Maps of Music

The Offspring (1989)

Where the lyrics of The Offspring take you, and where it was really made.

The debut album initially sold 5,000 copies, and it took the band two and a half years to sell them all.

Key places

Recorded at South Coast Recording (1989)

Recording site South Coast Recording — The band recorded the album in the summer of 1989 at South Coast Recording in Santa Ana, California, with Thom Wilson producing. The point is placed at city-center level. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• The Offspring: debut studio album by American rock band the Offspring
• Released October 1989 by Nemesis Records
• Initially issued in limited numbers, only on 12-inch vinyl and cassette
• Re-released in 1995 by Nitro and Epitaph Records with a different cover
• The two 1995 re-releases are nearly identical
• The band has rarely played songs from this album live since the early-to-mid-1990s

Background

• After recording a demo tape in 1988, the band prepared its first full-length album
• The band re-recorded its early songs 'I'll Be Waiting' and 'Blackball' during the sessions
• Both songs originally appeared on the band's 1986 single 'I'll Be Waiting'
• To support the album, the band embarked on a six-week national tour
• Noodles was stabbed during a performance at the Hollywood anti-nuclear benefit on that tour
• After the small success of the album, the band signed with Epitaph Records in 1991

Recording

• Recorded during the summer of 1989 at South Coast Recording in Santa Ana, California
• Thom Wilson produced the album
• The re-recorded early songs are the only earlier material on the record

Cover

• The original cover shows a man's body exploding, with the xenomorph from the Alien franchise emerging from his chest while holding a Fender Stratocaster
• An unconfirmed report says the album was banned from retail stores because of the 'grotesque' cover
• The 1995 re-release replaced it with a blurry black-and-white picture of a person's face
• Lead singer Dexter Holland admitted that the band and its studio were never really fond of the original artwork
• The band saw the reissue as an opportunity to replace the artwork
• The 1995 reissue art was done by Mackie Osbourne
• The original 1989 cover art was credited to Mad Marc Rude

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in Garden Grove, California in 1984 under the name Manic Subsidal; renamed The Offspring in 1986.
• Played a key role in reviving mainstream interest in punk rock during the 1990s.
• Have sold more than 45 million records and are among the best-selling punk bands.

Members

• Dexter Holland (lead vocals, guitar) and Noodles (lead guitar) are the founding core.
• Current lineup also includes Todd Morse (bass), Jonah Nimoy (multi-instrumentalist) and Brandon Pertzborn (drums).
• Greg K. Kriesel, a co-founder, was fired from the band in 2018.

Career

• Released Smash (1994) on Epitaph Records; it sold over 11 million copies and helped push punk into the mainstream.
• Signed with Columbia Records in 1996; Americana (1998) reached number two on the Billboard 200.
• Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace (2008) revived their career, with "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid" topping the Billboard rock charts for eleven weeks.
• Released Let the Bad Times Roll (2021) and Supercharged (2024).

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• The album received mixed reviews
• AllMusic writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine said it is rawer and harder-edged than the breakthrough album Smash
• Erlewine added that being rawer does not necessarily make it a better record
• Erlewine said the album lacks the metal guitar crunch that dominated Smash
• The album did not initially reach the Billboard 200 chart
• The album did not initially become a commercial success

Reappraisal

• The album's reception is recorded as mixed in its original release
• The 1995 reissue later drew attention in the Netherlands

Records

• The album initially sold 5,000 copies
• It took the band two and a half years to sell the initial stock
• One copy was destroyed by Wally George on his Hot Seat show in 1992, leaving 4,999 copies
• After the 1995 reissue, the album peaked at number 85 on the Dutch Chart for three weeks

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The band played a six-week national tour to promote the album, and Noodles was stabbed at the Hollywood anti-nuclear benefit during that tour.
• The closing track 'Kill the President' was removed from the reissues after 2001.
• Apart from 'Beheaded', the band has rarely played songs from this album live since the Smash tour.
• The album's track 'Jennifer Lost the War' is featured on the compilation Punk-O-Rama Volume 1.
• 'Tehran' was later re-recorded as 'Baghdad', which appears on the 1991 EP Baghdad.
• 'Blackball' is featured in the video game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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