Ignition (The Offspring album)

Background and recording

In 1991, The Offspring teamed up with producer Thom Wilson to record the Baghdad 7" EP. This EP was instrumental to the band's signing with Epitaph Records. Wilson had been trying to get The Offspring to switch to Epitaph, a label run by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. Gurewitz felt that The Offspring was just not quite pronounced enough for his label, but Baghdad convinced him to give the band a shot. Thanks to the success of Baghdad, The Offspring managed to record their second full-length album. The band entered two recording studios, Westbeach Recorders and Track Record, in June 1992 to record Ignition, in a similar fashion to the production schedule for The Offspring and Baghdad, which were both recorded in just one month (March 1989 and February 1991 respectively).

Some of the material (including "Take It Like a Man", which was originally recorded in 1991 for a Flipside magazine compilation, The Big One, and "Get It Right", which appeared on Baghdad) are updated versions of songs that were recorded around The Offspring/Baghdad-era. The album also had one outtake, "Mission from God", which was released on the compilation album Punk-O-Rama Vol. 10 in 2005.

Release and reception

Ignition was released through Epitaph Records on October 16, 1992. Like their self-titled debut album, Ignition did not chart on the Billboard 200; however, The Offspring began to gather small success in the Southern region of California, mainly the areas of San Diego, Orange County and Los Angeles, and spent a-year-and-a-half touring relentlessly behind the album. Although no videos were released for Ignition, "Kick Him When He's Down" was released as an airplay-only single in 1995. Ignition was certified Gold on January 22, 1996, nearly two years after the release of Smash.

The album has received generally favorable reviews in the years since its initial release, with several reviewers having deemed Ignition one of The Offspring's best albums. In October 2011, the album was ranked number two (between Alice in Chains' Dirt and Bad Religion's Generator) on Guitar World magazine's top ten list of guitar albums of 1992. Punknews.org rated the album 5 stars out of 5, stating, "Every song is a winner on this disc, no fillers..."

On June 17, 2008, Epitaph re-released Ignition (along with Smash) in remastered form. This reissue was released on the same day as then-current album Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace.

Touring and promotion

The Offspring toured for a-year-and-a-half to promote Ignition. Their audience continued to hone, supporting such bands as Youth Brigade, The Vandals, Bad Religion, D.I., Guttermouth, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Glue Gun, Momentum, Final Conflict, Face to Face, Pennywise, Rancid, Unwritten Law, RKL, Untrust, Cadillac Tramps and Korn. The Offspring then managed to secure a slot in three major tours in 1993. They opened for NOFX on their White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean tour, and in that summer, the band supported Lunachicks (whose singer Andrea Luna is the sister of Dexter Holland's future wife Kristine) and Iceburn. After the tour ended, The Offspring took a break and went back into the studio to record their third album Smash. In early 1994, The Offspring landed the opening slot for Pennywise on their Unknown Road tour. The Ignition tour ended on April 1, 1994 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, just one week before the release of Smash.

Track listing

All tracks written by Dexter Holland, except where noted .

The Offspring

Other