The success of
Sublime
was both a blessing and a curse for the band -- a blessing because the group and its lead singer/songwriter,
Brad Nowell
, were celebrated after his tragic death, and a curse because there's no way the rhythm section could successfully produce a follow-up. There was only one thing to do -- release everything left in the vaults as quickly as possible, since their audience would fade even if they waited one year. So, in 1997, a live and rarities EP entitled
What I Got
was released in September, followed less than two months later by
Second Hand Smoke
, a hodgepodge of unreleased tracks from the
sessions. There's a reason why these weren't released: they're not very good. The cover of
Bob Marley
's "Trenchtown Rock" is OK, but the originals are repetitive and not very catchy, and the remix of the
Gwen Stefani
duet "Saw Red" is simply unnecessary. Only hardcore fans will find things of worth here, and even those will be minor pleasures. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine