Swift Years is a band of wonderful musicians, and listening to them play is a delight. Their music is the best part of Three; their vocals, on the other hand, feel flat owing to the almost monotone feel the spoken-sung delivery gives them.

The music of "Ragged But Right/Way Down Yonder" is lively, with most of the track being instrumental. The delivery of the lyrics still feels more spoken then sung in "When I was a Young Man." The first round through "New Rastapustza" gives you a feel for the tune and it picks up tempo as it goes round again.

They switch to French for "Dans l'anse" and the vocals rest smoothly against the music.

The music of "Bye-bye Blues" is very cheerful and sweeps past you 'til it comes to a sudden stop. The music and lyrics of "Car Keys" are quite interesting; the delivery of the lyrics comes out flat due them sounding spoken. The music slows down to match the lyrics of "The Peddler," but it feels like both should pick up speed. They don't. The music of "Green Grow the Rushes" has a nice funk edge to it that blurs the sound of their voices.

They sing in French again in "La Banqueroute" and it sounds a bit better than when they sing in English.

"Russian Medley" shows how good they can be when they focus on instrumental pieces. The lyrics of "Rosy Rear View Mirror" need more emotional content then they are given. The largely instrumental "Son ar Chistr" and "Innisheer/Queen Mary's Escape/King of the Fairies" are reasons to listen to them; the second set is one of the few times their singing works well.

The lyrics of "Amelia Earhart's Last Flight" start out fogged like on an old radio. When it suddenly cuts to clear, you realize it is the first part that sounds best. You can almost feel the sleigh racing cross the snow in "Sleigh with Bells." The singing in "Couldn't We" is about as flat as can be; the instruments sing in "Lonesome Indian" and are anything but flat. They flow gracefully between two melodies in "Andalucia/Turkish March," making this pair of dances a treat.

The rough edges in the vocals of "Groundhog" might work better if they were a change of pace. Some songs come from the kitchen while "Stoney Creek" comes from the back porch and the wild yonder. The singing in the first part of "Joan Glover/Far Away/Halloween Jig" is passing fair and the other two parts are very short. Once again the instruments sing in "Niel Gow's Lament," conveying the sorrow.

Three is a mixed brew, some very good and some very not. Swift Years are at their best when they let their instruments sing for them because they are very good instrumentally. When the members of Swift Years sing it's a different matter, and their vocals seldom add anything to the song -- which is a pity because they play so well they don't have to sing.

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