Customer Reviews

Thirds

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The James Gang's third and most sumptuous album. Yes, its true - if you want guitar histrionics you're better off with "Yer Album". If you want psychedelia, check out sophomore effort "James Gang Rides Again". But if you want simple, classic '70s West Coast rock - this is the place to come. As well as rock staple "Walk Away" you also get funky instrumental "Yadig?", Joe Walsh's beautiful "It's All The Same", and the Eagles-esque "Midnight Man". But the band save the best for last. The final two songs on this album, "White Man / Black Man" and "Live My Life Again" are epic flights of fancy: very much of their time, yet somehow timeless. This is an album every fan of Seventies rock really should own.

I was absolutely shocked to see someone give this album a two-star review. Shocked and scandalized! Because this is my absolute favorite of all my James Gang and Joe Walsh albums! I think this reviewer was just confused due to the difference between the single (Walk Away) and the rest of the material, which is of a more "ballady" nature. This is not a hard-rocking album. It's just an album that you will want to listen to over and over again. Yadig? is an extremely groovy instrumental jazz piece. Things I Could Be's guitar riff will pull you in from the start. Dreamin' In The Country is a charming, easygoing, very catchy melody. You won't be able to get Midnight Man's guitar hook out of your mind. Some have criticized White Man/Black Man for being too preachy, but this is something that needs to be said as often as possible by as many people as possible, and I think Dale Peters said it well. Every song on here is great, but I think It's All The Same, with its majestic guitars and irresistable horn section, is my favorite. Five stars!

The James Gang really hit it off with this album. I first had James Gang Thirds on a cassette that I played in my red Javelin while serving in the U.S.Army. I lost it somewhere as time passed on. It really brought back great memories of rock groups that put everything in their music. Most people would appreciate the stile of the James Gang. Yes, they are a little different than most rockers but I believe they never got their stardom that they really deserved.

This is definitely the best JAMES GANG album of all the 4 albums with JOE WALSH remastered on cd because JIM FOX and DALE PETERS who are also multi-instrumentalists like JOE also sing 1 or 2 songs on this album. Even though WALK AWAY and MIDNIGHT MAN are memorable radio classics, my favorite song is definitely JIM FOX'S "THINGS I COULD BE" with his soulful vocals and organ riffs, JOE's guitar riffs, and DALE'S bass guitar riffs that give this song that excellent psychodelic/blues/rock feeling. When I first heard this song, I remembered how my oldest brother used to have this record from the early 1970s. Plus, I also love DALE PETERS' "DREAMING IN THE COUNTRY," featuring his calm vocals, JOE acoustic, electric FENDER TELECASTER, and pedal steel guitar playing, and JIM'S track piano, and DALE'S "WHITE MAN/BLACK MAN featuring JOE'S piano and guitar riffs and the females gospel singers. DALE had the best singing voice in the band besides a whole lot better sounding bass guitar than TOM KRISS. I love JIM'S LIVE MY LIFE AGAIN with with his track piano playing and excellent vocals and guitar by JOE. Plus, JOE'S "IT'S ALL THE SAME" and "AGAIN" with the orchestra and horn section that accompanied JOE'S singing, piano, and 12 string acoustic guitar playing reminds me of AMERICA'S commercial sounding songs from the mid 1970s, and YADIG is an excellent instrumental by the band with JIM'S drumming and vibe playing, DALE'S string bass playing, and JOE'S FENDER RHODES piano and guitar playing. I wish there would have been more JAMES GANG albums that followed the style of this one with JIM and DALE singing 1 or 2 songs from the album I was so greatful that I ordered these from CDNOW when I saw that MCA RECORDS remastered these albums, that were originally release on ABC RECORDS. Additionally the full liner notes, photos, and interviews with the band members are a bonus too.

Most people who hate the James Gangs Thirds album obviously don't (or never did) understand why a hard rock band would release a more mellow, laidback album during the height of their popularity. Well Nazareth did the same thing on their second album (or third, I forget) and nobody minded THAT at all. Not sure why it was (and still is) considered a problem when the James Gang did it.

