Three O'Clock - Classic or Dud

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

Hello,

I'm doing an article on the Three O'Clock - a big retrospective type thing, and thought, wtf, let's talk about them on ILM. So let's go - hate them? Love them? Tell me...

― st tremaine cool kid of death, Tuesday, 14 October 2003 07:35 (twenty-two years ago)

"warm aspirations" = feckin great track

― the surface noise (electricsound), Tuesday, 14 October 2003 07:54 (twenty-two years ago)

would like to hear more of them. is any of their stuff in print?

― the surface noise (electricsound), Tuesday, 14 October 2003 09:06 (twenty-two years ago)

the world must nearly be due another paisley underground revival

― the surface noise (electricsound), Tuesday, 14 October 2003 09:06 (twenty-two years ago)

Classic from the first LP (reissued as "Befour Three O'Clock") up to "Arrive Without Travelling." Dud thereafter.

Michael Quercio's post-3:00 band, Permanent Green Light, had a few unsung classics as well - particuarly "You And I Are The Summertime."

― mike a (mike a), Tuesday, 14 October 2003 09:30 (twenty-two years ago)

I can't possibly say what's happening after the summer hits reissue got publicised pretty fast but something might be happening ...

― st tremaine cool kid of death, Tuesday, 14 October 2003 09:31 (twenty-two years ago)

the world must nearly be due another paisley underground revival

Much as I love paisley, I'd pay money for this NOT to happen?

Do we really need any more pathetic old chancers re-glorifying the 60s? Once was fine. Twice was too much. Now you're getting to re-revivals of re-revivals?

I can't take that many layers of self referencial bollocks. Let it go.

― kate (kate), Tuesday, 14 October 2003 09:54 (twenty-two years ago)

oh. oh o.k. kate. like you *couldnt* say the same thing about third generation drone rockers like spacemen 3..

― st tremaine, Tuesday, 14 October 2003 09:58 (twenty-two years ago)

You could. I'm just sick of yer taste in music! :-P

― kate (kate), Tuesday, 14 October 2003 09:59 (twenty-two years ago)

Mazzy Star/Three O'Clock = Prince/Lipps Inc?

― dave q, Tuesday, 14 October 2003 10:02 (twenty-two years ago)

oh yeah! OH YEAH! : - P

― st tremaine, Tuesday, 14 October 2003 10:03 (twenty-two years ago)

please don't pay out my taste in music.

― the surface noise (electricsound), Tuesday, 14 October 2003 10:26 (twenty-two years ago)

I loved these guys...used to see 'em (on various bills with the Dream Syndicate, Rain Parade etc.) very nearly every weekend when I was a cub. Classic, says I, though best on record in small doses. The e.p. (called, I think, "Baroque Hoedown") was best...

― M Specktor (M Specktor), Tuesday, 14 October 2003 10:47 (twenty-two years ago)

16 tambourines is brill. really really brill. not so keen on baroque hoedown, is there anything earlier?

― cw (cww), Tuesday, 14 October 2003 11:38 (twenty-two years ago)

I adore "Her Head's Revolving". For years I thought the lead singer was a woman.

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 14 October 2003 12:32 (twenty-two years ago)

I wanna know why Prince dug them so much, then signed them and did *nothing* for them. Except give them "Neon Telephone".

― Jay Vee (Manon_70), Tuesday, 14 October 2003 14:52 (twenty-two years ago)

They had some good songs, "Her Head's Revolving" is pretty good, but man is that singer one of the hardest to take ever. It's not just the uber-femme tone of his voice, but also the stilted pronunciation. I guess it's cute or something a song at a time.

― Sean (Sean), Tuesday, 14 October 2003 14:59 (twenty-two years ago)

I love the Salvation Army record (the one on Frontier that was later called the Befour Three O'Clock), especially "Happen Happened." I would go C.

