Search - Rjd2 :: Third Hand

Not at all what I expected

Brandon McComber | 03/25/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Well, I feel bad about recommending this one to the kid at Best Buy who asked about it when I checked out.



Sitting at home, reading the ads on a Sunday afternoon, and saw a little blurb about this disc. Available now! Once I got over the "hey, rjd2 is getting some recognition from the big retailers!" thought, I realized I had to buy it immediately, and going strictly on what I knew and loved from his past work, didn't even bother to read any reviews or visit good old amazon.

If only I'd known what awaited.

Now, I'll start by saying that it isn't absolutely terrible. There are those moments on this disk that are decent, and point towards something good. The problem I have is this; it doesn't sound at all like anything I was hoping to hear. I'm basically running to my car, excited to blast down the road thumping and nodding my head through traffic on a surprisingly nice March day, and instead I've got some strange vocals, nothing hitting the foot-tapping region of my brain... I'm stumped.

I skip the track. Same thing. Skip again--and the same again. Take out the disk. Matches the case. Check the case; you can see where this was going.

Shaking my head in disbelief, I put Atmosphere back in and continue on my way, dissapointed with my purchase and one of my favorite artists.



Long story short, I should have learned from Shadow latest release; check the reviews, hear it once, and don't always assume that just because you love the artist that they won't let you down with the... direction, shall we say, they choose to take their music in. I can't recommend this disc to fans of the man's beats, and now I'm probably not going to make as much of a point to see his show when he comes to town this May since he's probably going to be supporting this disc and playing the songs off of it. A shame."

Some gems emerge after a few listens

Not My Real Name | Cambridge Massachusetts, USA | 03/31/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Like many others, I was a bit shocked and slightly disappointed by what I found on this disc. However, I can't say it's terribly surprising that Rjd2 would do something like this.



After spending some time with it, a handful of tracks really began to stand out - fully half of which are instrumentals. The vocal tracks among them are "Have Mercy", "Reality", and "Work It Out". After listening to this rotation, I'm left with the impression that this really isn't such a departure from the Rjd2 I'd come to know and enjoy.



While the lyrics on this album don't generally strike me as particularly inspired (okay, in some cases even rather vapid and banal) , some of the vocals do have a pleasantly infectious quality. Still, I can't help but think that it would have been a nice touch to include a second disc with instrumental versions and a couple remixes (I'm thinking of Rob Dougan's Furious Angles, here). And now that he's shown he CAN do a one-man pop-style album, I hope Rjd2 will realize that he SHOULD be complementing his real talents by collaborating with similarly adept vocalists and lyricists."

Really impressed

P. Ethier | MTL | 09/05/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I didnt read one single review or hear anybody comment on this album before buying it. I simply saw the amazing video for Work it Out and went straight to the record store. What can I say? This album gets better and better after every listen. Simply put, its a remarkable achievement. I discovered RJD2 on dead ringer which I thought was a good album. I checked for Since We Last Spoke but wasnt feeling it at all. Tried many times but it fell flat for me. Its really nice to see an artist come back and put such a brilliant piece of work together. Im not quite sure why so many are having a hard time with this album. Its a pretty easy listen and I would think most people could find something in this. I guess the anticipation for something different must be preventing people for taking this for what it is, independantly of who it is by.



I was wondering who was singing on this... Had no idea that was RJD2. Knowing this doesnt make the music better but it does make the album such a better artistic accomplishment."