The subtitle of this album reads "The Difficult Third Album," and in fact 27 years passed between
Dr. Strangely Strange's second and third releases. Their first album,
Kip of the Serenes, was a singsong
psychedelic folk record while their second,
Heavy Petting, employed more
rock and free-form ideas. This album incorporates
traditional Irish music,
blues-rock, and acoustic
rock & roll, thus separating itself significantly from the two earlier releases and perhaps even paving the way for
the BMC Band's
The Peace Within, which was released in 1998 by Irish
blues guitarist
Barry McCabe. He also combined the
blues with Irish music. So while this band expanded its musical focus some in the interim, its vocalists also benefited from the years; the three founding members,
Ivan Pawle,
Tim Goulding, and
Tim Booth, all share in the lead vocals and their collective voices have matured noticeably. At times they recall
Fisherman's Blues and
Room to Roam-era
Waterboys. Fiddler
Joe Thomas adds a new element to the music, and is especially effective on the acoustic numbers. Former associate and electric guitarist
Gary Moore rejoins his old friends on three selections, adding the bluesy sound to those songs. ~ Dave Sleger