3-Way Tie (For Last)

Personnel: D. Boon (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, background vocals); George Hurley (drums). Recording information: Radio Tokyo, Venice, CA. Sadly, this release was the last of the Minutemen's career. The death of d. Boon in a road accident in December 1985 put an end to a group at the most creative phase of its career. After the ambitious sprawl of their previous outing, 3-WAY TIE is the group's most traditional, straightforward record. The record's first song, "The Price of Paradise," signals a shift away from the group's characteristic ferocity. A ballad about the folly of war, the song's subdued tempo and wistful mood clearly demonstrate the group's maturation. Indeed, politics continued to weigh on the mind of Boon. He addresses American jingoism in "The Big Stick" and moral cowardice in the explosive "Courage," a standout track that lopes along on the brawny bass playing of Mike Watt. The delightfully goofy "What is It?" is the record's lightest moment. With its dominant acoustic guitar, it sounds like nothing else in the group's repertoire. Elsewhere are a churning rendition of the Meat Puppets' "Lost," faithful covers of CCR and Blue Oyster Cult and a version of Roky Ericson's "Bermuda" with vocals sung by Mike Watt through a telephone. Helpful liner notes reveal it to have been his own phone.