Buddha (album) - Release

Release

The demo tape, which was originally untitled by came to be known by the name Buddha, was released by Filter Records in 1994. According to Mark Hoppus, only about 1,000 copies of the cassette were made. One of the most mysterious aspects of Buddha is its release date. Although the liner notes on the later CD reissue say it was recorded in 1995, this information appears to be false. The liner notes on the lyric sheet provided with the original cassette say "This tape was recorded and mixed in January 1994 at Doubletime Studios in twelve hours."

After a digital remix and remastering, Buddha was re-released on CD, vinyl, and cassette on October 27, 1998 through Kung Fu Records. Different cover art and a different track listing were used for the re-release, omitting original tracks "Degenerate", "The Family Next Door", and "Transvestite". Two bonus tracks were added to the reissue that were not on the original pressing of the demo – a cover of the Screeching Weasel song "The Girl Next Door". The cassette and the original vinyl version are now both out of print, but Kung Fu Records re-released a new version of the reissue of Buddha on vinyl on December 21, 2009. A picture disc version was commercially available at Hot Topics in the United States. A digital version of the album was released for online music services (iTunes and Rhapsody) by Kung Fu Records in 2007. The major albums by the band were released previously onto the services in 2004. Grace Walker headed art direction on the Kung-Fu reissue.

Since the re-release of Buddha in 1998 by Kung-Fu Records, the label has placed several of the tracks on obscure compilation albums released by the label. "Don't" and "Carousel" can both be heard on No Stars, Just Talent (1999), and "The Girl Next Door" on Mixed Martial Arts, Vol. 1 (2007).