HUMAN INTEREST STORY

If ever there was a band that deserved much more recognition, 3rdegree is that band. I have already written that if I had heard their most recent album, "The Long Division" earlier, it would have been my pick for the best album of 2012. Here, the band has remastered their second album. I haven't heard the original, but this version is spectacular.

I have read here that 3rdegree has performed on a Todd Rundgren tribute album, and that is quite appropriate. While not stylistically like Todd, I notice a similarity on this album to Rundgren's fine production style. Arrangements are often beautifully dense without sacrificing the clarity of the instrumentation.

The music, to my ears mixes the complexity and romanticism of Echolyn with much of the dynamics of Spock's Beard. Intermingled are nods to the classic masters of the seventies, most apparently Genesis and Yes.

And while the lyrics are not as bitingly sarcastic as the skewering of American politics on "The Long Division", there are still some devilishly incisive words about societal issues. Hey, the opening track starts right out lambasting news broadcasts' supposed human interest stories.

If you missed this the first time around, here's your chance to catch up on a great one.