Customer Reviews

Smash

5 star:		(306)
4 star:		(37)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This was one of the very first CD's I bought when I got my first CD player, and as long as I've had it and as many CD's have been in and out of my collection in that time, this still stands as one of the strongest. This CD is perfect in every way and is Offspring in their prime. If they were still writing albums as powerful as this today, they might have been my favorite band. Like I stated before, this album is completely flawless. "Come Out & Play" and "Self Esteem" are already modern-rock classics, but in order to get to the really good stuff, you must dig deeper. "Bad Habit" is essential Offspring, an ode to road-rage with some blatantly raw and hilarious lyrics ("You get on my a--/your foot's on the gas/and your next breath is your last..."). The title track is another great example of this album's power. This is a song for outsiders who are outside the outsiders. For people so far removed and unique that they don't bother trying to fit into all the typical angry-punk cliches. Definetly an anthem for my former school-years. "Gotta Get Away" is one of the least successful singles, but probably the best of all of the singles released off this disc, probably the catchiest song ever written about paranoia. I could talk about all of the songs on here for pages, I have listened to this album hundreds of times and dissected it so many ways, I know the tracklisting like the back of my hand (whatever that means). This CD is highly addictive. Everyone I know who owns it, loves it. It's not just a CD for punk fans, it's one of those rare albums that EVERYONE can appreciate. It really is such a shame that their past two albums have been mindless fluff, because the Offspring have shown us that they can write highly intelligent, personal and free spirited music, as opposed to, well, "Original Prankster."

If you know anything about sound and like good sound... avoid the 2008 remaster of this classic album at all costs and buy the 1994 issue instead. Especially if you're new to the Offspring, before the 2008 remaster ends up superseding the original 1994 master and this new master is all you are able to purchase. Why you ask? Because the 2008 remaster is a casualty of the loudness war... and if those words ring a bell to you it's because 2008 is the year the loudness war finally broke through into the mainstream thanks to the horrible mastering on Metallica's million selling disc "Death Magnetic". If you still don't know what the hell i am talking about visit Wikipedia and search "loudness war" and that should fill you in.

The 2008 remaster fixes some issues up with the original 1994 master and generally makes everything sound more crisp and nice like late 90's Offspring albums but the songs are brick walled and all the dynamics are completely gone thanks to over compression. Epitaph may be known as a punk label but they definitely aren't when it comes to conforming to todays accepted standard of mastering. This remaster is an insult. Great for your poor quality iPod headphones... terrible for your high fidelity stereo system.

Ahh yes "Smash" the Offspring album that produced such classics as "Nitro(Youth Energy)", "Gotta get away", "Genocide", "Come out and play" & "Killboy Powerhead". Anybody who owns "Americana", and wants to see the real Offspring should really pick this one up. From the hilarious introduction "Time to relax" all the way up to the ending track "Smash" this album pushes the envelope.

If you love recent Offspring songs such as "Original Prankster" and "Why Don't You Get a Job?", you will not like this CD. Or you might, and you'll discover the pop music the group makes is horrible. Let's rate the songs:

1. Time to Relax: funny intro, almost as good as "Disclaimer" from Ixnay.

2. Nitro (Youth Energy): good song, about today's generation of teens. nice guitar riff. 9/10

3. Bad Habit: starts slow, then kicks. a song about an extreme case of road rage, but pretty good. shows the pure raw power of the Offspring. 10/10

4. Gotta Get Away: a classic Offspring song, slower than their normal stuff, but has nice guitar riff with that Middle Eastern sound. 9/10

5. Genocide: cool guitar riff, lyrics are weird, but it's an overall good song. 8/10

6. Something to Believe In: about how there's nothing to believe in this society. guitar is okay, but lyrics are good. 8/10

7. Come Out and Play: the song that made Offspring famous (before Pretty Fly); awesome guitar riff, with the Middle Eastern sound. Love the "gotta keep 'em separated", and good lyrics. A somewhat sarcastic look on school violence. 10/10

