Sublime’s genre-defying, multi-platinum self-titled 1996 album brought the Long Beach trio’s signature blend of ska, punk, reggae, hip-hop, dub, and rock to a worldwide audience. Featuring enduring favorites “What I Got,” “Santeria,” “Wrong Way,” “Doin’ Time,” and “April 29, 1992 (Miami),” Sublime is now set to receive a deluxe Vinylphyle treatment for its 30th anniversary.
The self-titled record represented the culmination of nearly a decade of musical development for singer and guitarist Bradley Nowell, bassist Eric Wilson, and drummer Floyd “Bud” Gaugh. After forming in Long Beach in 1988, Sublime built a devoted Southern California following through live performances and the independent release of their 1992 debut, 40oz. to Freedom.
For their third album, Sublime entered Willie Nelson’s Pedernales Studio in Austin, Texas, in early 1996. Working with producers David Kahne and Paul Leary of Butthole Surfers, the trio refined the freewheeling combination of styles they had developed across their earlier records and years on the road. The resulting album moved easily between melodic songwriting, punk energy, Jamaican rhythms, hip-hop production techniques, and sample-based arrangements. Tracks including “Garden Grove,” “Pawn Shop,” and “Wrong Way” illustrated the breadth of the band’s approach, while “What I Got,” “Santeria,” and “Doin’ Time” became defining entries in the group’s catalog.
The album was released on July 30, 1996, two months after Nowell’s death at age 28. Wilson and Gaugh subsequently brought Sublime to an end, leaving the record to reach listeners without the band able to tour behind it. It nevertheless developed a wide audience, with “What I Got” reaching No. 1 on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks chart and Sublime climbing to No. 13 on the Billboard 200. By the end of 1999, the album had been certified five-times platinum in the United States.
This 30th anniversary edition was pressed at the audiophile vinyl pressing plant RTI and is housed in faithfully reproduced original packaging. It also includes new liner notes by Southern California music journalist Nate Jackson and two rare archival photographs offering an intimate glimpse into the band’s history.
Each Vinylphyle release features mastering from the best available original sources by a select group of contemporary vinyl cutting engineers. The LPs are pressed on premium 180-gram vinyl, while the production and packaging are designed to honor the stature of the original recordings. Extensive quality controls are applied throughout the process, from mastering, plating, and pressing to printing and final assembly. With this in mind, the album’s best available final mixes, spanning both analog and digital formats, were compiled into a new digital vinyl master in 2016 under the supervision of Michael “Miguel” Happoldt. Joe Nino-Hernes used that master to cut this 30th anniversary Vinylphyle edition in 2026.
Shop the exclusive Vinylphyle edition of Sublime’s eponymous album here.
