Three Sheets to the Wind (album)

The album was produced by Martin Brumbach.[6] Frontman Jeff Martin retained the same musicians who had recorded The Bayonet EP, allowing for more of a band sound.[7][8] Martin used a 4-string guitar on the album.[9][5] Three Sheets to the Wind was one of the first albums to employ High Definition Compatible Digital.[10]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[11]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide	[12]

Trouser Press wrote that "Mark Lewis' brushed drumming gives 'If You Dare' a nearly jazzy feel, while 'Catapult' ventures onto classic rock-turf, with Martin’s baritone sacrificing some of its monochromatic intensity in favor of a gritty virility."[7] The Washington Post determined that the band "creates a potent tension within a narrow dynamic range, but Wind isn't trapped in the cocktail lounge ... Melding tinkling piano with guitar feedback, the band rightfully serves its own elegant songs rather than mere genre revivalism."[13]

Guitar Player thought that "Martin's ond Dan Seta's guitars envelop the mind like mist on a dark, foggy afternoon."[14] The Albuquerque Journal stated that Wind "handles the delicate Idaho sound Martin crafted on the first album and roughs it up a bit, slapping in an off-key vocal here and a screech of feedback there to give Martin's songs a bit of grit to take your ears away from the sad sounds."[15] The Baltimore Sun concluded that the album "dilutes the pop melancholy of Jeff Martin's melodies with artfully deployed bursts of guitar dissonance."[16]

AllMusic wrote: "The overall result is a bit less sleepy than previous efforts, though Martin's downtrodden vision, reminiscent of Mark Eitzel, is still firmly in place. His distinct guitar sound—emanating from a four-stringed instrument with odd tunings—is still here also, as are his great chordal instincts."[11] The State listed Three Sheets to the Wind as the fifth best album of 1996.[17] Nashville Scene also considered the album to be one of the best of the year.[18]