Yours Truly

As much as I want to see the boys in the band carry on the legend, this album reinforces what the Long Beach Dub All Stars album originally established: as great of supporting musicians that Bud and Eric are, it was the creative magic in the songwriting and performances of Bradley Nowell that made Sublime the shooting star it deserved to be. This album came up as a recommendation after I purchased the latest Slightly Stoopid album (itself a mixed bag), and against my better instincts, I went ahead and bought it based on the reviews on this sight. I can't say I wasn't warned, but I will say that as much as I appreciate the intentions and effort that went into this album, it mainly served to show how special the recordings from Sublime's original lineup were and will always be. That being said, it's evident that Rome stepped into this project with an appropriate amount of respect for what he was getting into, and I applaud him for his efforts! I'd probably still check out this lineup live.

It is painfully obvious that Sublime with Rome (SWR) is not nearly as great as Sublime "with Nowell".On first listen, I was immediately turned off by Rome's voice. This was mostly due to the fact that I was expecting, at the least, a voice similar to Nowell's to carry on the great sounds of 90's band. Rome does not fit this ideal mold. However....On rounds 2, 3 and 4 I have become more adjusted to the new sound and actually like the lyrical flow of the album. I have also learned to become more fond of Rome's voice. The trick is to think about SWR as a completely different band, with absolutely NO relation to Sublime, if you can. You'll be more satisfied from first spin.This album is worth picking up to recapture a glimpse of the 00 decades LBC reggae scene.

I've been a Sublime fan since I first heard Smoke Two Joints on the Mallrats soundtrack in 1995. It wasn't long before I was buying everything Sublime had released, and it also was about a month or two after my becoming a fan, that Bradley passed away. I still consider Sublime to be one of the greatest bands of all time.So, when I heard that Eric and Bud had recruited a replacement for Bradley, that they were touring as Sublime and performing all their old material, my interest was peaked.This album is very good. It's not as good as 40oz to Freedom, nor Sublime, nor Robbin in tha' Hood (Who would expect it to be? It's their freshman album. Sublime's first album wasn't their best either. Though it doesn't have the continuity of a Sublime album that would allow me to listen from start to finish. Most of the songs are very good, and truly sound like a "Sublime song". Songs like: Panic, Only, Murdera, My World, Take It or Leave it, Dynamite, Safe and Sound, and Can You Feel It?, are all excellent Sublime songs reminiscent of old Sublime, yet with a slightly different sound, nevertheless, they are welcome entries into my new Sublime library. I consider them Sublime songs, and look forward to more like them.However, songs like PCH, Spun, and You Better Listen do not have the weight or substance of the original Sublime, they just don't have the passion and edge that Bradley wrote into his songs. They are a bit too pop for my liking, and won't be in my playlist for very long.I take this first release, Yours Truly, with a grain of salt. Rome is a very young man, and did not live the same life as Bradley, in particular, he is not on Heroin and Cocaine constantly, so maybe he lacks the edge in that respect, yet I'd hope he was a happier person with a longer life expectancy, something Sublime fans have always lamented about Bradley. He's got a great voice, and has written some pretty great songs here. I look forward to seeing where this new Sublime takes us with their next album. If Rome can continue to grow as a songwriter and guitarist, I think that Sublime with Rome could, someday, be the band they once were.Rome,Eric, Bud - thanks for making some new Sublime songs, it's been a long time. Way too long. R.I.P. Bradley

I picked up the deluxe version of this album and it's excellent. The entire CD is great and very consistent throughout, not any bad songs. A lot of people are being overly critical about the album because it's a new incarnation of "Sublime" but I'll say that Rome does a very good job. Rome channels Brad's style well in this album. This album represents a sublime that's more polished, less raw, and more mainstream in their music. The song Pacific Coast Highway is an incredible song. The only real gripe that I have about the album is the extremely short length of it - I purchased the "deluxe version" and it's only 53 minutes long. The regular version of the album is 40 minutes, or only half a CD. They definitely should have included a lot more music and because of that, the disc lost a star.Chris Elliott

