*** SUBLIME, “Second-Hand Smoke,” Gasoline Alley/MCA

This postscript to a posthumous success is mainly concerned with rounding out the Long Beach trio’s story, not with milking a cash cow. Half the 18 songs didn’t make it onto Sublime’s three albums (the last of which, “Sublime,” came out after singer Brad Nowell’s death and became a huge hit). They all raise the question, “Why the heck not?”

“Romeo” and “New Realization,” demos from the band’s formative days in ‘87-88, add catchy new wave and ‘60s garage-rock flavors to Sublime’s already substantial mix-and-match menu of reggae, punk, pop and hip-hop; “Romeo” poignantly shows Nowell grappling from the very start with the knotty realization that his inspiration is interwoven with his unfathomed inner turmoil. “Superstar Punani,” which missed the cut on “Sublime,” will set the ska kids skipping as it sardonically rewrites the old Byrds “So You Wanna Be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star” script.

Rather than treat their legacy as sacrosanct, the surviving Sublime crew freshen up their hit, “Doin’ Time,” in two worthwhile remixes that add new ska-jazz and dub elements to the original track. Filler is minimal, and the only hint of milking comes with the perhaps inevitable inclusion of “Saw Red,” from 1994’s otherwise experimental, predominantly non-commercial “Robbin’ the Hood” album. It’s a frenetic, poppy, love-hate duet between Nowell and Gwen Stefani of No Doubt, two modern-rock stars aborning.

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