Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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104 of 107 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely Perfect, July 21, 2000
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.
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33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I love my friends but, August 8, 2005
...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.)
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Former 3EB cynic becomes a fan, April 29, 2000
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.
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