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19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bradley was a rolling stone. He rolled away one day and he never came home, September 12, 2005
Growing up in Southern California, Bradley Nowell had been exposed to many forms of music, such as rock, punk, rap, hip-hop, reggae, ska, and jazz. After graduating from high school, Bradley attended University of California, Santa Cruz. One semester short of a degree in business, Bradley dropped out to focus his energies on a music career. He soon met bass player Eric Wilson and drummer Bud Gaugh. In 1988, the three formed a garage band that combined all of Bradley's favorite musical genres. They named that band Sublime. Sublime soon cultivated a devoted following throughout Southern California, particularly on college campuses.
Bradley Nowell's tragic death at age 28, from a lethal dose of Mexican tar heroin, came only about a month before the release of the band's major label debut album, "Sublime."
In light of Bradley's death, MCA considered not releasing this album at all. They eventually decided that the best way to show respect for Bradley was to issue the album he had worked so hard to create. Upon release, "Sublime" quickly sold over three million copies, making it a bittersweet success. Bradley's own father said he wished the album had not been a hit, because it was painful to hear his deceased son's voice blaring from car stereos all over Long Beach.
My supervisor introduced me to this album back in 1997. He helped me understand that there is more to Sublime and Bradley Nowell than you might at first assume. For example, "The Wrong Way" is an anti-prostitution song. And where Bradley does occasionally come across as a boastful male chauvinist (e.g., "take a load from my big gun"), he is most likely satirizing male chauvinism, or at the least portraying a character and not himself. Because of the influence of my supervisor, "Sublime" gradually became one of my favorite albums, and Sublime gradually became one of my favorite bands. By year's end, my Sublime collection rivaled my supervisor's.
"Santeria" is my favorite song on this album. The melancholy tone of the song, and its Southwest sonic atmosphere, call to mind the wonderful conversations I'd had with my supervisor about the years he spent living in Taos, New Mexico. The American Southwest had always had spiritual significance for both of us. (My friend's wife, an artist, had only recently renovated their house in a Southwest motif.) "Santeria" also reminds me of my stepfather, who died in 2001. A Mexican American, my stepfather had once told me that in Mexican culture a man who steals another man's girlfriend or wife is sometimes referred to as "a Sancho." This may give deeper insight into what Bradley means when he sings, "If I should find that heina and that Sancho that she's found..."
I was surprised to read the other reviewers consider this album to be "frat boy music." I suppose that's appropriate in my case, because it was in the context of a brotherhood that I was first introduced to "Sublime." In my mind, this album now stands as a beautiful reminder of an era when I was a part of a fraternity of sorts.
I first posted this review a few weeks back. In the original version, I expressed sadness over the loss of Bradley. But after listening to "Look at All the Love We Found: A Tribute to Sublime," I decided to edit this review and remove the references to being sad about Bradley's death. While it is true that it is sad that he died so young, I realized that during his life he lived more than most people ever will -- and in his recordings he is more vibrantly alive than most people I've ever met. (The tribute album, by the way, is great. It's interesting to hear how Sublime songs can be transferred into so many different genres, from punk, to ska, to dance pop, to R&B.)
Andrew Michael Parodi
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is Sublime's 