When I heard of the reunion, like most other hardcore Sublime fans, I was skeptical. I really didn't think Rome had it in him to cover Brad's vocals properly, nor to evolve in the direction that Sublime should. Like I said, I was pleasantly surprised. I had the great experience of seeing both Sublime w/ Rome and 311 just three days ago at Jones Beach, and Sublime (And 311, but that's another story.) was great. Rome covered many favorites very well. But to stay on the topic of the album, I find there are many good tracks here. I'd have to say some of my favorites are Murdera and Paper Cuts. I read somewhere that Rome's vocals were far more reggae based than Brad's punk edge, and I'd agree with that had I just listened to the CD. Live they throw a hard hitting, dancing show, so hopefully if they release future albums together they can capture that classic Sublime essence a little better. Is Rome as good a frontman as Brad was? No. It's hard to accept as a fan that the icon of a band is gone, but one must remember the others. I got to briefly talk to Eric before the show, and he seems as goofy as ever, and I can testify that both he and Bud KILLED it on stage. I don't know, form your opinions but listen to the CD first, and accept that it's going to be something new alongside the good old Sublime style.

Do not buy this if you are expecting to hear anything near the quality of the original sublime line up. This is a good album filled with some good upbeat happy ska punk songs, but sits firmly at the other end of the music scale to the original line up, the songs are more polished and lack that rough edge that made sublime so good. the other issue is that the album feels like it could have been made by Bruno Mars or any other recent pop star, which again makes this something that some may find to accept as a Sublime album, but if you take it as it is, a completely new band that is far far different from the original band then you will enjoy this.

It must not be expected that this will sound like Sublime - it's Sublime with Rome. This is a great band in their own right. In my opinion this album is more consistent than Sublimes, you can decide whether this is good or bad. There are a few dud songs in my view, but some crackers too. The album isn't amazing, because across the board it isn't strong enough, but it still is a great album that I love. Thoroughly pleased.

Nice album, I would recommend this to anyone. Get yourself ths album you will not be disappointed. Summer music at its best

Dann doch noch: Nach so langer Zeit kommt ein Album, sogar mit Sublime im Bandnamen, das an die alten Heldentaten des Trios Nowell, Wilson und Gaugh anknüpft.Nach Bradleys traurigem Tod haben das die restlichen zwei ja erstmal in anderen Projekten versucht. Long Beach Dub Allstars waren auch wirklich gut, aber mehr ein spin off als eine Fortsetzung von Sublime. Long Beach Shortbus ist dagegen vor allem im Nachhinein wenig überzeugend.Ganz zu schweigen von den vielen ähnlichen Bands. Pepper z.B. machen Spaß, sind aber harmloser. Und so weiter und so fort.Sublime waren unverwechselbar, was nicht nur an der frischen Mischung aus Punk, Reggae, Ska, Hip Hop, Dub, Pop und Singer/Songwriter lag, sondern auch an der Balance zwischen feel good und einer dem Wahnsinn nahen Intensität - letzteres eine Schnittstelle zu dem hier erwähnten Kurt Cobain. Auch bei Sublime gab es ernste Themen, nicht zuletzt die Drogensucht, an der Sänger Nowell starb. Im Offbeat verpackt entsteht eine sogar noch packendere, tragischere Atmosphäre.Sublime with Rome greifen nun vor allem die leichten Aspekte der alten Tage auf. Im schlechtesten Fall sind das sehr radiokompatible Popsongs, im besten herrlich entspannte und melodische Reggaestücke mit dem typischen Sublime-Kick. Rome Ramirez unterscheidet sich von Brad Nowell durch eine samtigere Stimme, die eben gut zu sanft plätschernden Songs über Liebe etc. passt. Das kann belanglos oder schön sein, meistens ist es schön. Den Irrsinn in der Stimme hat er nicht; wohl deshalb entfalten die aggressiveren, schnellen Stücke nicht die gleiche Wirkung wie vergleichbare damals. Vielleicht muss er keine inneren Dämonen bekämpfen wie Nowell, es ist ihm zu wünschen. Dennoch sind auch bei den punklastigeren Nummern Perlen dabei, was dazu führt, dass das Album zu einer runden guten Sache wird.Nein, es erzeugt nicht die gleiche Magie wie 1996, was natürlich auch daran liegt, dass das 15 Jahre her ist, man die Musik inzwischen zu einem Teil seiner selbst gemacht hat und einfach älter geworden ist. Die alte Liebe ist aber neu entfacht.

Sublime war ja immer toll aber mit Rome gehts in eine andere Richtung die mir noch besser gefällt. Tolles Album, kann es wirklich nur empfehlen. Tolle Band die mehr unterstützt werden sollte.