Third Eye Blind - My Own Personal Review (Third Eye Bind - Third Eye Blind)

Member Name: andrew_dav

Product:	Third Eye Bind - Third Eye Blind
Date:	18/09/09 (9 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It's As Close To Perfection As You're Ever Likely To Get

Disadvantages: None

If circumstances arose where I had to beg you to own one CD in your entire collection, this would be the one. I first heard this band in college when Semi Charmed Life (Track 3) went into the charts and although this band were never famous everyone in my peer group has come about owning a copy and for them it holds an attachment to some kind of special memory. I'm not sure what it is that makes this band one of the greatest to have ever graced my music collection, perhaps the perfect voice of the lead singer, or the way that all of the music is tightly knitted together so that all of the instruments are played together in complete harmony, or even that their songs are so easy to understand and so addictive. Obviously I wouldn't expect anyone to hold the same emotional attachment to this album as I do, but I think that you'd be hard pressed not to like it, or simply dismiss it.

The whole album is great from start to finish. It opens with Track 1: "Loosing A Whole Year" and the emotion pours out as he sings about a wealthy girl who's been spoilt by her parents to the point she's had everything she wanted but felt unloved as a result, and wants to give it all up for a simple life. It's a slowish moving track but the feelings given out by the singer more than make up for it.

Next is Track 2: "Narcolepsy" which starts off slow. With gently strumming on the guitar. I've always had the feeling he's singing about being mentally out of control, and that as much as he doesn't want Narcolepsy to happen, it does and nightmares come along as a result, and tries his hardest to stave it off Obviously this is my own interpretation. but the lyrics are so wonderful and detailed that there could be several ways of reading into it. One thing that is definite for certain is that the guitar playing is like something I've ever heard on an album. Their tune is certainly unique and I think it portrays itself most prevalently in this song more than anywhere else in this album.

Third is "Semi Charmed Life" which is the song that introduced me to this band. The lyrics are quick paced along with the song and it feels like they are trying to cram 6 minutes of song into 3. It works well though and gives you that upbeat feeling. Even if the lyrics suggest otherwise.

Track 4: "Jumper" slows it down a bit and remains that way for about two and a half minutes into the song until the interlude and then picks up lovely with some wonderful high pitched electric guitar playing.

Track 5: "Graduate" is slow like track 4 but like singing with more passion and emotion. and again, the solo guitar work is phenomenal.

Track 6: "How's It Going To Be" is a slow song about taking as much emotional punishment as you can in a relationship and the consequences of ending it. It's powerful and they're really screaming out the lyrics at the end. It's obvious to see that they've put their heart and soul into this album.

Next it Track 7: "Thanks A Lot" Which is a slow song with heavy guitar playing. It calms the album down from running away with itself I think and sets everything back into perspective.

Track 8 follows titled "Burning Man" a nice slow song where you can really hear the bass guitar taken the main lead in this song and set the tune for the whole song.

Track 9: "Good For You" is a slow paced song and is the worst out of a fantastic bunch if that makes sense. it does have it's moments though and the background singing and the lead guitarist makes this a lovely song towards the end.

Track 10: "London" picks the pack up a bit, it's a fast moving song with some fast drumming and singing. I like the way it ends too the fade out is just a small amount of feedback noise and a quick exit.

Track 11: "I Want You" sets into place the mood for the rest of the album as it begins to slow itself down. It's nice to hear a song where the instruments don't take over and you feel like, although they are there the singing is so much more prevalent and allows you to concentrate on that. It's almost as if they want you to hear what they have to say.

Track 12: "The Background" is again slow, but the guitar is more intruding and there's more of an echo on the singers voice. There's also a lot of electrical feedback on the guitar and I think it adds to the effect personally.

Track 13: "Motorcycle Drive By" makes me slightly tearful given the right mood. The plucking of an acoustic guitar. This song tricks you a little by doing this, as it picks itself up a little minute in. There's something nice about this as its slow guitar playing with fast singing. It gets a lot quicker and you can really feel the emotion build.

Lastly is Track 14: "God Of Wine" which closes the album nicely and is another song on the album where the lyrics are meant to be heard and the music isn't. I think this is a great song to close the album with. It begins so slow I felt as f it was barely stated. The way the voice moves up and down throughout the song adds to the effect and the instruments complement the singing nicely in the background without taking over too much. Personally, I felt this was the right note to close the album on as it leaves you with a great level of reflection and leaves you with the sense of anticipation of wanting more.

Obviously this is only my interpretation, and having this as one of my favourite albums of all time probably leaves me slightly biased. But I'd like to think that it's worth a listen and you'd like it given the time and patience, whatever your preferred music genre.

Summary: The Best Album In My Collection