3.V
3.V is the third studio album by Zebra. It was released in 1986 on Atlantic Records. This album marked a new, more AOR radio-friendly direction, attempting a commercial comeback for the group after the 1984 flop No Tellin' Lies. This bid would prove unsuccessful as the record company did little in the way of promotion,[1] and the album failed to chart – it would be the group's last studio album for Atlantic before being dropped from the label. The album went out-of-print in 1990. It was reissued in 2007 as an import paired on one CD with No Tellin' Lies, another deleted title, as the stand-alone compact disc version became a scarce collector's item in the meantime. 3.V, along with the first two Zebra albums, was reissued on CD again in Japan in 2013.
| 3.V | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 1986[1] | |||
| Recorded | Atlantic Studios, Unique Recording Studios, New York City, NY; Boogie Hotel, Kingdom Sound Studios, Long Island, NY Feb-May 1985 | |||
| Genre | Hard rock, heavy metal | |||
| Length | 40:26 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Producer | Randy Jackson & Zebra | |||
| Zebra chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| Kerrang! | [3] |
Reception
Some critics have heralded this to be the best Zebra album, even better than their debut. Doug Stone from AllMusic gave the album 4.5 stars, saying "3.V has that certain something extra: more than an album, 3.V opens the mind of an unheralded genius."[2] Classic Rock Review wrote that the album was "plagued by clusters of both mediocrity as well as pure brilliance" but "includes some of the band's finest work".[1]
Track listing
All tracks were written by Randy Jackson
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Can't Live Without" | 3:40 |
| 2. | "He's Making You the Fool" | 3:52 |
| 3. | "Time" | 5:21 |
| 4. | "Your Mind's Open" | 3:37 |
| 5. | "Better Not Call" | 5:04 |
| 6. | "You'll Never Know" | 2:59 |
| 7. | "About to Make the Time" | 4:57 |
| 8. | "You're Only Losing Your Heart" | 3:48 |
| 9. | "Hard Living Without You" | 3:21 |
| 10. | "Isn't That the Way" | 3:16 |
Personnel
- Randy Jackson – guitar, lead vocals, Prophet 5 synthesizer
- Felix Hanemann – bass, backing vocals, keyboards
- Guy Gelso – drums, backing vocals, percussion
Production
- Arranged & Produced by Randy Jackson & Zebra
- Stephen Benben, Jamie Chaleff, Ken Collins, Ellen Fitton, Ira McLaughlin, Dan Nash - engineers
- Mitchell Frondelli, Dan Nash – mixing
References
- "3.V by Zebra". Classic Rock Review. June 3, 2011. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
- Stone, Doug. "Zebra 3.V review". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2011-09-17.
- Oliver, Derek (8 January 1987). "Zebra '3.V'". Kerrang!. 137. London, UK: United Magazines ltd. p. 10.