Third Eye Blind - Blue (2LP) - Clear w/ Blue Splatter Vinyl

Blue lands in that sweet spot where a band with big pop chops leans into heavier feelings without losing the sugar. Third Eye Blind had already conquered radio with their self-titled debut in 1997, so the 1999 follow-up carried all that pressure and a lot of expectation. What they delivered is a set of songs that feel both sharper and more bruised, the kind of late 90s record that sticks because the hooks are undeniable and the stories cut close to the bone.

The opener, Anything, is a sprint. It barely cracks a minute and a half, yet it sets the tone with a giddy rush of melody and driven guitars. Then Wounded arrives and everything slows down to reveal the heart of the album. Stephan Jenkins has said he wrote it for a friend who survived an assault, and you can hear that protective tenderness in the way the chorus lifts without grandstanding. It is one of those Third Eye Blind songs that fans cling to, not because it’s oversized, but because it feels personal.

Never Let You Go is the one everyone remembers from radio. That bouncy guitar lick from Kevin Cadogan, the handclaps, the bright harmonies that snap into place on the chorus. It has the buoyancy of Britpop with a West Coast grin, and it still sounds like summer. Deep Inside of You aims for the opposite feeling, a mid-tempo confessional that lets Arion Salazar’s melodic bass do quiet work under Jenkins’ bittersweet lines. It is an easy favourite at shows, and it carries that 2am ache that made the band more than just radio singles.

10 Days Late spells out its stakes right there in the title. It is a song about an unexpected pregnancy and the shock that follows, told with a directness that felt rare on mainstream rock at the time. Brad Hargreaves keeps it taut and propulsive, and the chorus lands like a decision you can’t walk back. Then you get the shimmer of An Ode to Maybe, all chiming guitars and a falsetto that drifts right on the edge of melancholy, and the punch of 1000 Julys, which scratches the itch for straight-ahead, riffy release. Even deep cuts like Camouflage and The Red Summer Sun show how layered the band’s arrangements had become, with guitars weaving rather than simply pounding.

One of the most talked-about choices on Blue was the closer. Slow Motion appears as an instrumental here, a piano-led piece that feels like the lights coming up after a long night. The decision wasn’t aesthetic alone. The band had written a version with lyrics, but the label pushed back in the wake of the Columbine tragedy earlier that year. The words were printed in the booklet, the music remained wordless, and the debate about art and context lingered long after. It gives the album a strangely elegant exit, and it tells you a lot about where Third Eye Blind were at that point in their career.

Context matters for Blue. It arrived in November 1999 on Elektra Records, right as alt-rock’s major-label era was starting to splinter. Inside the band, things were tense. Cadogan, whose guitar textures are all over the record, would leave not long after the release amid very public disputes. You can almost hear that friction in the music. The production favours width, stacked harmonies and big, chiming tones, but there’s a tightness to the writing that keeps it from sprawl. Jenkins’ melodies feel written for the top of your lungs, yet the lyrics tilt darker, more self-questioning, which is exactly why this album has aged as well as it has.

If you’re hunting Third Eye Blind vinyl, Blue is the one that surprises people who only know the hits. The interplay between Cadogan’s guitars and Salazar’s bass jumps on a turntable, and Hargreaves’ snare has that crisp snap that flatters a good press. Third Eye Blind’s Blue on vinyl is worth a spot next to the debut, especially if you’re the type who wants a record that can soundtrack a long drive and a late-night think in the same side. You can buy Third Eye Blind records online without much hassle, and plenty of shops that specialise in vinyl records Australia will either have it in stock or can track it down. If you prefer to flip through sleeves at your local Melbourne record store, keep an eye out for Third Eye Blind albums on vinyl and be ready to pounce when Blue turns up.

Blue doesn’t chase a movement or a trend. It’s a hooky, bruised, quietly ambitious rock record that still connects. Put it on, let Never Let You Go blast through the room, then stay for Wounded and Deep Inside of You when the sun dips. That’s the heart of it.