Some facts about Smash:
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It is one of the only albums to sell four million copies on an independent label.
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Dexter had dreadlocks!
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This is one of the first Offspring albums I ever got
Now onto the album, this is a tidy collection of songs with the short songs at a good length and the longer songs at a good length. This is an album that you have to listen to the whole way through to get the meaning of it. The Offspring probably wouldn’t be here without this album IMO. It is most certainly not their best I think. Though don’t listen to me, the fanboys that come will tell you this is their best without any legitimate reason. This is a great beginner album to the Offspring. It has some punk roots with that little bit if a mainstream touch. People who listen to their other albums like Co1 and Splinter will think of this as a surprise how much they have changed.
To me, the first half of the album is the more “single-oriented” and the other half is the punky section. I prefer the second one. So here is my summary.
First Half
Teh Mainstream Touch
After the 25 second intro,
Nitro (Youth Energy) explodes into your stereo with a small drum roll. Dexter holds his notes during the verses which show the variety the man can use. There is a lot of “Woahs.” in this song so if anybody doesn’t like that stay away from this track. The track isn’t much special but things pick up from now on when
Bad Habit comes in. It’s about being peeved off when you get cut off in your car. The track is quite good for driving fast and I think that’s what it’s supposed to be like. That means it’s fast and energetic. My favourite lyric from the whole album is when Dexter sings “Something’s odd, feel like I’m god, you stupid dumb[beep] goddamm mother[beep]er” It is brilliance all the way through and is on of the albums most frantic.
Gotta Get Away breaks away from the trend and is a more slower song with a melodic chorus. Some love this track but I admit, I don’t really listen to this track. Maybe it’s the odd track positioning putting it between a lot of fast songs. The only part I really like is the chorus, Dexter in the verses is boring though.
Genocide picks up the pace with a riff that The Offspring has used billions of times in different pitches. This riff never gets old no matter how many times it’s been used in their discography. The chorus is a more sing-a-long type of thing. The verses sound serious but it doesn’t distract from the song.
Something To Believe In is a downfall in the quality the album has shown since the start of the album. Don’t worry, it is not a bad track in anyway but the annoying chorus and the generic verses make this a no-no. The last track in this section is the infamous
Come Out To Play. It shows a eastern kind of guitar riff and the bass is backed-up with the rhythm guitar. The chorus is one of the most anthemic chorus I have seen. The song is brilliant though I usually just have to skip this track.
Second Half
Teh Punk section
This section is awesome. The first track I’m going to delve in is not exactly a punk track but we don’t want the paragraph short do we? =) Well, this section kicks off with
Self-Esteem which is a slow song but it has another sing-a-long chorus. The only part I don’t like about the song is the Pre-chorus when Dexter just sings “Yeah” through it. It is a more slow song which doesn’t show any fast bits in it. The bass is awesome yet simple in this brilliant classic Offspring song.
It’ll Be A Long Time is a faster song yet it’s actually serious. It is supposed to be a fast political-like song, nothing else. It is a song you can’t help but listen to it again and again. It slows down near the middle to give off a verse but it slower builds up to make it faster and it has a two note guitar solo. Highly recommended.
Killboy Powerhead is teh aw3s0m3. It is true punk. I think it is a cover though I don’t remember by who. This song just clocks in at 2 minutes but I think if it was anymore longer then it would have just dragged. Next up is the ska song
What Happened To You?. It is a song about a band’s friend which was on drugs but it’s not a sad serious song like a lyrical topic like that would be but it’s a happy up-trip song. Again this is a short song at 2:12 but it is awesome for a band to cover (like my band has) and it shows a lot of punk kids some ska-like influences. The only filler on the album (except Time To Relax but that’s an intro)
So Alone fails to delivery as a stand-alone song. It is a fast song a bit like Minor Threat but it sounds like it has filler written all over it.
Not The One is the song that I skip a lot. I don’t hate the track but it has nothing particular that stands out like all the other tracks has. This makes the song boring in places and would be better as a b-side or something. The final song self-titled
Smash is a brilliant example of The Offspring making a meaningful song. The instruments are a bit generic in this song but it’s punk! Who cares!?! It sounds like the perfect album closer. It is sheer quality. It ends with the guy that was from the beginning talk about how the album has ended. It then progresses into the classic Offspring riff. The song reads 10 minutes though it isn’t 10 minutes. Near the end of that. It shows a “taster”. In other words, there is the riff in Pay The Man in the future album Americana.
Pros:
None of the songs are really bad, just average ones.
Great bass and drum work
Cons:
Guitar a bit generic
The drums in the fast songs are generic
Thank you for reading.
4.5/5