User ratings in Music are temporarily disabled. More info
The Third Hand Image
Metascore
60

Mixed or average reviews - based on 28 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
6.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 22 Ratings

  • Summary: The hip-hop producer attempts a "pop" album for the first time on this third release, utilizing all live instrumentation and even singing on almost all of the tracks.
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 28
  2. Negative: 4 out of 28
  1. 90
    The one-man result: breezy soul tracks with pop structures, chill vocals and a grab bag of flourishes recalling everything from McCartney to Prince.
  2. Urb
    70
    Sometimes the '70s feel gets feeling hella silly. [Mar 2007, p.96]
  3. Two skills he has mastered in the past, mood and texture, make this record especially good.
  4. RJD2 has made an record that simply doesn’t play to his strengths.
  5. It’s more work to listen to than any previous Rjd2 album; listening is a constant quest for the remarkable within the unremarkable.
  6. This is the sound of a fighter punching below his weight.
  7. For someone who has dazzled with his sonic imagination in the past, Rjd2 sounds very tentative here.

See all 28 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 12
  2. Negative: 4 out of 12
  1. GradyL
    Apr 23, 2007
    9
    Finally someone with enough balls to come out of the closet and finally produce a new sound. The beats are still RJD2's unequaled sounds Finally someone with enough balls to come out of the closet and finally produce a new sound. The beats are still RJD2's unequaled sounds but he does add pop to it. Yea he's new to this so the songwriting is lacking a lot. But if you like listening to each album for what it is, this is an album worth checking out. If you're looking for someone who sounds exactly the same each time go listen to something else. Expand
  2. JonL
    Mar 4, 2007
    9
    Very enjoyable. Definitely takes a diversion from his typic hip-hop/electronic routes, and it pays off nicely.
  3. IMe
    Mar 13, 2007
    8
    Don't read the reviews, listen to it. No one seems to quite understand it.
  4. MycroftW
    Mar 13, 2007
    5
    It's not as bad as DJ Shadow's last one, but as we were expecting the level of Ghostwriter or Saliva this is quite a dissapointment
  5. YJ
    Mar 25, 2007
    4
    And yet another Brilliant underground Hip-hop star producer who decides that he has enough talent to become a pop songster, turning his back And yet another Brilliant underground Hip-hop star producer who decides that he has enough talent to become a pop songster, turning his back to his previous work: Results: Uninspired songwriting, bad singing, and terribly boring pop songs. It is amazing how sych a brilliant producer can be so deaf to his own shortcomings. Luckily, other brilliant artists like Amon Tobin and Aphex Twin haven't decided to go pop and still stick to what they do best.. let's keep our fingers crossed. Expand
  6. EricC
    Apr 9, 2007
    3
    pretty bad.
  7. JohnD
    Mar 8, 2007
    1
    First reaction: "Okay, this is different." Second reaction: "I should just give it a chance and judge it on its own merits." Third reaction: First reaction: "Okay, this is different." Second reaction: "I should just give it a chance and judge it on its own merits." Third reaction: "This album sucks." Expand

See all 12 User Reviews