''Rancid'' is the debut studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by the American punk rock band Rancid. It was released on May 10, 1993, through

Epitaph Records Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, most acts signed to the label were punk and pop punk acts, while there are many post-hardcore and emo bands ...

. It is the only album to feature the band as a trio (guitarist/vocalist

Lars Frederiksen Lars Erik Frederiksen (born Lars Erik Dapello, August 30, 1971) is an American musician and record producer best known as a guitarist and vocalist for the punk rock band Rancid, as well as the frontman of Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards and ...

would later join the band for the album's supporting tour), as well as one of three albums not to be produced by

Brett Gurewitz Brett W. Gurewitz (born May 12, 1962), nicknamed Mr. Brett, is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of Bad Religion. He is also the owner of the music label Epitaph Records and a number of sister labels. He has produced albums f ...

(the others being '' ...And Out Come the Wolves'' and ''

Life Won't Wait ''Life Won't Wait'' is the fourth studio album by the American punk rock band Rancid. It was released on June 30, 1998 through Epitaph Records. It was released as the follow-up to '' ...And Out Come the Wolves'' (1995). Writing and production ...

''). However, Gurewitz provided backing vocals on the album. It was also the second of three self-titled releases, the others being the group's debut extended play (1992) and its fifth studio album (2000). This album has been dubbed "Rancid Rancid." Until 2017's '' Trouble Maker'', this was the only Rancid album not to feature their iconic logo on the cover. In 2019, the Brooklyn Vegan ranked the album as their 6th best album.

Reception

Mike DaRonco of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

stated "This is where it all starts. Without any reminiscing about their former band,

Operation Ivy Operation Ivy was the eighth series of American nuclear tests, coming after '' Tumbler-Snapper'' and before '' Upshot–Knothole''. The two explosions were staged in late 1952 at Enewetak Atoll in the Pacific Proving Ground in the Marshall Is ...

Matt Freeman Matthew "McCall" Freeman (born Roger Matthew Freeman; April 23, 1966) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known for his bass work with the punk rock bands Operation Ivy, Rancid and as the frontman of Devil's Brigade. ...

(bass) and

Tim Armstrong Timothy Ross Armstrong (born November 25, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and producer. Known for his distinctive voice, he is the singer/guitarist for the punk rock band Rancid and hip hop/punk rock supergroup Transplants. ...

(guitar/vocals) blast through their debut without any hints of ska or blatant Clash plagiarizing. On the contrary, this album rips through 15 tracks of high-energy punk that's accompanied by heavy bass leads and Armstrong's permanently slurred vocals. And to top it all off, the lyrical content deals with urban blight and the lifestyle of being a public nuisance. With this trademark sound, Rancid provide the perfect soundtrack for any car chase that includes massive property damage; is it a wonder

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

wouldn't touch this?"

Track listing

Personnel

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

s *

–

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, vocals *

Brett Reed Brett Reed (born July 12, 1972) is an American musician, best known as the original drummer for the punk rock bands Rancid and Devils Brigade. He joined Rancid in November 1991 and left 15 years later. He played on every Rancid release up to ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

Additional musicians * Jeff Abarta;

Jay Bentley Jay Dee Bentley (born June 6, 1964) is the bassist and co-founding member of the punk rock group Bad Religion. He has played with the band through its whole existence with a small break between 1983 and 1985. Along with vocalist Greg Graffin, Bent ...

;

; Eric Martini - backing vocals * Beth Oiler - congas *

Donnell Cameron Donnell Cameron is a record producer known for his work with Sublime, Blink-182, and Avenged Sevenfold. He owned a recording studio, Westbeach Recorders, in Hollywood, California. Production In 1991, Cameron produced the debut album for Drive Like ...

- maracas Production * Donnell Cameron - producer * Chris Brooke; Michael Ewing; Jeff Peccerillo; Eric Martini -

engineers Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

* Tracy Cox - cover art * Mackie McAller - artwork * Kathy Bauer - photography

Album notes

* A music video was made for the track "Hyena". * "Union Blood", the album's fifteenth track, is a hidden track and not mentioned on the back cover. * "Get Out of My Way", the album's final song, is a cover, originally performed by

The Uptones The Uptones are an American ska band, based in Northern California. Formed in 1981 by a group of high school students in Berkeley, California, The Uptones were influenced by the English 2 Tone sound, as well as the British mod scene, punk rock, ...

. * The album insert thanks

, who joined the band prior to ''Rancids release. As such, out of respect to what they had done before him and so not as to take any credit for it, he does not appear in the liner notes for the album. * The album thanks

Billie Joe Armstrong Billie Joe Armstrong (born February 17, 1972) is an American musician who is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Green Day, which he co-founded with Mike Dirnt in 1987. He is also a guitarist and vocalist for t ...

and his band

Green Day Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a powe ...

. Billie Joe Armstrong would later co-write the song "Radio", which is featured on Rancid's second studio album '' Let's Go''. * The album also thanks

Buzz Osborne Roger "Buzz" Osborne (born March 25, 1964), also known as King Buzzo, is an American guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. He is a founding member of the rock band Melvins, as well as Fantômas and Venomous Concept. Biography Born in Morton, Was ...

and

Lori Black Lori Black (born April 9, 1954), also known as Lorax, is an American musician born in Santa Monica, California. She played bass for Clown Alley and for the rock band Melvins. Her father was the businessman Charles Alden Black and her mother ...

of the

Melvins Melvins (sometimes The Melvins) are an American rock band formed in 1983 in Montesano, Washington. Their early work was key to the development of both grunge and sludge metal. Initially, they performed as a trio but later also sometimes appeare ...

. * The album also thanks

The Offspring The Offspring is an American rock band from Garden Grove, California, formed in 1984. Originally formed under the name Manic Subsidal, the band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Bryan "Dexter" Holland, lead guita ...

and

NOFX NOFX () is an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1983. Vocalist/bassist Fat Mike, guitarist Eric Melvin and drummer Erik Sandin are original founding and longest-serving members of the band, who have appeared on every ...

, who were both labelmates with Rancid and would tour and achieve success together. *

Bad Religion Bad Religion is an American punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1980. The band's lyrics cover topics related to religion, politics, society, the media and science. Musically, they are noted for their melodic sensibilitie ...

members

and

make a guest appearance on the album. Brett is the owner of the album's label Epitaph and would produce and engineer their later albums. * The album thanks Tom Radner, Tony "Blue Shorts" Villis, and

Robb Flynn Robert Conrad Flynn (born Lawrence Matthew Cardine; July 19, 1967) is an American musician who is the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for heavy metal band Machine Head. Flynn formed the band along with Adam Duce, Logan Mader and Tony Cos ...

and his band

Machine Head A machine head (also referred to as a tuning machine, tuner, or gear head) is a geared apparatus for tuning stringed musical instruments by adjusting string tension. Machine heads are used on mandolins, guitars, double basses and others, and ar ...

as Rob Machinehead. Rancid was also thanked in the booklet of Machine Head's 1994 debut ''

Burn My Eyes ''Burn My Eyes'' is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Machine Head, released on August 9, 1994, by Roadrunner Records. The album's themes generally tie into the social disorder and corresponding inner tension that the band was ...

''. * The tracks "Adina" and "The Bottle" were featured in the

Adam Rifkin Adam Rifkin (born December 31, 1966), sometimes credited as Rif Coogan, is an American filmmaker, and actor. His career ranges from broad family comedies to dark and gritty urban dramas. He is best known for writing family-friendly comedies lik ...

film '' The Chase'' in 1994.

References

{{Authority control Rancid (band) albums 1993 debut albums Epitaph Records albums