*** Sublime

SUBLIME

(Gasoline Alley/MCA)

This was the "human interest" story of the year, with singer Bradley Nowell dying of a heroin overdose in a San Francisco hotel room before the album's release and its current run on the charts. Sublime are a part of the Southern California ska/funk revival. Butthole Surfer Paul Leary took a good band and made them better, helping them produce the P-Funk record they (and he) have always wanted to make, right down to the faux Pedro Bell illustrations on the back. The first half is tripped hoppin' fun, from a "Lady Madonna" ripoff ("What I Got") to a song about being too lazy even to smoke your stash. The second half resembles genre exercises more than songs, even (unsuccessfully) incorporating hardcore, reggae and fast skank into one song. The highlight of the disc is Nowell, whose cool, natural delivery makes him a focal point.

-- David J. Nathan