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Three Sheets to the Wind

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Three Sheets to the Wind
Studio album by
Released1996
StudioPiercing Sound
GenreAlternative rock
LabelCaroline[1]
ProducerMartin Brumbach
Idaho chronology
The Bayonet EP
(1995)
Three Sheets to the Wind
(1996)
The Forbidden EP
(1997)

Three Sheets to the Wind is an album by the American band Idaho, released in 1996.[2][3]

Idaho promoted the album by touring with Low and Trans Am.[4] It was a commercial disappointment, leading Caroline Records to drop the band.[5]

Production

[edit]

The album was produced by Martin Brumbach.[6] Frontman Jeff Martin retained the same musicians who had recorded The Bayonet EP, allowing for more of a “band sound”.[7][8] Martin used a 4-string guitar on the album.[9][5] Three Sheets to the Wind was one of the first albums to employ High Definition Compatible Digital.[10]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[12]

Trouser Press wrote that "Mark Lewis' brushed drumming gives 'If You Dare' a nearly jazzy feel, while 'Catapult' ventures onto classic rock-turf, with Martin’s baritone sacrificing some of its monochromatic intensity in favor of a gritty virility."[7] The Washington Post determined that the band "creates a potent tension within a narrow dynamic range, but Wind isn't trapped in the cocktail lounge... Melding tinkling piano with guitar feedback, the band rightfully serves its own elegant songs rather than mere genre revivalism."[13]

Guitar Player thought that "Martin's and Dan Seta's guitars envelop the mind like mist on a dark, foggy afternoon."[14] The Albuquerque Journal stated that Wind "handles the delicate Idaho sound Martin crafted on the first album and roughs it up a bit, slapping in an off-key vocal here and a screech of feedback there to give Martin's songs a bit of grit to take your ears away from the sad sounds."[15] The Baltimore Sun concluded that the album "dilutes the pop melancholy of Jeff Martin's melodies with artfully deployed bursts of guitar dissonance."[16]

The State listed Three Sheets to the Wind as the fifth best album of 1996.[17] Nashville Scene also considered the album to be one of the best of the year.[18]

AllMusic wrote: "The overall result is a bit less sleepy than previous efforts, though Martin's downtrodden vision, reminiscent of Mark Eitzel, is still firmly in place. His distinct guitar sound—emanating from a four-stringed instrument with odd tunings—is still here also, as are his great chordal instincts."[11]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleLength
1."If You Dare" 
2."Catapult" 
3."Pomegranate Bleeding" 
4."Shame" 
5."Stare at the Sky" 
6."No Ones Watching" 
7."Alive Again" 
8."A Sound Awake" 
9."Glass Bottom" 
10."Get You Back" 

References

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  1. ^ Jarman, David (Apr 1996). "Reviews". CMJ New Music Monthly. No. 32. p. 36.
  2. ^ Brothers, Stud (Apr 27, 1996). "Albums — Three Sheets to the Wind by Idaho". Melody Maker. Vol. 73, no. 17. p. 73.
  3. ^ Diamond, Allison (Apr 1996). "Street cred — Three Sheets to the Wind by Idaho". Wired. Vol. 4, no. 4. p. 146.
  4. ^ Sherr, Sara (15 Mar 1996). "Low, Idaho, Trans Am". Features Weekend. The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 13.
  5. ^ a b Duff, S. L. "Private Idaho". Cleveland Scene.
  6. ^ Reighley, Kurt B. (Apr 1996). "Idaho". CMJ New Music Monthly. No. 32. p. 14.
  7. ^ a b "Idaho". Trouser Press. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  8. ^ "Idaho Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  9. ^ Marshall, Toni (May 4, 1996). "Idaho Launches Three Sheets to the Wind". The Washington Times. p. B1.
  10. ^ "Idaho Members Beat Up by Skinheads". MTV News. Archived from the original on February 7, 2022.
  11. ^ a b "Three Sheets to the Wind". AllMusic.
  12. ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 572.
  13. ^ "He Feels Your Pain". The Washington Post. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  14. ^ Gill, Chris (Mar 1996). "Picks — Three Sheets to the Wind by Idaho". Guitar Player. Vol. 30, no. 3. p. 115.
  15. ^ Rodriguez, Kenn (19 July 1996). "Idaho, from Calif., Makes Stop in N.M.". Albuquerque Journal. p. E21.
  16. ^ Considine, J.D. (May 2, 1996). "Rock and roll has never made any pretense of being a meritocracy...". MD. Live. The Baltimore Sun. p. 10.
  17. ^ Lambert, Yon (December 20, 1996). "Maybe Not a Stellar Year in Music, but the Columbia Scene Was Hopping". Weekend. The State. p. 4.
  18. ^ Murray, Noel (December 19, 1996). "Schlock of the New – Don't Give Up Yet". Nashville Cream. Nashville Scene.