40oz. to Freedom Tracklist
Arguably one of the greatest albums ever made, and only Sublime’s first, after their demo Jah Won’t Pay the Bills. Released in 1992, this cemented Sublime as Ska-punk stars.
Its release history is a bit troubled. Originally released as a 24-track cassette in 1992 (its first pressing), then shortened down to 23 for its CD version, the release today is only 22 Tracks because of rights issues and CD time constraints (which, with the new time of 80 minutes nowadays, is no longer an excuse; considering Universal’s status as a record giant, holding out on “Get Out!” and the expanded versions of “We’re only gonna die…”, “Let’s Go Get Stoned”, and “Date Rape” (which had the cover of “Rawhide”) is unacceptable (i.e. they should have ponied up the money for those songs, samples etc.). Needless to say, the only way to hear the album as Sublime originally intended, one has to, as they say in TV Tropes, “keep circulating the tapes.” Luckily, versions of the 23-track version (as released by Skunk Records) can be found on torrent sites, and a reconstruction of the original 24-track cassette version had been making the rounds until recently (for those lucky enough to have downloaded the reconstruction). The three tracks (“Get Out!”, “We’re only gonna die…”, and the cover of “Rawhide”) were released by Michael Happoldt as a mini-EP called “The Missing Shit”; the version of “Get Out!” that appears on there, however, is a remixed version (itself taken from a compilation of rarities that MCA did after Brad Nowell died, Secondhand Smoke). But still, those looking for the original versions of the album (be it through Torrent or tape trading) will be spoilt for choice. Suffice it to say that the best way to listen to the album is the original Skunk Records version.
(Tracklisting here, as though it needs to be said, reflects the original Skunk Records version, and not the MCA/Gasoline Alley version.)
