Third Eye Blind Album: “A Collection”

Attention!! This is a 'Greatest Hits' collection, so I am writing this for everybody who does NOT already own the entire Third Eye Blind collection. If you're a true blue fan who has stuck with the band thus far, then a) you are a rare breed, and b) you do not need to read this review. As for the rest of you, please read on.

Sometimes, life is not fair, and this is one of those times. Releasing this `greatest hits' collection by Third Eye Blind is a lost proposition before it even begins, and I'll tell you why; the only people who remember Third Eye Blind are the people who bought their first album, and most of those people already have all of the Third Eye Blind music that they care to have. True fans know better, and Third Eye Blind is certainly one of the best post-grunge bands to emerge in the early nineties, but for reasons that I cannot adequately explain, most people simply ceased to pay attention. It's sad, but it's true that the public abandoned this band en masse after their first release. It may be an injustice, but due to public indifference, or wholesale abandonment by the group's label, Third Eye Blind vanished from the charts about as fast as you could say "Hootie and the Blowfish".

I myself must plead guilty to being completely ignorant of the material released after that first album, and I have no good reason for it. That was a great album, and if the record label did their job of promoting subsequent Third Eye Blind records, I'm sure I would have heard something that I liked, and I'd also imagine that I would have posted positive reviews. As it is, too many albums clamor for my limited attention span, so if a band goes AWOL I'm usually not the first to notice. The evidence provided on this collection indicates that the band continued to record good material, and it also signifies just how badly I lost track of them. For instance, I could have sworn that "Never Let You Go" was culled from the album I already owned. Wrong. This great track was the lead-off single to their second album, so why didn't it launch that album into `Mega-Platinum Land' and cultivate their huge fan base into a reliably devoted following?

If this album proves anything at all, then it proves that Third Eye Blind definitely had the goods that it takes for the long haul. "Semi-Charmed Life" still sounds great, even after hearing it seventy million times on commercial radio. Every other track taken from that first album still sounds great, too, and maybe that is the crux of the problem. The first six tracks on "A Collection" are spellbinding in their consistency and familiarity, but the disk continues for another thirteen tracks that were mostly unfamiliar to me, so the experience is like listening to a `greatest hits' collection that runs out of hits before it is half-finished. After multiple listens, I can honestly say that I like previously unfamiliar tracks like "Crystal Baller," and "Wounded," and I think you would too. But if you already own all of the song titles that you recognize, why would you spend the cash? The problem lies in convincing you to do the same as I did, and I doubt I could even persuade you to blow the dust off of their first album. You sure are a tough crowd. In a fair world, this record would sell millions but like I said, sometimes life just isn't fair. B+ Tom Ryan

There are exactly three reasons to own this album:

1. Tattoo of the Sun, previously only available with one of their singles. An excellent song that should have been on an album years ago.

2. Slow Motion, with the lyrics, which anyone in the US missed out on. This alone is worth the price. Along with Motorcycle Drive By (also on this album), Slow Motion is Third Eye Blind at their best.

3. My Time in Exile, which is said to be on the DVD release of Out of Vein. Also an excellent track.

Even if you own every other Third Eye Blind album, it's worth it to pick up this one for these songs alone.

I've been in love with Third Eye Blind since the San Francisco club days. I was only 10, but one of my first shows was 3eb, which my aunt took me to.

To me, the entire first album is a greatest hits package enough. Full of beautiful melodies and insightful lyrics, Stephan Jenkins' pseudo-Brit sneer, Kevin Cadogan's brilliant shredding, Arion's pleasant bass and Brad's animalistic drumming (Especially noted on "Narcolepsy"), the self-titled release (the import is so worth "Tattoo of the Sun") was a beautifully crafted masterpiece.

I personally believe that this collection focused way too hard on the newer stuff, including five tracks from Out of the Vein, an album that I felt didn't quite measure up to my expectations. Maybe it was just lost on me or I was at a different point in my life, but I didn't feel this one as much as the other two.

Missing from the album are the two other tracks involved in the "Trinity" at the end of the first album, which pretty much made the entire second half and the track "I Want You". Also missing from this "collection" is a rockin' fun time also known as "Horror Show," recorded for the Varsity Blues soundtrack and countless other B-Sides not included anywhere else but as B-Sides. This is what they need to do: now that they have their corporate faves, release an album of FAN favorites: B-sides, rarities (like the ingeniously hilarious "One of Those Christmas Days") and live tracks, because the best thing I remember about these boys was their beautifully astounding live show.

Come on, guys, give me something good. Cuz we're lackin somethin... something good... something good, yeah.

Of course, I can't say this is ALL bad, they covered the great mass of their material in only 18 tracks. The singles are all accounted for (even the tediously annoying "Never Let You Go") and most other fan favorites. I'm also super excited to see "Tattoo Of the Sun" and the wonderfully brilliant unedited version of "Slow Motion," which only confirmed for the forty-millionth time their badassedom.

The first album doesnt leave my sight. Neither does the second. Not even the third, but I can do without this. But you can bet your bottom dollar that I'm sitting on pins waiting for their new release in 2007!

Yeah, I doubt fans that have all of the albums will care to own this, but if you are a casual fan or are just discovering them, it's a good and pretty complete buy...especially for the radio hits that they were really known for in the late 90's/early 00's.

Yes, you get the three biggest that they were really known for from their debut and those are "Sem-Charmed Kinda Life", "Jumper", and "How's It Gonna Be." All three are still played a lot on the radio nine years later. From their second album "Blue", you get the massive hit "Never Let U Go" *which I remember hearing constantly during the spring/summer of 2000* along with the minor hits "10 Days Late" and "Deep Inside of You." Then from their less popular latest album, you get "Blinded." There are also numerous other tracks included.

Billboard Hot 100 Peaking Position Info:

1. Sem-Charmed: #4

2. Jumper: #5

3. How's It Gonna Be: #9

4. Never Let You Go: #14

5. Deep Inside of You: #69

*Note that many of their singles did impressive peaks on the mainstream rock chart.

I'll admitt to only owning their debut, so I myself am interested in purchasing this. Good group.

I'm angry!! I read that it was going to feature live and new recordings. Well, it's all stuff from the three albums that I own! But nonetheless, I brought it at midnight from Tower Records and read the booklet as soon as I got home. 3EB has been my favorite band and will always be my favorite band, since I was 11 and I'm going to be 20 in three days. These are all great songs and I am more than thrilled for the next album!! :)