Customer Reviews

Third Eye Blind

5 star:		(625)
4 star:		(72)
3 star:		(27)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(49)

 

 

A perfect rock album, from start to finish. I wish every rock album released could be half as good as Third Eye Blind's self-titled first release.

We've all heard the radio hits played over and over, such as "Semi-Charmed Life," "Graduate," "How's It Going To Be," "Losing A Whole Year," and "Jumper;" you know how good those songs are, the others on this album that weren't played over the airwaves are just as good, if not better. That's what makes this album one of my all-time favorites.

Better, deeper cuts from this album, such as "Thanks A Lot," "Good For You," "The Background," and "Motorcycle Drive By" may never get radio play, but are excellent songs. Songs such as "I Want You" and "God of Wine" are as close to perfection as music gets.

For a long time this album has been one of my favorites; I thought it was about time I let more people know. This is one of those albums you're glad you have on CD, otherwise you'd have burned out the tape or vinyl. You'll end up learning all of the lyrics and become addicted.

This CD is worth every penny you spend on it.

At first I did not like Third Eye Blind. I thought "Semi-Charmed Life", with it's "doo-doo-doo" hook line, was irrelevant alt-pop. However, I eventually heard "Graduate" and "Losing A Whole Year", and though they might be a band worth checking out. At a bowling alley one night, I heard the whole album, and was quite impressed. This band, with it's radio songs that crossed over to Top 40, received a bad reputation as a middle-of-the-road alterna-schlock band, but they are don't deserve that label. Frontman Stephen Jenkins writes some very poetic lyrics, and the band can rock out with a style reminiscent of Jane's Addiction. You don't realize when you hear it on the radio, but SCL is not the cheery love song that it sounds like on the surface. There are slower songs that don't drown the listener in schmaltz, like "God Of Wine" and "Motorcycle Drive-By", but even better are the crunchy rockers like "Narcolepsy" and "London". The band's strength lies in these dark, moody rock tunes, which there are more of on this album than on the follow-up "Blue". If you are like me and are not a fan of most Top 40 music, give this one a chance - it's far more creative and not nearly as insipid as most pop acts. Aside from the hits like the aforementioned SCL, "Jumper", and "How's It Going To Be", the rest of the songs are in more of an edgy alt-rock vein and not as played out if you are sick of the above songs. 3EB are one of a select few modern bands that definitely deserves its success.

...a few of them had just better stop making fun of me for liking Third Eye Blind (and/or Roxette), or I'm just going to have to get me some new friends.

The neighborhood of "alternative" rock inhabited by Third Eye Blind is admittedly crowded: Stroke 9, Eve 6, Matchbox 20, and Blink 182 all live somewhere nearby, and 3eb should probably change their name to "Eye Blind 3" so that the fire department can find them more easily in the event of an emergency. Like the rest of those bands, they're shamelessly commercial, and the world would probably be a better (or at least more interesting) place if some of the airplay that went to the five top-20 hits on this album had gone to less heralded, less numbered neighbors like Pete Yorn, Jawbreaker, or the Matthew Good Band. That being said, 3eb truly are good at what they do, and it's never been more evident than on this remarkably consistent debut. Stephen Jenkins has an uncanny melodic sense, and the drummer in me has great respect for the alternating efforts of Brad Hargreaves and Michael Urbano.

I'd add this one to my list of desert-island discs any day of the week. Go beyond the overplayed singles and check out, say, "Narcolepsy" and the rather astonishing "Motorcycle Drive By." I'd like to think you won't be disappointed.

(And as for being a "total ripoff of Dinosaur Jr.," as a fellow reviewer recently suggested: you're completely missing the point. Both Dinosaur Jr. and 3eb are ripping their predecessors off left and right, but the possibility that Dinosaur Jr. is #68 and 3eb is #69 in the ripoff chain pales in comparison to the fact that Jenkins and Cadogan sing like healthy human males and J Mascis sings like his most recent ex is trying to strangle him.)