8. Self Esteem-another classic. slower, nice guitar riff. song about a [guy] with no self esteem. i love playing this song on the guitar and singing at the same time. 10/10

9. It'll Be A Long Time: a good song lyrically, talks about world powers fighting over lies. the guitar could use some work, though. 7/10

10. Killboy Powerhead: raw power chords in this song...don't really understand this song, but I like it. 9/10

11. What Happened to You?: a song about someone whose doped up way too many times. This song is ska punk, and a pretty good one at that. 8/10

12. So Alone: the album's weak point. I like the shouts, but its short and not too strong. 5/10

13. Not The One: a song about how we're not responsible for the problems of today, but we have to deal with it anyways. Similar to "It'll Be A Long Time", where guitar is not really too good. 7/10

14. Smash: my favorite song. about being the outsider, not doing what all the trendies and mall rats are doing. lyrics are awesome, and raw guitar riffs are nice. sounds kinda fatalistic. this song makes me wanna play this in front of all the groupies at my school and laugh! 10/10

There you go. Classic punk album. If you're into their newer stuff, you might like it. If you're an old fan, you'll love it. Guaranteed.

in an ealier review, someone was complaining about people who rate every song...well im the kinda kid who views that as an opprotunity to pissss someone off...so here we go

1. Time to Relax - one of their classic intros, disclaimer on ixnay is better though 8/10

2. Nitro (Youth Energy) - great song to open the album with, awesome guitars, good lyrics as always 9/10

3. Bad Habit - haha, i love drumming to this song, great bass at the beginning, just an all around good song, and the cussing just makes it hilarious 10/10

4. Gotta Get Away - being a drummer, i would hate to be Atom on this song, the drumming gets annoying, but still a good song 9/10

5. Genocide - my favorite on the album, fast-paced, awesome guitars, sweet drums, amazing and fun to drum to 10/10

6. Something to Believe In - good meaningful song, good guitars as always, uhh....8/10

7. Come Out and Play - only reason it isnt my favorite is because of how many times ive heard it, still an awesome song, good pick for the first single 10/10

8. Self Esteem - awesome, good follow-up to come out and play, the bass and drums make a good team in the verses 9/10

9. It'll be a Long Time - another good song to drum to, politically meaningful, gotta love it, 10/10

10. Killboy Powerhead - very fast, i gained respect for atom when i heard him playing that fast on his ride cymbal in the chorus, one of my favorites because of the speed 10/10

11. What Happened To You - almost every album has a slower, just fun song, and for smash, this is the song, cool sound to it, good lyrics, 10/10

12. So Alone - 1:17 long, but packs a punch, love the ending, 9/10

13. Not the One - alright, probably my least favotite, 7/10

14. Smash - amazing song, awesome lyrics, and i love the closing after they say good-bye, you'll notice that its the same riff/beat that opens Change the World on Ixnay 10/10

as you can see, its a completely good album, i can always seem to count on the offspring for albums i can listen to completely without wanting to skip tracks

the album gets an A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

and i agree, this is what the offspring will be remembered for...

Smash is definitely The Offspring's best work. It has an energy that isn't found in their other cd's or any other cd's that I have heard. Fast guitars, meaningful lyrics, it's true punk rock and it's what The Offspring are all about. I would recommend it to any true punk or hard rock fans. You've probably heard some songs from this album: Come Out and Play (keep 'em separated), Self Esteem, and Gotta Get Away; just to give you an idea of what this cd sounds like. Except most songs on the cd are faster than these and aslo more meaningful. Other cd's by The Offspring worth mentioning are the self-titled, Ignition, and Ixnay on the Hombre. Not as good as this, but pretty darn good. 5 stars for all 4.

This is my favorite cd. The Offspring are awsome, and this is their best cd. Every single song is good. My favorites inclue Self Esteem, Smash, Come out and Play, and Gotta Get Away. This cd is one you can listen to straight through many times and not get bored of.

