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ARTIST: Firehouse
ALBUM: 3
LABEL: Epic
SERIAL: EK 57459
YEAR: 1995

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

LINEUP: C.J. Snare - vocals, keyboards, additional bass * Bill Leverty - guitars * Perry Richardson - bass * Michael Foster - drums

TRACK LISTING: 01 Love Is A Dangerous Thing * 02 Whats Wrong * 03 Somethin' About Your Body * 04 Trying To Make A Living * 05 Here For You * 06 Get A Life * 07 Two Sides * 08 No One At All * 09 Temptation * 10 I Live My Life For You

WEBLINKS: www.firehousemusic.com

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Background
I remember buying this on a CD buying excursion in Sydney back in 1996, and remarked how different it was from the first two albums from this band. Sure thing: 'Firehouse' and 'Hold Your Fire' were both awesome melodic rock albums, this one ain't so bad either, but released three years after HYF, 1995 was a completely different environment than the hair metal heyday. Still, Firehouse managed to keep true to their stock and trade sound, so good on them for that. No sell out to the flannel brigade from Seattle, though ultimately, '3' wasn't a big seller, but that was a case of the industry and the music scene of the era. Securing Ron Nevison for the production duties was a bold move by Epic Records, considering he must've cost a fortune when budgets for melodic rock albums probably amounted to shoestring levels.

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The Songs
Certainly there's nothing wrong with the songs here. Probably not as OTT and fiery as the debut and HYF, though Billy Leverty gets his chance to shine throughout. 'Love Is A Dangerous Thing' is the obvious tune for radio, a commercial but rocking affair which announces the band on track 1. 'What's Wrong' heavies up, some thick riffs and bullet like solos among the aural density. 'Somethin' 'Bout Your Body' has a throwaway songtitle best left in the late 80's, so too the music. It's still likeable though. 'Get A Life' sees Firehouse putting on the accelerator, with a fast paced track reminding me of Biloxi's 'Run For Your Life', though without the keyboards. There are three ballads here: 'Here For You' and 'No One At All'. These two are very light, and contrast the rockier material onboard. The last track 'I Live My Life For You' is the third ballad, and is just a classic Firehouse tune in the vein of 'Love Of A Lifetime', and is a wonderful close-out for this album. 'Temptation' gets big wraps as an energetic funky rocker in the style of Extreme. Probably one of the picks on the CD.

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In Summary
As mentioned, not a big seller on the Billboard charts, but then what melodic hard rock band was during 1995? Firehouse hung around for one more album on Epic: 1996's 'Good Accoustics', before saying sayonara to that label. They sine went on to release albums with WEA and Spitfire, plus a couple of self released efforts, including their most recent CD: 2011's 'Full Circle'. The band are still in operation, and have a ton of gigs lined up during the 2014 summer, appearing alongside the likes of Warrant, Winger, Night Ranger, Steelheart, Dokken and many others. They'll be coming to a town near you. Check them out!

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