Well it starts off with the ultra funky workout "Walk Away". A VERY good vocal melody and insanely heavy track- a song totally deserving of its classic status. "Dreamin' In the Country" is a melodic country song with a strong vocal melody as well. "It's All the Same" has a pretty sincere vocal melody courtesy of Joe Walsh, and the horns in between each vocal section is probably an odd choice of instruments, but it somehow works perhaps because it adds variety. I'm just surprised such a song is coming from the James Gang, of all bands. Yes it's yet *another* laidback tune on an album filled with them, but the songwriting on this track is pretty good if you ask me.

Some people think "White Man/Black Man" has cheesy lyrics, but you know, it must be really young kids nowadays criticizing the lyrics because back in the early 70's, such lyrics would have been considered emotionally honest and likable. It's actually a really amazing song too- everything from the soulful vocal melody to the hypnotically heavy guitar solo at the end- it's a highlight indeed. "Things I Could Be" contains a distinct positive vibe in the vocal melody. A song that takes everyone back to the 70's, even those of us who were never even there!

Who says the James Gang can't write simple pop songs similar to Paul McCartney and the Beatles? "Midnight Man" sure fits that description. It's not really a complex vocal melody, but then again, it doesn't HAVE to be because it's good the way it is. The female singer repeating the vocal melody at the end is almost as surprising as the horns in "It's All the Same".

Now talk about a really emotionally disturbing type of song "Again" is. Joe Walsh feels like he's giving that vocal melody every single bit of sincerity he has inside his body (and his soul for that matter). The way Joe Walsh makes his voice fade at the end of each line as the guitar strings go down a few notes is just... pleasantly haunting. I love it.

I really don't think it's fair to skip over Thirds just because it doesn't rock the joint down like previous (and future) James Gang recordings, however albums such as Bang and Miami are masterpieces, not to mention the *extremely* heavy live album they made while Walsh was still in the picture. Thirds deserves to be in your album collection as well. Don't assume the band suddenly started stinking immediately after Rides Again because they most certainly did not. Walsh may have left and ended a classic period, but Tommy Bolin's guitar playing made up for it, I believe.

I grew up in the 70's and remember a few songs from this album being played on an 8 track in a friend's car. I had an urge to get back some of those songs so I bought the CD. After hearing all of the songs again, I feel this is the best album they ever did. There is a variety of tunes and I recommend this to any Joe Walsh fan. The best part about this is I feel each band member contributed equally to the success. Joe Walsh does not do all of the singing, although I like his singing very much. The songs I did not like as a kid, I now enjoy as an adult! Great buy!

I love this album!!! Have loved it from the first time I heard it many years ago. Many of the songs just keep getting better every time I hear them, like "Midnight Man" and "Live my Life Again". Joe Walsh is a true genius and this early work has some of the best licks he has ever laid down. Thanks amazon.com for keeping these old albums available to the masses, lots of us baby boomers just can't get enough of the old stuff!!!

THIRDS was the James Gang's third great album in a row. The centerpiece of the album was the riff-rocker "Walk Away", but the album shows the band moving in various different directions, a sign that the band were being torn by internal dissension. Walsh would decamp soon after for a solo career and work with the Eagles. Nevertheless, this album is a must-own for any fan of 60s and 70s rock.

This is a good album for anyone who likes the James Gang sound. Tracks #1,5,6, and 9 are the best, but the others aren't bad. In fact, this is an album that you can listen to from start to finish without getting bored, I highly reccomend it.

A lot of memories lie with the notes of this cd. Since I had it on an 8-track in the early '70s, I was very excited when I found it was still being published. I have listened to it several times and the quality is exceptional. Joe Walsh's guitar licks are nothing less that great. I am especially crazy about "White Man/Black Man". Walsh's riffs and mileage up and down the neck of that guitar crank me up and send me back to some of the best memories I have had as a young man during this era. If anyone doesn't like this album, he isn't a rocker or classic rock lover. Two stars??? That guy must not be taking his meds. I feel this album's songs are some of the best offered in this genre of music. There is a wide variety of song stylizations in it because most all of the songs are different, from blues rock to jazz to country and others in between. This is an album to be enjoyed and left to someone in your Last Will and Testament.