A lot of people (myself included) that normally would have only the tiniest respect for modern pop music regarded Third Eye Blind's first album as a sort of guilty pleasure. Well, with the release of "Blue" I'm happy to come and say that I fully appreciate the workings of Jenkins and company. There are enough catchy guitar hooks, intense beats, and powerful lyrics to keep you returning to this album again and again. "Anything" is short enough that it hooks and then abruptly lets go. "Wounded" is a bittersweet rocker and one of the stronger tracks. "10 Days Late"... er no comment, it's weaker than the other tracks. "Never Let You Go" is a punchy hit. "Deep Inside of You" is one of the best, a whisper to scream ballad. "1000 Julys" is one hot chart. The second half of the disk is insanely powerful, a la "God Of Wine" on their first CD, but the real standouts are the instrumental "Slow Motion" and "Camouflage," a driving, multi-layered, echoing masterpiece. Overall you won't be disappointed, it's just too bad all the songs are as immediately accessible as "Semi-Charmed Life," (If you don't think you've heard that song, think again: Doot doo doot! Doot Doo Doo Doo! Yeah, you know it) and thus probably won't get as large an audience. Oh well, they're missing out. Buy this album!

After having heard "Never Let You Go" on the radio a few hundred times, I was terrified that the 3eb I knew and loved had crossed the line into the top 40 pop category. After buying the CD and listening to it nonstop for weeks, I'm pleased to say that although they've changed greatly, this is still the same old 3eb.

This is definately an experimental album, not the same old catchy yet moody rock from their debut. They've gone in a different direction, which really sets them apart from the rest of the modern rock culture. This definately is not a forgettable throwaway CD.

Possibly the most memorable thing about the disc are songs such as "The Red Summer Sun", which show very distinctly the new boundaries that the band is probing. They're definately pushing the envelope on this one, and I can't wait to see where the take their next CD. However, fans of their first CD will still find lots to love in songs like "wounded", a grinding, driving song that doesn't let up until it's worked it's way deep into your soul.

All told, don't expect this to be like their 1st CD...expect different, but even better

There are two types of 3eb fans. Whether you like the new album or not depends on which type of fan you consider yourself to be.

Type 1: You bought the first album only after hearing "Semi-Charmed Life," "How's It Going to Be," "Jumper," etc., on the radio. And, although you may have discovered a few tracks on the album, your listening time focuses around those same hit singles.

Type 2: You bought 3eb's debut after hearing SCL only once and discovered the huge singles before they were huge. You also love some non-radio hit tracks more than those singles. You've also been impatiently awaiting the new album.

If you're type 1, forget about buying "Blue." You won't like it.

If you're type 2, buy it now! Granted, this album isn't as easily accessible as the debut. I didn't like it at first...I hated it. But as I listened more closely, I discovered a truly layered and complex album...an amazing work, with intelligent lyrics and great melodies and hooks.

"Wounded" is a brilliantly crafted song...if you listen to only one track to cast judgement, make it this one. Listen to lyrical structure and content...to the orchestral instrumentation during the verses...the soaring guitars of the chorus. you won't be disappointed.

I'm giving this album 4 stars...with the fifth one added after "Blue" is absorbed and experienced.

This is really a great a cd!I have the CD and it doesn't have explicit lyrics. I don't know why you said it did but it doesn't. Parents it's ok to buy this CD for your children. It is pretty clean.

"I'd give them anything... if they could actually make a record that would stand the test of time. Well, okay, I probably still wouldn't."

The above is a snippet from my previous take on Third Eye Blind's "Blue," circa 2002. Some time later, I'm printing a big retraction -- this review.

Proving that hindsight is 20/20, "Blue" is filled to the brim with beautiful, oozing pop-rock melody. There's probably as much potential energy in this record as a stone sitting on a cliff on the moon. When it spirals out of control like a rocketship with a bum rocket, such as on the pounding crescendo that is "Wounded," the results are stunning.

"Semi-Charmed Life" isn't present on "Blue," but the songs that are here showcase a versatility that few bands can manage. Several years after I'd forgotten about it, I pulled this record out and found that it had become exactly what I look for in my music.

At times, Stephan Jenkins' voice is akin to what would happen if a few almost-postal Zippo employees visited medieval China -- fireworks everywhere. As anyone who ever heard "Semi-Charmed Life" can attest, he has the vocal range to pull off a throaty purr one moment and a stratospheric falsetto that easily one-ups the emotional intensity of Chris Martin (of Coldplay fame) the next. Jenkins uses his voice like a hip-hop star, as a rhythmically-complex instrument of mass destruction, and out of the context of the musically-barren realm of rap, it works perfectly. Although his penchant for formulating sexual metaphor as the basis for his lyrics can grow tiresome to the discerning ear, it's at least subtle and tactfully-executed, in stark contrast to idiots like Chad Kroeger from Nickelback. ("I like your pants around your feet," anyone?)

To my ear, the first half of "Blue" is the side of Third Eye Blind the public wanted to hear -- the radio-ready pop-rock band that gets shamefully mentioned in the same sentence as Sugar Ray and Smash Mouth. The truth is, even those songs that earned them their fame were special in a very unique way: they display consistent songwriting talent surpassing pretty much any pop band of the moment that you can name.

"Anything" sports the most obvious metaphor of the record in "I'd turn my balls to sand just to see you," but its entire game is immediacy. The absolute last thing you expect upon the first few simple fingerpicked bars of "Anything" is for it to explode into a power chord onslaught, but lo and behold, that's exactly what happens. The lead guitar line is simple but utterly effective, and before you completely realize what's hit you, the song has reached the end of its short 2:00 duration.

"1000 Julys" rocks the hardest of any of the tracks on "Blue," carrying the listener through a giant sexual innuendo by way of tidal waves of burning jet fuel guitar that end with a rollicking bridge/outro that is sure to induce headbanging of dangerous intensity.

The second half of the record finds the band experimenting more with aural overlay and harmony; I find it to be their better half.

"The Red Summer Sun" sails through an overture song format wrought with a mixture of high-flying, distorted guitar and electronic effects that infuse it with a weird magnetism, and "Camouflage" is a spacey, reverberating bit of near-shoegaze that drips with the emotion its extremely high fidelity production provided for.

The sonic soup is seasoned by finely-composed typhoons of guitar chaos adding to the overall sound in the background. This is flavored like my vision of perfect music -- catchy melody surrounded by high fidelity guitar chaos. Pop-shoegaze for the new millenium.

Against the opinion of my former self, I give this near-perfect record my highest recommendation. It surely beats almost anything being released these days.