Sublime

Sublime
"Gold"

When I think of Sublime, I usually think of blaring trumpets, killer guitar riffs, and the late Brad Nowell's quirky lyrics. After listening to Sublime's Gold, I'm reminded why these guys are the kings of ska. Sublime blends sounds from all different styles like reggae, rock, rap, and adding their Southern Cali flavor to make them unique. They can speed up the tempo in a song, or slow down to a mellow groove to give a nice musical variety. And they do it with a simplicity that you don't hear often. This CD contains the popular radio hits like What I Got, Santeria, Badfish, and Wrong Way. But there's also a whole collection of other tracks on here that weren't as popular. And it's in these songs where you get to see how vast their collection was. You almost feel on some of the lesser known songs that you could be hanging out in a garage listening to them jam.

Sublime didn't get popular until after singer Brad Nowell tragically died from a heroin overdose. That is sad because he had alot of talent. Lyrically, he sounds like he's goofing off in his songs. But underneath, there's an honest approach to the fucked up things going on in society, like rape in the song Date Rape, or prostitution in the song Wrong Way. But there's also a reminder of love being the most important thing in What I Got. And to quote him...

"Lovin', is what I got, I said remember that."