Absolutely a classic, Third Eye Blind's self-titled debut is simply a must for ever fan of music. Without a doubt, a rock masterpiece, this album DOES NOT have a bad song on it. The songs are powerful, thoughtful, and incredibly infectious. Third Eye Blind manages to capture that fresh San Fran sound in their music, bringing a newness to the rock/pop scene. Led with Stephen Jenkins' one-of-a-kind sloppy vs. snazzy voice, the band delivers songs ranging from loud and proud, to the middle of the road pop ditty, to the subtly beautiful ballad-esque sound. However, although the 3-4 hit singles are incredible songs, the lesser known tunes are even that much better. I am not kidding. The music is almost indescribable with such a unique sound and true difference from contemporaries. Songs like "I want you", "Motorcycle Drive By" and "Background" are heart-wrenchingly beautiful, being brought to life with Third Eye Blind's talent and fresh style. Yet, for the rockers out there, songs such as "London" and "Good for You" will satisfy your primal needs! Even though the singles "Semi-Charmed Life" and "How's it goin' to be?" may have been overplayed to where you never want to hear from this band again, do not write them off. They are an under rated band when it comes to their actual music.

I still remember. I was in the 6th grade. I heard Semi Charmed Life and I just loved it. I brought the cassette and listened to it over and over and over. Then my dad took me to a music store and I brought the album. Then I brought a cassette player (I had a walkman) just so I could listen to it. I can still see myself sitting in my dad's living room, my head right over the speaker and reading along with all of the songs. I was only 10. I loved it. I just loved it. I didn't understand the crystal meth, go down on me, after we did it by the window seal in "I Want You", hell I still don't understand some of it. But I don't care. It was simply the most beautiful sound I had ever heard. I'm 19 now. And I look at that cd and smile so much. Third Eye Blind is my life. I remember my childhood so well because of them.

Rock on guys. I can't live without it.

I know that may seem a bit much, since today you hear some people say "oh my god this is like the greatest cd ever" and most likely 3 months later they are saying the same thing about yet a different album. So let me start from the beginning.

This was in fact the first cd I ever purchased, I heard "Semi - Charmed Life" and had to get it, they instantly became my favorite band, and now 7 years later here I am 16 and still listening to it, I could never get sick of it, and every time I hear a certain song it brings back memories. From the opening "Loseing a whole year" to the final 4 songs which in my opinion made this cd a masterpiece, "I want you" which is a beautiful song I think the title speaks for itself, "The background" very sad, yet beautiful,brings me to tears whenever I hear it, Motorcycle drive-by which is my all time favorite song, and ending with "God of Wine" which can only be described as amazing,and a perfect ending to this already perfect album.

1.Losing a whole year.4/5 Good opening, makes me smile whenever I hear it.

2.Narcolepsy.4/5 Starts slow then gets a bit heavier.

3.Semi-Charmed Life.3/5 First Single I believe. A bit overplayed butstill a good song.

4.Jumper.4/5 Another single, once again overplayed but still very good.

5.Graduate.4/5 A harder song with attutude, you will find yourself singing along every time.

6.How's It Going To Be.5/5 A beautiful song, I never realized how much I loved this song untill I hear it in the opening of an episode of "Cold Case" on CBS, it gave me chills and I had to hear it again and again anad again.

7.Thanks A Lot.5/5 Exellent! Another Song which will never get old. Awesome Guitars in this one.

8. Burning Man.3/5 Takes A few Listens, my least favorite song on the album. Still a really good song.

9. Good For You.4.5/5 Good Song, Good Guitars, Amazing Lyrics.

10. London. 3/5 Another Harder song, almost punk.

11. I Want you. 5/5 Beautiful

12. The Background 5/5 Such a sad song, an amazing chorus, and beautiful lyrics.

13. Motorcycle drive-by 5/5 I only wish I could rate this song Higher, My all time favorite song for about 5 years now, not many people can say that. I almost Die everytime I hear it, "I've never been so alone, and I've....never been so alive.

14. God Of Wine 5/5 A masterpeice,this song gives me chills, even after Ive heard it thousands of times (litterally).

Im a tough critic, i rated a few songs 3/5, because that is their true rating, some amazong rewiewers will rate every song 5/5, rate the worst song 4/5, and give the best song on the cd something absolutely ubsurd like "100/5" or 1000000000/5" I mean talk about exageration. 5/5 is a perfect rating, and thats what I give this cd, I'm not exagerating,nor am I lying when I say that I will still be listening to this album when I'm in my 80s and 90s. Stephan Jenkins Created a masterpeice, "Blue" was a good album, and "Out of the Vein" came close to this album, but this is a masterpiece and Ive only said that about 3 other cds in my 200+ collection of rock cds, those cds being "No Name Face" by Lifehouse and "Once" by Nightwish and "Aenima" by Tool, so in conclusion, I can only say that if you dont own this album, buy it!! If you own this album and dont think too highly of it, please go and listen to it the whole way through, dont skip a track, and by the time you are done im positive that you will have a different opinion. Third Eye Blind has to be the most underapriciated band of our time, so all you 1 - 4 star rewiweres who listened to this album once then brought it to the pawn shop I want you to know you disgust me and I beg of you to go back and see what this album really is! 4.5 / 5 stars? Thats down to the level of the Backstreet boys according to amazons ratings, how pathetic and sad! 5/5 Stars

First off, the whole CD is great.

