ARTIST:       Rancid
TITLE:        Time Bomb
LABEL:        Semaphore
TYPE:         Normal release
GENRE:        Punk
SOURCE:       CD Maxi (3-5+ tracks)
BITRATE:      224 kbps avg/44100 Hz
ENCODER:      Lame 3.97
SIZE:         11.67 MB
PLAYTIME:     6:52
RELEASE DATE: 1995-XX-XX
RIP DATE:     2010-03-18

Track List

1.  Time Bomb                                   2:26
2.  The Wars End                                1:56
3.  Blast 'Em                                   2:30

Total Playtime:  06:52

Release Notes:

One of the cornerstone bands of the '90s punk revival, Rancid's unabashedly
classicist sound drew heavily from the Clash's early records, echoing their
left-leaning politics and fascination with ska, while adding a bit of
post-hardcore crunch. While some critics dismissed Rancid as derivative, others
praised their political commitment, surging energy, and undeniable way with a
hook. And, regardless of critical debate over their significance, the band's
strengths made them perhaps the most popular neo-punk band after Green Day and
the Offspring. Their third album, 1995's ...And Out Come the Wolves, made them a
platinum-selling sensation and an inescapable presence on MTV and modern rock
radio. While they never translated that success into an enormous blockbuster
record (like the aforementioned bands who hit the mainstream first), that wasn't
necessarily their ambition, choosing to stay with the independent punk label
Epitaph and the creative freedom it allowed them. That decision helped them
retain a large, devoted core audience as revivalist punk-pop began to slip off
the mainstream's musical radar.

Rancid were formed in 1991 by San Francisco Bay Area punk scenesters Tim
Armstrong (guitar/vocals) and Matt Freeman (bass). Lifelong friends and longtime
punk fans, the two had grown up together in the small, working-class town of
Albany, near Berkeley; they'd also played together in the legendary ska-punk
band Operation Ivy, Armstrong as "Lint" and Freeman as Matt McCall. After Op Ivy
disbanded in 1989, Armstrong and Freeman spent a few weeks in the ska-punk
outfit Dance Hall Crashers, as well as Downfall; Freeman later briefly joined
the hardcore band MDC. Meanwhile, Armstrong was waging a battle with alcoholism
(but, fortunately, winning), and to help keep his friend occupied, Freeman
suggested they escape their day jobs by forming a new band, which became Rancid.
The duo added drummer Brett Reed, Armstrong's roommate and a familiar presence
on the Gilman Street scene where Operation Ivy had cut their teeth. Just a
couple of months later, Rancid were performing live around the area, and in 1992
they released a five-song debut EP on Lookout! Records.

The EP caught the attention of Epitaph Records founder/Bad Religion guitarist
Brett Gurewitz, and Epitaph signed Rancid to a highly favorable contract
guaranteeing the group a generous amount of creative control. The band's
eponymously titled, first full-length album arrived in 1993, pursuing an
up-tempo, hardcore/skatepunk style with few hints of early British punk. Rancid
had been seeking a second guitarist, and Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong even
played live with the group at one show. They pursued Lars Frederiksen, a Bay
Area resident who'd joined a later incarnation of U.K. Subs and was performing
with the band Slip; Frederiksen initially declined Rancid's invitation to join,
but when Slip disbanded, he quickly changed his mind and came along on Rancid's
first tour. Frederiksen made his recording debut on the early-1994 EP Radio
Radio Radio, a side dalliance on Fat Wreck Chords. Released later that year,
Let's Go was the album that made Rancid's name in the punk underground. It
marked the beginnings of their fascination with the 1977-era London punk scene,
particularly the Clash, and it also provided their first widespread exposure
when MTV picked up on the video for the single "Salvation." Let's Go quickly
went gold, and with the breakout mainstream success of Green Day and the
Offspring that year, major-label interest in Rancid quickly escalated into a
full-fledged bidding war (even Madonna's Maverick imprint got in on the action).
Ultimately, Rancid decided that no major could offer them the level of
decision-making power that Epitaph had given them, and stayed right where they
were.

Rancid scored a major success with their next album, 1995's ...And Out Come the
Wolves, whose title was a reference to the near-predatory interest in signing
the band. The Clash fetish was even more pronounced, augmented with a greater
interest in the original Two-Tone ska revival the Clash had helped influence
(bands like the Specials). "Ruby Soho" was a major MTV and radio hit, and "Time
Bomb" and "Roots Radicals" were hits in their own right. The album went platinum
and made Rancid one of the most visible punk bands around. They played the 1996
Lollapalooza Tour, and afterward took a short break, their first since becoming
a quartet. During that time, Freeman played with former X singer Exene Cervenka
in Auntie Christ, while Armstrong set up the Epitaph subsidiary Hellcat; he and
Frederiksen both began doing production work for other bands they hoped to
spotlight.

Rancid returned in 1998 with the even more ska-heavy Life Won't Wait, a
guest-star-loaded affair that featured members of ska bands the Specials and
Hepcat, Dicky Barrett of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, dancehall reggae star Buju
Banton, and Agnostic Front vocalist Roger Miret. While it didn't cross over on
the level of ...And Out Come the Wolves, it demonstrated that Rancid retained a
substantial fan base. For the 2000 follow-up, their second self-titled release,
the group largely scrapped its ska-punk side, recording a visceral,
hardcore-influenced album that blasted through 22 songs in under 40 minutes (in
contrast to its two lengthy predecessors). Perhaps for that reason, Rancid
received a highly positive response from the punk community. The band's
installment in the BYO split series arrived in March 2002 alongside NOFX, each
band covering six of the other's songs. Rancid's next full-length,
Indestructible, followed a year later; though technically released through
Hellcat, the album was their first that got additional support from a major
label via Warner Bros. The highly personal album (songs were inspired by the
deaths of family and friends, and Armstrong's bitter 2003 divorce from
Distillers frontwoman Brody Dalle) hit number 14 on the Billboard charts, as
"Fall Back Down" did well on radio and MTV.

Following the record's release, Rancid went on something of a hiatus, its
members working on various side projects: Armstrong continued work with the
Transplants, his band with Rob Aston and blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, and
collaborated with various artists, including Pink; Frederiksen further played
with his side band Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards; Freeman briefly joined
Social Distortion from 2004-2005. By the spring of 2006, a revitalized Rancid
regrouped; they toured worldwide starting that summer to the delight of fans.
Several shows, however, had to be postponed and rescheduled after Frederiksen
collapsed on-stage in Montreal, apparently suffering a seizure. Soon enough,
though, he was back and the band continued on. Rancid promised a new record for
the following year, and Armstrong released his first solo album, A Poet's Life,
that fall through Epitaph by releasing songs online for free download over the
course of several months. With the band getting back on track, it then came as a
shock in November 2006 when Reed announced he was leaving Rancid after 15 years;
the split appeared to be amicable and he was soon replaced behind the kit by
ex-Used drummer Branden Steineckert. After taking some time to look back at
their luminous history with a B Sides and C Sides compilation, a music videos
collection, and an online webisode retrospective dating back to the bandmembers'
days in Operation Ivy, Rancid returned to the studio to record 2009's Let the
Dominoes Fall at George Lucas' Skywalker Sound Studio with Brett Gurewitz
producing.