The Offspring - Ignition

It seems like the terms catchy and punk shouldn't go together, but for the Offspring, they do. Listening to Ignition, one gets the sense of rage tightly controlled, powering the band's uptempo, driving material. While their sensibility is firmly punk, the Offspring have clearly borrowed from heavy metal for their chord progressions and guitar sound--check out the solos on "Nothing from Something" and "Forever and a Day." While this album didn't have the major-label success of its follow-up, Smash, all the ingredients that made that record a hit are here, if not quite as refined: angry, incisive lyrics; fast-driving rhythms; and--dare one say it--melodic chord progressions. It's easy to hear why Ignition was an underground hit and why the Offspring's later records, while somewhat diluted, have been so successful. --Genevieve Williams Amazon.com essential recording

A relatively new Offspring fan discovers-and likes- Ignition

I guess I'm the type of Offspring fan that several old-school Offspring fans love to hate; I didn't discover this band until Pretty Fly For a White Guy but I purchased Americana and loved it and The Offspring's easily one of the best bands I've ever been a fan of. I went back and have listened to all their CD's many times, (the exception being their self-titled debut and, until now, Ignition) and CD after CD they always amaze. Some have held up better than others but they've never released a CD without at least some excellent tracks on there and Ignition, it turns out, was no exception.

Despite the common consensus, I didn't like Smash that much. I didn't find the subjects of the songs all that interesting, I didn't think musically it was all that great, I only liked a couple tracks off of it, and it's just not one that I played all that much. After hearing some song samples of Ignition online (now that the CD's been digitally re-mastered) I decided to check it out, and it sounds SO much better now than it ever did, the digital re-mastering makes all the instruments and Dexter's vocals crystal clear, and I'm really starting to consider picking up the re-mastered Smash and giving it a shot.

But back to Ignition. This was released at a time when the band was not famous, when they were underground and indie and it's a fairly different sound than what they have now. In general songs are much more about energy than melody, and the instruments overall have a much rawer and less-produced sound.

But I disagree with some who say that this CD had would have had no commercial appeal...songs like Get It Right sound like they could easily be featured on some of the Offspring's newer CD's, as does the excellent Dirty Magic and the energetic Hypodermic and the closing Forever and a Day. (Easily my 4 favorites on the CD) But those looking for familiar Offspring should stop there because everything else on the CD's vastly different.

Session, (which the band's just recently started to play live again,) with its drum solo and high energy, is the perfect example of the sound to expect on the CD. It's fun and catchy but not necessarily bogging itself down with a melody.

We Are One goes on a bit too long but it's another cool song with a unique sound and a very "punk" message. Same for Kick Him When He's Down, which sounds unlike anything I've heard from the Offspring.

Forever and a Day's a great song to end the album, reminds me of some of the stuff off Ixnay. Again sounds very different from other stuff the band's done and lacking a well-defined chorus but again, it's all about the energy. GREAT guitar solo, too. Excellent lyrics.

Other songs on the CD retain a distinctly "punk" sound to them, songs like No Hero and LAPD, which are just heavy and with no "melody" to speak of, just anger. But these are good songs too, in their own way. Not ones I see myself listening to over and over again once the novelty wears off but it's interesting to see the sound this band once had.

Not every song on this CD's a winner. I thought Burn It Up featured both a corny delivery by Dexter and also pretty lame subject matter. I just can't seem to get into Nothing From Something, and despite great instrumentals, Take It Like A Man just feels a bit aimless and not all that interesting. (Although I can already tell there's a possibility that I might get into this a bit more with some listens down the road.)

But this is easily a CD that's worth listening for Offspring fans. While not quite as accessible as the stuff that followed, I think the re-mastering helps a lot, and while the songs on here may not reach the heights of the likes of The Kids Aren't Alright, A Lot Like Me, or Change the World, it's a great CD and any Offspring fan owes it to themselves to pick up this re-mastered copy, it's great stuff and very different and energetic.

