How does it compare to the artist's other releases
Good
Value for Money
Excellent
Advantages:
Lots of tracks and consistency
Disadvantages:
Questionable order and choice of some tracks
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Time for another album review! This time I really MEAN it when I say I'm not going to do a track by track analysis of it, chiefly because there are 34 tracks to contend with!
Today's subject is the recent anthology released by 3 Colours Red entitled "If You Ain't Got a Weapon…" ( a line taken from their song "Nuclear Holiday"). This two CD set was released earlier this year on the Sanctuary Records label and is widely available in all good music stores (as they say on the telly….) as well as online. I was lucky enough to bag another Ebay bargain and got myself a brand new one for only £5.80, but elsewhere prices vary from £9.99 to about £14, as is usually the case.
For the uninitiated 3 Colours Red kicked off in 1996 with their own brand of raw, poppy, punky rock and gained a loyal hardcore of fans and some success with their first few singles from their first album. The band were Pete Vuckovic on lead vocals and bass guitar, Chris McCormack and Ben Harding both on guitars and backing vocals, and Keith Baxter on drums.
Their second album appeared in 1998 showing a more accomplished edge but having lost none of their power and edge. It was all looking and sounding good. They even had a fairly big hit with the single "Beautiful Day" (nothing to do with the U2 song of the same name) and appeared on Top of the Pops. However, come the middle of 1999 the band were experiencing that old chestnut, 'musical differences' and their live appearances at that years festivals turned out to be their last and the band split. That's a potted history anyway, but the story continues later!
Right, so, as I said, your hard earned cash gets you 2 CDs here. Disc 1 comprises 13 tracks which are chiefly a selection from their first and second albums ("Pure" and "Revolt") as well a few live tracks and a couple of BBC session tracks. The only thing I find a bit questionable here is the fact the original album tracks ("This is My Hollywood", "Beautiful Day", "Pure" and "Paralyse") are included here in addition to the live and BBC session versions (the exception being "Hateslick") - why not choose different songs? I enjoy listening to both but can't help thinking it would have been better to add a bit more variety there.
The second disc has 21 tracks and presents a far more interesting selection for both those who are already fans of the bands and those just discovering them. There are more tracks from both the aforementioned albums here mixed in with the best of their B-sides. As someone who already owns the entire 3 Colours Red back catalogue (my first taste of them was live at Reading Festival in 1997 and I've been a fan from then on…) there are no surprises here but it's nice, from my point of view, to have all these tracks on one disc all ready to play! Again, the one thing I find a little odd is that the B-sides all run as the first 12 tracks on this disc and the final 9 tracks are the further selection of album tracks - almost like they were trying to fill it up? I think, personally, I would have preferred them mixed or have the A-sides juxtaposed with the B-sides, together with the additional album-only tracks.
Well, musically speaking, there are no disappointments for me, although I already knew what I was getting of course! There are the heavier, chunkier, aggressive songs such as "Paralyse", "Age of Madness", "Mental Blocks" (one of my favourites!), "Fake Apology" (another favourite!) and "Nerve Gas" against the slower, melodic "Beautiful Day" and "Fit Boy and Faint Girl". Mixed with these are the less heavy but still powerful and punky tracks such as "Sixty Mile Smile", "My Own Gauge", "Calling to the Outside", "Zip the Morals" and "Nuclear Holiday" to name but a few.
To pick up on the earlier potted history of the band, they decided to reform in 2003 with Paul Grant replacing Ben Harding on guitar and have since released another studio album, "The Union of Souls", and have been touring widely. I for one am very pleased by this!
I'm always in two minds about such compilations as this. On the one hand some people feel cheated if they already have the majority of the tracks but find there are a few previously unreleased/rare tracks on it - as is this case here - and like to complete their collection. On the other hand they're very handy for bringing together an alternative play list and all the singles/B-sides on one disc as well as being ideal for people interested in a band but unsure of where to start. Personally, in the case of "If You Ain't Got a Weapon…", I'm going for the latter :o)
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