening on the Southern California skateboard circuit. Fans of any of the aforementioned musical styles are likely to get a kick out of hearing singer Brad Nowell rollick through songs like "Smoke Two Joints." The attack is a pure assault of youthful energy, almost over-the-top, but controlled, always reigned in by the rhythm, which rules. Samples abound, as Sublime pays tribute to its musical idols in true '90s fashion: by including chunks of their songs. Even the Grateful Dead gets a nod.

With their debut, 40 Oz. to Freedom, Sublime attempt to have it both ways. The group wants to appeal to alterna-punks, but they want to cut a little deeper and make some sort of social statement, both with their lyrics and their self-consciously eclectic music. Since the group has a knack for combining dancehall reggae with hardcore punk, the music can be nervy and invigorating, but their joyous blend of cultures doesn't fare so well at the lyrical level. No matter how you look at it, "Date Rape" isn't a bold, ironic satire on macho mores -- it's frat rock that's bound to be misinterpreted, especially with its homophobic "I can't take pity on men of his kind, even though he now takes it in the behind" conclusion. Lyrics like that prevent 40 Oz. to Freedom from being the cracking, skanking skatepunk record that it had the potential to be. [A Japanese edition was also released.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Kerrang (Magazine) (p.98) - "[T]he initial collision of Sublime's charismatic style and their influences resulted in their unsurpassed debut album."