Release and Reception
Dude Ranch was released on June 17, 1997 through Cargo Music. The record, at first, largely passed without notice from audiences outside their established fan base. With fan support and the trio touring nonstop, the album's sales began to improve. However, when "Dammit" began gaining popularity at rock radio stations around the nations, the album's sales improved considerably. The success of "Dammit" knocked Dude Ranch onto the the album Billboard 200 album chart for the first time, where it peaked at number 67 in February 1998. Thanks to increased recognition, the band dropped Cargo and signed with MCA in 1998 to handle increased distribution. Hardcore punk purists asserted the band were betraying their indie roots by even considering major label proposals and began to address the band as "sell-outs". The popularity of the trio in Australia has been cited as the sign that alerted major record companies of Dude Ranch's commercial potential; at the time, Dude Ranch had spent five months on the charts and the band became famous for their staged show while on the 1997 Warped Tour.
The record's lead single, "Dammit (Growing Up)", was released in the summer of 1997. The song was added to the playlist of Los Angeles-based radio station KROQ, and soon the song began to played across the country. "Dammit" achieved great commercial success, peaking at number 11 on the US charts in 1998. The year-end Billboard Airplay Monitor Report (BDS) stats indicated that "Dammit" earned top spins at many key radio stations. "Apple Shampoo" was the second single release from Dude Ranch, released in October 1997. Although it didn't have the impact of "Dammit", it hardly mattered as the former was still receiving heavy play on radio and TV stations across the nation. "Dick Lips" was released in February 1998 but failed to register on charts. "Josie (Everything's Gonna Be Fine)" became the record's fourth and final single in November 1998. Its music video received MTV airplay and the single charted at number 31 in Australia. For the single release of both "Dammit" and "Josie", the songs were remixed and remastered by Tom Lord-Alge.
Dude Ranch was released when the band was only achieving moderate success, therefore very few critical reviews of the record were published in 1997. A CMJ write-up commented, "Dude Ranch has the hooks and sonic wallop to rocket Blink-182 into stadiums throughout the nation." British rock magazine Kerrang! published an early review, albeit negative: the reviewer laments the disc's "little depth, passion, soul and even vaguely memorable hooks." Later reviews were subsequently more positive. Rolling Stone regarded Dude Ranch as the moment the trio focused and refined their pop punk sound, summarizing the record's themes: "Guitarist Tom DeLonge plays the straight man, singing sturdily and deadpan, while the squeakier-voiced bassist Mark Hoppus bleats urgently about romance gone wrong." In 2007, Channing Freeman of Sputnikmusic attributed the album's unique sound to the band's young age at the time, commenting "Ten years ago, blink-182 were just breaking through as a young band whose sound was a bit rough around the edges, not too polished or refined yet. On Dude Ranch, blink-182 were kids being kids, and that’s precisely what they should have been doing." The website AbsolutePunk placed the album on their "Absolute Classics" list in February 2009, calling it a "classic mix" that was successful due to timing.
In January 1998, Dude Ranch was certified gold for 500,000 copies sold in the United States. "When I heard that we had gone gold, I was like, cool. It was a big thing, but it didn't really hit me," said DeLonge in 2001. "We we went to MCA, and they actually handed us a gold record, then I understood what was going on and it blew me away. It was a totally acknowledgement for all of our hard work. It was awesome." Dude Ranch was certified platinum for the first time in 1999. Dude Ranch was originally released on compact disc, cassette, and vinyl; several vinyl reissues would follow years later. Unreleased Dude Ranch cut "I Won't Be Home for Christmas" was released as an international single in 2001, only successful in Canada, but charting for six non-consecutive weeks at number one there.
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