Simply put, Smash is pure genius. The Offspring have put out great CDs, but (barring "The Offspring", which i haven't heard yet) it is one of the best, if not THE best Offspring CDs around. I listened to Americana first and worked my way back, and while i still think some of Americana is OK, i like all the songs on this CD. Truly one of the best out there. BUY THIS ALBUM YOU WILL NOT BE SORRY! Definately punk at its best.

PS: If you have the dough buy "ixnay on the hombre" and "ignition" also, they are really good too. Buy americana last, it is the weakest of all the offspring albums. PPS: "helpful" doesn't mean "i agree" so if you don't agree fine but don't take my points away =)

It's sad to see what The Offspring has become lately. With their album Americana, they plunged into popular music hell and have managed to sink lower since then, as impossible as that sounds. But before "Pretty Fly for a White Guy," and "Original Prankster," and their entire album Splinter, The Offsprring was a great band, just punk enough to be punk, but with a broad appeal. Need proof? How about their album Smash, easily one of the best albums of the 90's.

Without Smash, all you little poser punk rockers out there wouldn't have your precious AFI and Good Charlotte to listen to. Same with Sum 41, A New Found Glory...the list goes on and on. All the pussy punk on the radio these days owes its success to two albums: Smash, and Dookie, the immortal Green Day album.

I read once that Smash is the best-selling independent album of all time. I believe it. This album is incredibly replayable. Every song is worth listening to, and they're all pretty good. Of course, we've all heard the radio hits, but some of the deep cuts on this album are nearly perfect. Check out "Genocide," "Smash," and "Bad Habit." This is intelligent, raw, energetic punk at its best. The band hadn't "sold out" yet, so go ahead you poser punks, enjoy it.

One more comment, I saw the Offspring in December of '03 at a crappy little club in Salt Lake City, right before they released Splinter. I only paid about 15 bucks for the ticket, but I was pretty sure it was going to be a crappy promotional tour. I was wrong. The concert was incredible. Probably the best show I've ever been to. The crowd was out of control. People were hanging from the lights, diving off balconies, doing stage dives. It was wet and wild fun. And they didn't do any of usual concert crap, like tell jokes, say how hot the girls are, or say how awesome the city is. They got on the stage and played their old stuff. Only one new song. It was like a full body massage. Yes, the band is old and their newer music sucks, but wow, they can still put on a great show. Trust me.

Ahh, Smash. What can I say about the Offspring's last record with Epitaph that hasn't been said already? Catchy, fast, furious, funny, a '90s alt-punk classic. I've owned this album since seventh grade (I'm 18 now), and it never gets old. Although I still like Offspring's new material (though not as much), they will never top Smash. It's their Dookie, their Dark Side, their Master Of Puppets, their Rage Against The Machine, their Dirt, their... well you get the idea.

I was gonna do a song-by-song anaylsis, but so many reviews have already done that for me, so it would just be redundant. So I'm just gonna name my favorites (though they're all very good):
NITRO (YOUTH ENERGY): A fast, furious, rocker that sets a good tone for the rest of the album. It was a song for Generation X.
BAD HABIT: The ultimate ode to road rage.
GOTTA GET AWAY: My favorite on the album. A great anthem for paranoia, right up there with Green Day's classic "Basket Case".
COME OUT AND PLAY: Everyone's heard this one on the radio. But it never seems to get old to me. Great guitar work, and you gotta love the line "Hey-ey, don't pay no mind, if you're under 18, you won't be doing any time, hey-ey-ey, come out and play!" A great '90s alt-rock anthem.
SELF ESTEEM: Also another radio staple about being an a lousy relationship and not doing anything about it because, well, "I've got no self esteem!". Some funny lyrics, mid-tempo beat. Good stuff.
KILLBOY POWERHEAD: This is a cover, the most punkish song on the album. I can't figure out what the lyrics are about though.
WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU: Hey-ey, this one's got a ska beat. Actually meaningful lyrics here, about having to watch a friend struggle with drug addiction and wishing you could do something about it.
SMASH: Great closer, love the inspirational lyrics of the chorus.

If you want to hear some really good alt-punk music from back in the day, pick this one up. You won't regret it.