REVISIONS

I really want to give this one a five... but it's barely even progressive... so maybe a 3.8. It is important to note that this is not necessarily new material. Some of these songs were written as long ago as 1998 and 2000. So fans of the proggy side of Three should not worry, as this is not exactly an indicator of their current musical direction... simply put, this album is no where as progressive as the End has Begun. It could be argued this album is not progressive at all. But they still manage to retain the magic in the songwriting and the "spirit" of the resulting sound. Much props to Three here... they know that being proggy is not the only key to writing good music. The music is awesome. It definitely takes you to another place. But it will require multiple spins, because its going to take a spin or two to accept this is not a progressive masterpiece. But after those spins, your gonna be humming the tunes without thinking about it, and then your in.

When I saw a banner on this site advertising a new 3 album, I was pretty excited. I saw these guys open for Porcupine Tree a couple years back and honestly the performance was ALMOST more memorable than PT's. I love Joey Eppard's acoustic style, and their heavy focus on percussion and textures that you don't normally hear in this style of music.

I was a bit disappointed though, to find that this album (as the title suggests) revisits old material. So right off the bat I was expecting something a little less progressive or coherent than The End Is Begun.

Well, I was right, but it doesn't seem to be a bad thing after all. The result is an album that's much easier to digest than TEIB. At first listen it's really just a straightforward rock album - but you'll find that 3 has managed to hide plenty of their unique flourishes between the driving verses and catchy choruses. One moment you'll be bobbing your head, humming along with Joey, when an unexpectedly awesome acoustic break leads into the next section (check out around 2:30 in Rabid Animals).

One thing I'm still undecided on is the production. It sounds somehow less professional than their previous album... Not as much "pop" or shine. In one way though, it creates a much more atmospheric and natural sound.

I'd like to do a track-by-track review, but maybe I will add that at a later date. I'll conclude by saying that while I hope 3 continues on a more progressive direction in the future, this is some great, very listenable music that is much less metal-oriented than The End Is Begun.

I was introduced to Three via The End is Begun. I loved that album, and I still think it's great. I then explored Wake Pig. It was not as good, but still a solid 3 stars. A bit like Alternative Rock meets Prog, these two albums. So naturally I was intrigued when I heard that this album was coming out.

The problem is, this might as well be from a different band. This album is merely a "revision", as the title suggests, of several older songs in their catalogue. These songs, however, sound as if Three was a straight-up alternative band in their earlier days, and the re-recording of these songs does little to improve the music itself. There are a few notable tunes here, including my favorite, "You've Been Shot" (which is a type of odd acoustic funk-rock that only Three can pull off). These memorable moments are few and far between, however. Something about this whole concept of going back into your past to re-record songs from a phase that you have passed does not appeal to me, and I cannot help but think that it is a step backward for this band.

As a fan of their 2 latest "real" albums, I cannot reccomend this album to anyone who is not already a big Three fan. If you want to get into this band, check out either of the aforementioned albums. They are worthwhile. I'm sorry, Three, but "Revisions" was largely a waste of time for me.

A good concept, a bad execution.

Three, a great Crossover band that toured with Dream Theater, was definitely one of my favorite bands when THE END HAS BEGUN came out. But that was then. When I got REVISIONS, I was excited at first, hoping to find the same fantastic music found on TEHB. However, what I found was a sudo compilation album of previously released material. This concept of re- releasing mu sic is not new to Three at all, as many albums have revitalized tracks from previous albums. However the thing that is different about those re released tracks is that they were good songs, such as Amaze Disgrace or Broadway Alien. On Revisions, they picked tracks which I would categorize as Three's "bad tracks," that is tracks that really don't impress me at all. Not even a little bit. Many of the songs came off of Summercamp Nightmare, one of my least liked albums by any prog band. There a few songs that are good, such as YOU'VE BEEN SHOT of FABLE, but other than that I dislike the others strongly.

OVERALL: would have a better album if the re released tracks were more carefully chosen

'Revisions' - Three (5/10)

Hailing from New York state, the progressive rock band enigmatically titled Three came to many a proghead's attention when they were chosen to tour with prog metal heavyweights Dream Theater and Opeth as the opening act. Around this time, Three also put out 'The End Is Begun', which has since gone on to be widely considered a masterpiece of progressive rock. As part of the lucky crowd to see the band perform live with Dream Theater, I was absolutely blown away by the band's chemistry and energy, to the point where they came close to stealing the show altogether.

With a fan made out of me, I was eagerly awaiting the follow-up to 'The End Is Begun', naturally expecting something along the same lines of quality. Unfortunately, it seems the band decided to cave in and instead of making new material to rival the accomplishment of their magnum opus, they decided to revisit and 'revise' old material, compiling some previously unreleased songs and releasing it as a compilation; brought on by a struggle with their record label. Unfortunately, the fact that these songs were not originally intended to go together shines through the album painfully. While many of the poppy, upbeat songs here are strong Three tracks and well-performed, 'Revisions' sports little to no sense of album flow, and a few songs that might have been better left unreleased.

This is not to say at all that the songs on 'Revisions' are bad; to the contrary, many of the tracks here would be right at home on 'The End Is Begun'. However, it should take little convincing that new material would almost always be preferred over recycling songs in the stead of new inspiration. In terms of sound, the performance and music is similar to what 'The End Is Begun' was all about, except without the same flow, epic composition and intention that made the aforementioned album so magical. For all it's worth however, a few songs here really succeed. 'Rabid Animals' (the apparent single) is among the band's greatest songs for its great hooks and energetic performance. 'The Game' is also an interesting acoustic track, despite sounding like a progressively-inclined Jason Mraz cover. Other songs, like the obvious 'Bramfatura' rip-off 'Lexicon Of Extremism' or the irritating 'Halloween' feel very much like the band is trying to relive past glories, to lesser success.

'Revisions' is worth a listen as a fan of the band, but for someone who hasn't heard Three before, it might be better sticking to the band's legitimate albums before looking into 'Revisions'. Despite feeling like a bit of a weak excuse for a real album, there are a few songs here that shine in the band's discography.