Frank Turner returns with his new album following critical acclaim of his latest success, Tape Deck Heart, which entered the UK album charts at number two. Due to be released on the 24th of November is The Third Three Years, an album made up of covers, live sessions, demos and everything else in between. Frank is well known for his unbelievable love of music and his desire to keep creating something new shines through on this album.
Unhappy to sit still and play the same songs over and over Frank continues to experiment with his music, from the drastically punk to the softly Acapella. In light of this it is easy to see how far he has come since his first album Sleep Is For The Week, released almost 10 years ago and how diverse he has now become. His incredible popularity has led to him several tours, headlining a sell-out Wembley show and playing at the London Olympics.
The Third Three Years (following the compilation albums of the First and Second Three Years) highlights this well. Beginning with a cover of Queen’s ‘Somebody To Love’, a now live signature of Frank’s performances, the album features other covers, such as McCartney’s ‘Live and Let Die’, Springsteen’s ‘Born To Run’ and Tom Petty’s ‘American Girl’, all recreated in Frank’s own exuberant style.
An extraordinary talent
Of course, this kind of compilation just wouldn’t be right without covers of his own songs. Both the ‘Way I Tend To Be’ and a demo of ‘Broken Piano’ return from Tape Deck Heart with unique new twists. Firstly the ‘Way I Tend To Be’ is played in duo with Matt Nasir of Frank’s band the Sleeping Souls, as is ‘Plain Sailing Weather’. Both of these are raw versions of the songs and excellent accompaniments to the originals from Tape Deck Heart. ‘Broken Piano’ also returns, with Frank showing off his extraordinary talent in terms of his melodies and his vocal quality as well as his excellent lyrics. Covers of his own songs show his versatility first hand and his completely unique mashup between Punk, Folk, Alternative and Rock-and-Roll is evident throughout.
Inventive wordplay
My personal favourite track is second on the album, ‘Hit and Mrs’, from the EP Losing Days. This song hails to Frank’s older style and would feel at home on Love, Song and Ire. Its bouncy folk sound reminds you of his period of romanticism in his middle albums and the lyrics in particular are reminiscent of the inventive wordplay found in ”Photosynthesis’ or ‘Reasons Not To Be An Idiot’.
The final track on the album is ‘Dan’s Song’ from Poetry Of The Deed, yet played with unbelievable power to a live crowd in comparison to the original country version. This is just one illustration of how his tracks can be perfect no matter how he decides to play them. The roar of the crowd in both this track and the others that are performed live, show just how ferocious his fan base has become.
Overall the album is a complete success and despite being a compilation the tracks all fit together perfectly. This is a must buy for Frank Turner fans.
What do you think of Turner’s latest album? Let us know in the comments below!