― Ben Boyer (Ben Boyer), Tuesday, 14 October 2003 15:14 (twenty-two years ago)

jet fighter

― tass, Tuesday, 14 October 2003 15:54 (twenty-two years ago)

Yay Michael Quercio, feyest man alive.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 14 October 2003 16:22 (twenty-two years ago)

Michael Quercio -vs- Jimmy Somerville

― dave225 (Dave225), Tuesday, 14 October 2003 16:34 (twenty-two years ago)

Mike A. OTM. The post-Arrive stuff got all synthy and "overproduced," and then got even worse when Prince got involved. But 16 Tambourines and Arrive Without Traveling are both laden with pop gemmery, if you can handle Quercio. I kinda like his voice, in a Renaissance Faire minstrel sort of way, but a college station DJ once yelled at me for requesting "Spun Gold." The girl with the guitar sez oh yeah.

― spittle, Wednesday, 15 October 2003 00:14 (twenty-two years ago)

Classic for "Jet Fighter" alone.

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Wednesday, 15 October 2003 16:34 (twenty-two years ago)

one year passes...

God, Arrive Without Travelling is really a lost classic.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Sunday, 13 March 2005 06:46 (twenty years ago)

I almost went to Michael Quercio's birthday party tonight. But then I got drunk at a Mexican restaurant with my friend Kristian and decided to call it a night. Oh well, happy birthday, Michael. I wonder if the Jupiter Effect are still going, they were great.

― Arthur (Arthur), Sunday, 13 March 2005 06:53 (twenty years ago)

Jupiter Affect, innit? Just because that makes even less sense than Jupiter Effect, I guess. I like that one Jupiter album, something something Alice something. True but irrelevant personal detail -- I named Arrive Without Traveling the best album of 1985 in my high school newspaper year-end arts column. I have no idea what else was on the list.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Sunday, 13 March 2005 08:25 (twenty years ago)

People don't realize how good Louis Guitierrez's guitar playing is on that.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Sunday, 13 March 2005 08:27 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, him leaving was the big difference between the good 3 o'Clock and the bad 3 o'Clock.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Sunday, 13 March 2005 08:29 (twenty years ago)

Indeed. Though the songwriting totally took a dive on the next record, too.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Sunday, 13 March 2005 08:34 (twenty years ago)

How did I never answer this?

"Her Head's Revolving" is fucking genius.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Sunday, 13 March 2005 16:34 (twenty years ago)

four months pass...

I think "Hand in Hand" from Arrive Without Travelling is my OPO for these guys.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Monday, 25 July 2005 21:23 (twenty years ago)

Gorgeous.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Monday, 25 July 2005 21:34 (twenty years ago)

Michael Quercio's "Sloop John B." on Rainy Day is really great. I remember loving "Her Head's Revolving" and the roller skate video.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Monday, 25 July 2005 22:10 (twenty years ago)

i had a Three O'Clock album with some heavily makeup'ed people on the cover of the album. Which one was that? And is it good?

― Mike B, Monday, 25 July 2005 22:24 (twenty years ago)

Louis Guitierrez appears to be wearing makeup on the cover of Arrive Without Travelling. That is an awesome picture of him!

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Monday, 25 July 2005 22:34 (twenty years ago)

A Jupiter Affect song popped up on the iPod the other day. I listened to it twice.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Monday, 25 July 2005 22:48 (twenty years ago)

ten months pass...

Arrive Without Travelling should have been in Stairway to Hell, I think.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Thursday, 25 May 2006 04:48 (nineteen years ago)

jet fighter ... song by a dude who sings like a lady!

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Thursday, 25 May 2006 05:50 (nineteen years ago)

Great band.
classic 80's sound, that is usually sucks but not on this case, cause it firs them, with the pop-rock-hooks formula, that the New pornographers adopted years later.I'm sure AC Newman knows them well

― coco the kid, Thursday, 25 May 2006 05:54 (nineteen years ago)

ten months pass...

A tune like "When Lightning Starts" just goes beyond in so many ways.

― Tim Ellison, Thursday, 29 March 2007 20:38 (eighteen years ago)

They were only great as a live act. More people need to look up "fey" and find out what it actually means.