Reading quite deep into the reviews (due to a state of bored procrastination) I noticed that a lot of people tend to dismiss "Semi-Charmed Life" as a run-of-the-mill frivilous pop single. Because of its fast pace, upbeat tone, and generally fluffy sound, people seem to listen to the song with the expectation that it can't possibly be about anything important. This is compounded by the relative speed and magnitude of cadence in the singers voice compared to other songs on the album, which obscures a lot of the lyrics to most listeners who don't look up them up.

I imagine that people who purchase or already own this album might appreciate "Semi-Charmed Life" substantially more if they understand what the song is about. It is about the disasterous effects of crystal meth addicton on a young, bored couple. In my interpretation, the female that the singer is talking to dies of an overdose at the end of the song, "She's got her jaws just locked now in smile", and he doesn't care. The refrain of "I'm not listening when you say / Good-bye", therefore, while it initally refers to the female walking out on him at the height of his addiction, shifts meaning by the end of the song, becoming a glib failure to attach any meaning or understanding to the death of his girlfriend (or wife or whatever)--a failure that results from the fake sheen that meth puts on the singer's world.

This explains the song happy, poppy tone. Just as meth can put a seemingly happy sheen on a terrible reality, this song covers its own disturbing reality in a happy, shiny sound.

I'm generally not a huge fan of this genre of music...what I guess I want to call "medium pop-rock" or something like that, but this debut album from Third Eye Blind (3EB for short) is absolutely positively one of the best albums EVER, regardless of genre. For those who only remember the bouncy sounds and fast lyrics of Semi-Charmed Life coming over the radio, you are missing out on one of the most coherent pieces of musical work ever made.

Although each song is well-written, with good hooks and deep and poetic lyrics, what makes this album five stars is the way in which all the albums weave together and tell an intricate story when played beginning to end. Now, the story it tells is up for interpretation, but I've always imagined it as the story of a man who is watching his life crumble away before his eyes...he is abandoned by his girlfriend and his loved ones, he grows to feel empty and shallow, and he is torn emotionally as a series of difficult situations arise...for instance, the girlfriend, who was only exploiting him but he still holds love for, is caught in a horrific accident in "The Background" and he has to decide to put his heart on the line again or walk away from the girl he loves.

There are so many other examples that I could go on for pages, but to summarize, this album is so ripe with a coherent and intricate love story that you could write a novel based on this album. That puts Third Eye Blind's debut album near the top of a short list of the best albums ever made, period.

Although I haven't listened to this CD since I bought Blue, I must say that it is the CD that changed my life the most. Having had it in constant repeat in my CD player over the last 2 years and convincing countless friends to buy it, and seeing the band live really made 3eb a part of my life. This band is absolutely amazing and they are not just a radio band. Yes this CD did spawn 5 singles, but the singles are not the best songs on the CD. I speak for many 3eb fans when I say that the last 4 songs (I Want You, The Background, Motorcycle Drive By, God Of Wine) are the best of the album. No radio station should touch these songs and let the fans who forked over the dough for the album to hear it. I bought the album for HIGTB after I fell in love with the single for SCL a few months back. 2 years later I still feel the same way about 3eb and I will love them for albums to come

If you're the kind of elitist rock music listener who rejects a song after it's been played more than six times on the radio, this is not the CD for you.

However, if you are willing to look past the "catchy" singles (all of which are better than a lot of stuff that lands in the Top 40), you may find that this is CD is well worth the price. There are a number of excellent tracks on here, including haunting ballads like "I Want You," and "The Background." The (uncut) CD version of "Semi-Charmed Life" is also much better than the radio edit. Sure, the single got played to death, but that doesn't make the song any less enjoyable, and it's one of the best songs for dancing I've heard in years.

The CD may not be included on anyone's "classic" or "best of..." list, but it's still a great listen, and a solid debut effort. Filter out the hype, ignore the elitist criticism, and judge the work based on its own merits. You may find yourself pleasantly surprised.