In order, my thoughts on the Offspring CD's (except self-titled, which I haven't heard yet) -

Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace (Best)
Americana
Ixnay on the Hombre
Ignition
Splinter
Conspiracy of One
Smash

It's not up there with their best but it's a very good CD and Offspring fans should definitely try it out, it's something very different and an interesting listen. July 26, 2008

Possibly THE best Offspring

I remember being young and seeing this CD after sneaking off with my parent's SMASH CD. They just wouldn't let me listen to this CD, which kept upping the appeal, because it was so taboo for my ears allegedly. I'll never forget when I did listen to this CD for the first time though, and it has been in constant rotation in my music library ever since, and that's a VERY LONG 13 years or so. As other posters have stated, there is absolutely NO COMMERCIAL potential for this album, but I think that was the very last thing The Offspring had on their mind at this time. I've always been an avid fan of the Offspring's commentary of the degradation of America, and this is proabably the best example, perfectly following up their debut. There are NO FILLER TRACKS to be found on this CD. I am glad that the Offspring made Ignition and Self Titled, and evolved with their sound. People constantly whine because the Offspring sound nothing like they used to, but let me tell you this; The same people who whine would be the first ones to cry because of the rehash. Dirty Magic would have to be my favorite track, but as far as energy and intensity goes, Hypodermic would have to be my favorite. What makes this album appealing to me? I actually dig the guitar tones from the first two albums, which to me give it a more rock feel, a more heavy metal feel instead of punk. The change of guitar tones over the albums suit them well. I think if Americana had the tone of SMASH, it would've received more praise, because a lot of the subject matter is a return to seemingly familiar subject material, as found in the debut and Ignition. This album got me into figuring out guitar parts and made me the rhythm player I am today. If you've never heard of anything The Offspring has done, give SMASH a shot, not this. If you're into Bad Religion and other bands like that, and want to give the Offspring a shot, you couldn't do much better. In all, a 5 star album to say the least. July 19, 2008

One of the most underrated punk CD's of all time

Before the Offspring became a household name they produced two albums which includes Ignition which was released in 1993. This is a fan favorite album as it is similar in style to hit album Smash. If you like that album you will probably like this one although it has a little more of an underground punk sound than that album does. I'd recommend it for the song Dirty Magic alone which is an absolute masterpiece, but there are a bunch of quality tracks on this CD.

Best Tracks:
Session
Kick Him When He's Down
Dirty Magic
No Hero
Forever and a Day June 22, 2008

Their worst album, even worse than Americana

The majority of the songs on this album are decent or good. However, the guitars sound wimpy and crappy. The album 'Smash' sounds 100 times better. It sounds like they turned the distortion on their amps down to 2 out of 10. The vocals sound like they are coming from somewhere in the distance. There are some pretty good songs on here though - I would like to hear them with a good guitar sound. June 10, 2008

A Gritty and Rough Punk Rock Masterpiece

The Offspring's second full-length is by no means universally regarded as a quintessential punk rock album. You may even come across Offspring fans who haven't heard the record. Nevertheless, Ignition gained more than just a little underground success back in the early 90s, and if you're more than just a casual Offspring listener, chances are you've heard this record, or at least some of the songs on it.

The Offspring have been hit with the traditional "punk-rock sellout" accusation numerous times, and it continues to follow them to this day. Some have lashed out at the band, and some continue to enjoy the band's music, regardless of the record company or budget. However, while some may not like to judge the Offspring's music entirely on the record company, it's hard to deny that the resources (or lack, thereof) available to the Offspring do, in fact, impact the overall sound and feel of their music, and Ignition is no exception to this rule.

The indie-label recording capacity, combined with the more hardcore-sounding style of the Offspring's early music combine to give Ignition a rough and gritty sound. And this is, by no means, a negative. While some may argue that a smaller budget is a disadvantage, Ignition is proof that it can most certainly be quite the opposite.

What's interesting about this album is that it isn't in your face. It has very few blatantly poppy hooks. It's energetic and aggressive, but achieves this not through brute-force, but rather extremely interesting songwriting, combined with its gritty and hardcore sound. "We Are One" opens up with its bright and uplifting riff, which is probably the closest thing to a poppy-hook on the entire record, and even then, just the verses and chorus are enough to make the song extremely enjoyable and interesting. "Kick Him When He's Down" slows down the tempo, but keeps the same crunchy sound as the rest of the record. "Dirty Magic", widely regarded by Offspring fans as their greatest work, takes on an eerie, almost Nirvana-esque sound, and "Take it Like a Man" and "Burn it Up" showcase the Offspring's love of middle-eastern riffs.

Ignition is one of the Offspring's most interesting albums, and definitely the most gritty and rough sounding. Anyone looking for a musically interesting punk rock or grunge album will find a lot to love in Ignition. And any Offspring fans who haven't yet should definitely pick this one up, also for its historical significance. September 11, 2007

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