― Rich Smörgasbord, Thursday, 29 March 2007 21:32 (eighteen years ago)

They were only great as a live act.

So wrong, although I'd love to have had the opportunity to see them live to give this the slightest consideration.

Sixteen Tambourines has so many hits. The synth and canyonesque guitar from A Day in Erotica are the best, but Jet Fighter, Stupid Einstein, When Lightning Starts.... c'mon man!!

― gnarly sceptre, Friday, 30 March 2007 11:32 (eighteen years ago)

OK, well, it goes beyond in two ways, anyway - I mean apart from THE SONG itself: the bass part and then the backing vocals that not only have their own words, but words that develop the words from the verses. The cuteness of that is BOLD.

It's the exact kind of thing that Kevin Barnes has been doing lately.

― Tim Ellison, Friday, 30 March 2007 20:26 (eighteen years ago)

You talkin' about "When Lightning Starts"? Regardless, I'm never any good with lyrics, so I don't know what the 'words that develop from the words' means. I just know it all sounds perfect...

― gnarly sceptre, Friday, 30 March 2007 21:08 (eighteen years ago)

Yeah, especially these lines:

Different ways to make her smile (Make her smile/For a while)

&

And the fun you have in store (Fun in store/Tell us more)

And the way that little extra rhyme kicks it into the chorus.

― Tim Ellison, Friday, 30 March 2007 22:03 (eighteen years ago)

five months pass...

I really fell in love with this band in the last few days. Michael Quercio sings like a mixture of Feargal Sharkey, Peter Noone and Green Gartside. I particularly like the power pop-style hits like 'Jetfighter' or 'Spun Gold', but the clearly Zombies-influenced keyboard-driven tracks are also fantastic.

― zeus, Tuesday, 11 September 2007 21:02 (eighteen years ago)

Where's Tim Ellison when the nation needs him?

― zeus, Wednesday, 12 September 2007 22:08 (eighteen years ago)

six months pass...

A brilliant band. Unfortunately, trying to change to appeal to the times and the masses never works out well. The two albums after Arrive Without Traveling are pretty bad overall - though between the two there are a few gems. The Baroque Hoedown EP, 16 Tambourines, and Arrive Without Traveling, are all classics that withstand the test of time. And everything that Michael Quercio has done since The Three O'Clock has been fantastic!

― Plasticsoul, Friday, 4 April 2008 18:25 (seventeen years ago)

Michael Quercio sounds like a girl. nothing wrong with that, but just sayin' ...

― Eisbaer, Sunday, 6 April 2008 20:56 (seventeen years ago)

I really never find Michael Quercio to sound like a girl. He just sounds like a pussy. And it works!

― gnarly sceptre, Monday, 7 April 2008 10:18 (seventeen years ago)

two years pass...

I'm into this lot at the moment. Do you get "OMG, he sounds like a girl" posts on Pete Shelley threads?

― Dr X O'Skeleton, Tuesday, 4 May 2010 10:19 (fifteen years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbHPzk3JiS8

― Dr X O'Skeleton, Tuesday, 4 May 2010 10:23 (fifteen years ago)

Do you get "OMG, he sounds like a girl" posts on Pete Shelley threads?

i don't know, but there is Devendra Banhart Male or Female?

― women are a bunch of dudes (tipsy mothra), Tuesday, 4 May 2010 12:19 (fifteen years ago)

Great band. I particularly like Baroque Hoedown & 16 Tambourines. The Rainy Day side project was also excellent.

― ImprovSpirit, Tuesday, 4 May 2010 17:24 (fifteen years ago)

one year passes...

I think the most hilarious part of me thinking the lead singer was a girl was that I formed this impression based off of seeing the video.

― I HAVE ISSUES (DJP), Monday, 23 May 2011 15:25 (fourteen years ago)

eleven months pass...

Hey DJP...I just had to register here so I could tell you that you're not the only one who got the idea Michael was a girl from the video...

― 5:00 PM, Wednesday, 25 April 2012 14:25 (thirteen years ago)

I saw them in LA in around '85. Good gig.

