The Third Power was a psychedelic rock group formed in 1967 from Detroit who released their only album, Believe, in 1970, and disbanded in 1971. There’s not much else I can find on this band other than Drew Abbott played lead guitar and vocals, Jem Targal played bass and lead vocals, and Jim Craig on drums. Abbott later worked with Bob Seger later in his career, and Jem Targal had a bit of solo career after this band. With that, I’m going to jump on into the music.
“Gettin’ Together” starts out with some sweet reverbed electric guitar that reminds me a lot of the sound of the Jimi Hendrix Experience. I really like the way the background vocals play into the soundscape, coming in from unexpected angles and really creating a feeling of psychedelia. The lead vocals are so extremely strong and forceful. I really dig the bass work in this song – it really gives the electric guitar a great platform to echo. Wow, this one has a bit of a vibe change up a bit after the midpoint when it’s almost a feeling of serenity in the midst of that in your face psychedelia that the band produces.
“Feel So Lonely” has such a groovy guitar intro to it. Oh wow, those vocals sound like they’re sent through almost like an outer space sort of layer in a certain way. They’re so laid back, yet lean into the track in such a great way. I really dig the way the drums are arranged in this piece, it makes the kit and the song sound pretty massive. Oh wow, the end of this song gets in a really awesome little jam that feels like it keeps building up a lot of momentum. The drums really remind me a lot of The Jimi Hendrix Experience as well. Really sweet tune.
“Passed By” has a really sweet gentle introduction to it. This song is a really awesome in how the vibe changes up so much. I really dig the way the vocals sound in this one. Oh wow, there’s some piano in this one that really adds a great texture and layer to the composition and album as a whole. That bass is so incredibly smooth in this one, and really moves the song around with the notes played.
“Lost In a Daydream” picks the album’s back up a bit with a pretty joyous sounding tune. There’s definitely a really nice, psychedelic daydream feel to this one. This one really picks up like it’s about to break through something, only to sort of almost not resolve the tension but go back to that daydream feeling instead.
“Persecution” has an interesting, raga little introduction to it before it breaks into something that reminds me a lot of the sound of Cream. That electric guitar tone is awesome, it’s sort of got that cheesy feeling yet is whirring around with its playing that really keeps the song moving. Meanwhile, the bass feels like it’s digging down into the music and serving as a platform for the drums to really chug this train of a song further down the line. The vocals have such a raw feeling to them – really awesome.
“Comin’ Home” has a nice feeling of resolution to it based on the previous song. Wow, there’s some really fuzzed out rhythm guitar to this one that has me really listening closely, because it seems kind of intricate to me. It switches up to the same thing the lead guitar is playing, played slightly behind it, but it doesn’t sound like a standard reverb to me. This song really has me hooked at the moment. The repetition, and breaks from said repetition, make this tune really awesome to listen to. The bass guitar really lifts the drums and electric guitar up on a platform to play on extremely well.
“Won’t Beg Anymore” has such a gentle, undistorted approach to its playing so far. I really like the high hats from the drums gently driving this song forward. The rhythm guitar and acoustic guitar playing the same lines gives a really awesome soundscape, that gets lifted to different heights by what the bass is playing. Wow, this tune is pretty awesome. Wow, there’s such a great feeling of resolution after the chorus. Oh wow, there’s some strange studio chatter thrown into the mix as the song takes a total left turn. Holy smokes, that guitar solo is absolutely delicious – it has this nice smooth, milky tone, that feels so gentle. Wow, another different turn that has this epic feeling to it that really sounds like a song from The Brian Jonestown Massacre.
“Crystalline Chamber” starts out with some wind chimes, that are promptly joined by some electric guitar and bass. The bass playing almost sounds a little jazzy at times. The acoustic guitar has such a familiar tone to me, but I can’t quite put my finger on it right now. That bass playing in this one has such a great tone to it. The way the vocals are laid out almost remind me of a long breeze – really awesome and interesting to me.
“Like Me Love Me” has a classic psychedelic rock feel to it – really feels like it could be a Jimi Hendrix Experience song based on the general feel of the bass, drums, and guitar. I really am grooving to this song. Oh wow, that bridge in the song really lets things hang out there a bit while the guitar starts spinning around and the drums keep you sort of grounded in a certain way. Wow, when it breaks back through the vocals have such an awesome feeling to them. Oh wow, this part of the song with the bass, rhythm guitar, and lead guitar all almost melding together is super groovy. Wow, the drums really make it feel like a train picking up speed rolling down the tracks. That guitar solo has such a melting feel to its style. The song feels like it’s coming to a crash of sorts with the way the cymbals are being played combined with the feel of increasing speed from the rest of the instruments. Wow, right before the possible crash, the song sort of centers and mellows out for the ending. Awesome song.
“We, You, I” has a really interesting feeling to it – I believe this and the next track are additions from the deluxe version of the album. This one definitely has an interesting, almost psychedelic reggae rock feel to it. I really dig the bass work in this one, and the way the vocals go from gentle and longer to forceful and shorter. That guitar lick that was just played was pretty sweet though. I really dig that little jam the band just did in this one.
“Snow” has a really sweet nasty feel to the bass in this one – has a huge feel to it. Oh dang, the electric guitar really plays some tasty notes. This one really feels like it plays with the listener a lot, picking up and slowing down the speed at different turns. Oh wow, this sort of raga sounding psychedelic rock guitar solo is really awesome. This tune is really awesome. I’m really digging this one. I can’t help but tap my hands on my desk along with this one. That was a pretty sick tune.
This one was a really great psychedelic rock album. Wow. If you enjoy psychedelic music, there’s a good chance, in my opinion, that you’ll really dig this one. I’m sort of in disbelief that the band didn’t make any more music after this album, but am quite thankful that they made this one. I certainly enjoyed this one, and hope that if you take a listen, you’ll enjoy it at least as much as I did.
-A