Dr Strangely Strange - Alternative Medicine: The Difficult Third Album (1997)

The subtitle of this album reads "The Difficult Third Album," and in fact 27 years passed between Dr. Strangely Strange's second and third releases. Their first album, Kip of the Serenes, was a singsong psychedelic folk record while their second, Heavy Petting, employed more rock and free-form ideas. This album incorporates traditional Irish music, blues-rock, and acoustic rock & roll, thus separating itself significantly from the two earlier releases and perhaps even paving the way for the BMC Band's The Peace Within, which was released in 1998 by Irish blues guitarist Barry McCabe. He also combined the blues with Irish music. So while this band expanded its musical focus some in the interim, its vocalists also benefited from the years; the three founding members, Ivan Pawle, Tim Goulding, and Tim Booth, all share in the lead vocals and their collective voices have matured noticeably. At times they recall Fisherman's Blues and Room to Roam-era Waterboys. Fiddler Joe Thomas adds a new element to the music, and is especially effective on the acoustic numbers. Former associate and electric guitarist Gary Moore rejoins his old friends on three selections, adding the bluesy sound to those songs.