― L'ennui, cette maladie de tous les (Michael White), Wednesday, 25 April 2012 14:32 (thirteen years ago)

Man I loved that Salvation Army album...

― when will Jesus bring the composition chops? (loves laboured breathing), Wednesday, 25 April 2012 15:25 (thirteen years ago)

two months pass...

I don't know why it never registered with me before, but "Suzie's on the Ball" was a great single! Really is a mid-point between Arrive Without Traveling and Vermillion.

― timellison, Tuesday, 10 July 2012 23:01 (thirteen years ago)

The two IRS albums are on Spotify now, btw. Don't know if they were before.

― timellison, Tuesday, 10 July 2012 23:05 (thirteen years ago)

six months pass...

Reuniting for Coachella. Hm...

― Ned Raggett, Friday, 25 January 2013 05:05 (twelve years ago)

hey sweet! shame I never ever ever have the resources to go....

― flag posts in the dust (Drugs A. Money), Friday, 25 January 2013 05:59 (twelve years ago)

Wow. Real question is whether Louis Gutierrez is doing it, I guess!

He told me several years ago they had briefly discussed doing a reunion but he'd had to borrow some equipment and then when he borrowed the equipment the other guys thought it was off or something.

― timellison, Friday, 25 January 2013 06:13 (twelve years ago)

I came around on Ever After for the first time recently, by the way. Nice record.

― timellison, Friday, 25 January 2013 06:14 (twelve years ago)

Danny Benair, I believe, still has the pink drum set.

― timellison, Friday, 25 January 2013 06:21 (twelve years ago)

Just ran across some footage of the Rain Parade reunion this morning and wouldn't you know...

― Elvis Telecom, Friday, 25 January 2013 06:26 (twelve years ago)

JET FIGHTER MAN THAT'S WHAT I AM 'CAUSE TANKS GO TOO SLOOOW.

Classic, of course. How is this even a question?

― Matt M., Friday, 25 January 2013 17:09 (twelve years ago)

two months pass...

Lineup includes Gutierrez! Not sure about Mike Mariano.

― timellison, Tuesday, 26 March 2013 00:45 (twelve years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0EFclDHGlc&noredirect=1

― timellison, Sunday, 7 April 2013 17:56 (twelve years ago)

Going to be on Conan on Wednesday.

― timellison, Monday, 8 April 2013 04:33 (twelve years ago)

two months pass...

Best of/rarities compilation The Hidden World Revealed is up on Spotify. Can't help falling in love with "When Lightning Starts" all over again.

― timellison, Wednesday, 26 June 2013 21:17 (twelve years ago)

four years pass...

So, somehow, "On Paper" from the Paisley Park album has become a popular song with like 380K views on Youtube and a couple cover versions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOYo3Z1latA&t=130s

― timellison, Sunday, 18 February 2018 07:09 (seven years ago)

two months pass...

They have been recording with Earle Mankey.

― timellison, Saturday, 21 April 2018 02:09 (seven years ago)

I like this anecdote.

“He was a distant figure,” Michael Quercio of the Three O’Clock told me of his single encounter with Prince, his label boss and a man he believes had been inspired by the music he and a handful of other bands had been making in Los Angeles in the early 1980s. “We met him once. He had opened up the Paisley Park complex of studios in Minneapolis at that same time and had people come out. He put us up in a hotel, and we all went to this party after his concert there in Minneapolis. I remember being on a shuttle bus from the hotel to the party. I get on the bus, and it’s me with George Clinton, Mavis Staples, Wendy and Lisa and Apollonia. Everybody’s very quiet, we’re just going to the complex, and everybody’s staring at me. Finally, Mavis Staples, who’s sitting next to me, puts her hand on my knee and very nicely says, ‘Who are you, honey?’”

From here: https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2016/apr/24/he-was-a-huge-fan-how-prince-became-the-patron-of-the-psychedelic-underground

― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Saturday, 21 April 2018 02:58 (seven years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.