The Third Hand
Label: XL Recordings
Length: LP
Rated: NONE
Website: http://www.rjd2site.com/
Release Date: 2007-03-06
Media: CD
Format: Album
WorkNameSort: Third Hand, The

RJD2 swaps his almost alien sample-hunting ear for a full-band sound on The Third Hand, a departure that proves costly for the producer/DJ/songwriter. Aside from the masterful patchwork that makes up his magnificent Deadringer LP, RJD2’s digging and programming expertise (as evidenced by an impeccable serving of soul 45s on the pre-Deadringer mix tape Your Face or Your Kneecaps) has blossomed over the years into solid production credits for Soul Position, Diverse and Aceyalone, to name a few. On RJ’s second solo album, Since We Last Spoke, the Philadelphia-based Ohio native who’s gained stellar live performance status for his four-turntable manipulation contributed strong vocals to a couple of occasionally moving experiments that featured synths and live drums. The Third Hand rarely has the muscle to throw you from a moving car the way that ‘Exotic Talkâ?� did on Since three years ago. In fact, surprisingly, it sometimes sputters along like a mail truck.

The Third Hand blends RJD2’s guitar playing and beat-making with live piano and synth melodies and his vocals, which appear on nearly every track. Aside from a few lovely self-recorded-in-the-basement moments, The Third Hand is weighed down by difficult, challenging melodies that are challenging for RJ to sing over. On ‘You Never Had It So Good,â?� RJD2’s pipes land him in the distant vicinity of California pop songwriter Emmitt Rhodes; RJ isn’t the singer that Rhodes was on his solo early-’70s debut, but ‘Youâ?� is one of The Third Hand‘s better cuts due to its mash of humorous lyrics and proggy organ blasts. Adversely, RJ’s lukewarm stab at a near-falsetto (a primary Third Hand problem) disarms the staccato church organs and reverb-laden psychedelia of the Bee Gees’ 1st‘inspired ‘Laws of the Gods.â?� The ‘Get Itâ?� instrumental sweeps up this mess, with vocal snippets and electric piano that recalls an earlier hypnotic RJD2 work called ‘Rain.â?� Balancing out ill-chosen moments in ‘Laws of the Godsâ?� and the tame ’80s-radio synth-pop of ‘Just When,â?� RJD2 delivers touching folk in the bare acoustic ditty ‘Someday,â?� where he offers confident, intimate promises to his counterpart (‘You’re my ticket to the sunâ?�). Arguments for subsequent listens of RJD2’s The Third Hand are in these sporadically well-delivered lyrics and his still-audible beat-making wizardry, but overreaching his vocal range and retreating into unmemorable melodies cause his third effort to lag far behind the sprint of his first two solo records.

This article appears in Mar 7-13, 2007.