3 (Violent Femmes album)
{{Short description|1989 studio album by Violent Femmes}}
{{Infobox album
| name = 3
| type = Album
| artist = Violent Femmes
| cover = 3 album vfemmes.jpg
| alt =
| released = January 1989
| recorded =
| venue =
| studio = Carriage House, Stamford, CT and Home Base, NYC.
| genre = {{flatlist|
}}
| length = 36:07
| label = Slash
| producer = Violent Femmes, Warren Bruleigh
| prev_title = The Blind Leading the Naked
| prev_year = 1986
| next_title = Debacle: The First Decade
| next_year = 1990
| misc = {{Singles
| name = 3
| type = studio
| single1 = Nightmares
| single1date = 1989
}}
}}
{{Album ratings
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1Score = {{rating|3.5|5}}{{Cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r21284|pure_url=yes}}|title=AllMusic review|publisher=Rovi Corporation|author=Chris Woodstra|access-date=2010-12-18}}
| rev2 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
| rev2score = {{rating|3|5}}{{cite book |last1=Larkin |first1=Colin |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |date=2006 |publisher=MUZE |volume=8 |page=445}}
| rev3 = MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide
| rev3score = {{rating|3|5}}{{cite book |title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide |date=1999 |publisher=Visible Ink Press |page=1202}}
| rev4 = Record Mirror
| rev4score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite magazine|last=Zeppelin|first=Geoff|authorlink=|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/80s/89/Record-Mirror-1989-01-21.pdf|title=Review: Violent Femmes – 3|magazine=Record Mirror|date=21 January 1989|access-date=3 December 2021|page=32|location=London|publisher=Spotlight Publications Ltd.|via=World Radio History|issn=0144-5804|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309030936/https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/80s/89/Record-Mirror-1989-01-21.pdf|archive-date=9 March 2021}}
| rev5 = Rolling Stone
| rev5Score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/violentfemmes/albums/album/259326/review/5941533/3|title=Rolling Stone review|magazine=Rolling Stone|author=David Browne|access-date=2010-12-18|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070212104442/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/violentfemmes/albums/album/259326/review/5941533/3|archive-date=2007-02-12}}
| rev6 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide
| rev6score = {{rating|2.5|5}}{{cite book |title=The Rolling Stone Album Guide |date=1992 |publisher=Random House |pages=741–742}}
| rev7 = Spin Alternative Record Guide
| rev7score = 4/10{{cite book |title=Spin Alternative Record Guide |date=1995 |publisher=Vintage Books |page=427}}
}}
3 is the fourth studio album by U.S. punk-folk band Violent Femmes.
Critical reception
Trouser Press wrote that "Gano’s songwriting and delivery have their usual odd character and some of the old passion, but the Femmes don’t seem to be making much progress or impact in any direction here."{{cite web |title=Violent Femmes |url=https://trouserpress.com/reviews/violent-femmes/ |website=Trouser Press |access-date=13 February 2021}} Chris Woodstra of AllMusic noted that the fans of the band's early days would "appreciate the slightly stripped-back acoustic production." The Los Angeles Times wrote that "3 often comes off as a pale, precious shadow of the Femmes’ 1983 debut album."{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-06-06-ca-1694-story.html|title=POP MUSIC REVIEW : Violent Femmes' Spiritual Mission|date=June 6, 1989|website=Los Angeles Times}} The Rolling Stone Album Guide deemed the album "a jumbled stylistic grab bag."
Track listing
{{Tracklist
| all_writing = Gordon Gano
| title1 = Nightmares
| length1 = 3:32
| title2 = Just Like My Father
| length2 = 1:42
| title3 = Dating Days
| length3 = 3:14
| title4 = Fat
| length4 = 1:49
| title5 = Fool in the Full Moon
| length5 = 4:25
| title6 = Nothing Worth Living For
| length6 = 4:21
| title7 = World We're Living In
| length7 = 5:16
| title8 = Outside the Palace
| length8 = 2:38
| title9 = Telephone Book
| length9 = 1:41
| title10 = Mother of a Girl
| length10 = 2:41
| title11 = Lies
| length11 = 1:31
| title12 = See My Ships
| length12 = 3:17
}}
Personnel
- Gordon Gano – guitar, vocals
- Brian Ritchie – bass guitar
- Victor DeLorenzo – drums
- Sigmund Snopek III – keyboards
- Peter Balestrieri – baritone saxophone
- Warren A. Bruleigh – co-producer, engineer
- Matt Lane – assistant engineer, Carriage House
- Bill Smith – assistant engineer, Home Base
- Bernie Grundman – mastering
Charts
| class="wikitable" |
| Chart (1989)
!Peak |
|---|
| Australia (ARIA Charts){{cite web|url=http://i.imgur.com/X1dokk1.png|title=Chartifacts – Week Ending: 23 Jun 1991 (from The ARIA Report Issue No. 74)|publisher=Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA)|access-date=2017-01-01}}
| style="text-align:center;"|64 |
| United States (Billboard 200)Whitburn, Joel; Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Albums, 1955–1996; p. 819. {{ISBN|0898201179}}
| style="text-align:center;"|93 |