For a compilation of rarities and B-sides, Frank Turner‘s upcoming The Third Three Years is a bit of a monster. spanning 21 tracks, it would be unfair (and near impossible) to judge the album based on a general feel, as the source of the songs differ from track to track. To be a little fairer, I’ll be briefly reviewing each individual song before I draw any conclusions.
The album kicks off with Turner‘s studio cover of Queen‘s ‘Somebody to Love’. To his credit, Frank manages to pull off where many others fail and produces a decent cover of the legendary Freddie Mercury‘s vocals. While far from perfect and a little too straightforward, the song’s decent enough. The sophomore track on the compilation is a soft song from Turner’s Losing Days EP called ‘Hits and Mrs’. Again, not a bad tune in of itself but it feels a tad restrained compared with some of Turner’s other work.
The third song on the album is ‘Sweet Albion’, picking up the quality of the album thus far and showcases the shouty, punk-folk style that Turner‘s known for. A short and snappy song that will please any fans who haven’t heard it yet. The fourth song is another EP song: ‘Riot Song’ – and much like its predecessor it’s a short and shouty track with a memorable chorus. A demo of a song from the Tape Deck Heart sessions called ‘Something Of Freedom‘ follows, ripping into the rich and containing well-penned lyrics alongside the Turner mainstay of folk acoustic guitar strumming.
Turner‘s collaboration with Emily Barker and Red Clay Halo is a standout track on the compilation, with vast and varied instrumentation and Barker’s voice complementing Turner’s very well in a country duet. Another collaboration follows with Jon Snodgrass, a soft duet named ‘Happy New Year’ which maintains the high musical standard set by ‘Fields Of June’. A cover of Tom Petty‘s timeless ‘American Girl‘ makes an appearance – while lacking some of the original’s energy and excitement, turner’s version certainly makes for a pleasant listen. The ninth track is a cover version of Noel Coward‘s ‘There Are Bad Times Just Around The Corner’, imbuing the track with a more contemporary energy and no doubt introducing a new audience to the tune.
A faithful cover of ‘Pancho And Lefty‘ by Townes Van Zandt takes the track number of ten. While quite close to the original, Turner‘s version lacks the magic the original track and several covers of the song have had since. Another cover (yes, I know) follows, Turner’s own home demo version of ‘Bigfoot’ by The Weakerthans. Foregoing the acoustic guitar for a piano, the track breathes some much needed variation at this point into the album – just about preventing me form succumbing to ear fatigue. One of the much anticipated songs on the album comes next, Turner’s version of ‘Live and Let Die’. A good cover, the song is a fun listen and something to please newer listeners as well as existing Turner fans.
A softer take on Cory Branan‘s ‘The Corner’ succeeds the McCartney cover, hitting something of a speed bump. By taking away the original’s finger-picked guitar and replacing it with minimalistic piano the essence of the song is almost lost, and Branan’s southern-state drawl making way for Turner’s southern-county clarity. A track from the Tony Sly tribute album ‘Kiera’ (yes, another cover) arrives, accompanied by finger-picking and what appears to be the sound of light traffic outside of a window. Nice as its own song, but paling slightly in comparison to the original.
An alternate version of the song ‘Plain Sailing Weather’ from Tape Deck Heart occupies track 15, and while I enjoy the song, the recording that made it onto the album in the first place is there for a reason – it needs the energy that the drums and rumbling bass provide. The stripped back versions of ‘Tell Tale Signs’ and ‘The Way I Tend To Be’ suffer from the same syndrome, and are more examples of why a cutting room floor exists – while the versions are not unpleasant, they feel unnecessary.
In contrast, the live version of ‘The Ballad Of Me And Friends’ feels more passionate than the original, the piano accompaniment to Turner‘s vocals complementing the song well – and although subdued through recording, the energy of the crowd can still be felt in the song. The demo of Tape Deck Heart‘s ‘Broken Piano’ bears a huge resemblance to the original – with near-identical composition and arrangement – feeling somewhat redundant as another release.
A cover of The Boss’s ‘Born To Run’ takes the penultimate spot on the compilation, and follows the trend of the other covers on the album – not unpleasant, but lacking the energy needed for the song. Closing off the immense album is a live full band version of ‘Dan’s Song’. The recording was taken from the end of a live set, which is unfortunately apparent in Turner‘s shouted-out vocals. While definitely more energetic and frenzied than the original, the recording is of pretty poor quality and almost sounds like it was recorded on somebody’s phone at the gig.
All in all, fans of Frank Turner are going to like this compilation regardless, featuring alternate versions of their favourites and some lesser heard tracks. the collaborations are by far the best parts of the album, while Frank’s covers almost always lack the magic, charm or distinctive sound of the original songs. While I would ask for a little more variation in Frank’s music (it can sometimes blend into one long song at times) I know that this reliability is what keeps some people coming back. If you bought the previous two Three Years compilations, you may as well buy this one as well as it’s more of the same.
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