Frank Turner – The Second Three Years

This coming week Frank Turner’s new album The Second Three Years will be available for purchase or download. To say it is a new release is somewhat misleading as the album is a collection of the songs he has recorded over the past few years. However, what could be misconstrued by the more cynical among us as an attempt to squelch more money from fans by repackaging a selection of songs actually comes across more as a celebration.

Tracks featured on the album are brought together from previous releases which include the Rock & Roll – EP, England Keep My Bones (the most recent release from Turner), The Road – EP, Thunder Road – Single, Take To The Road – Live At Shepherd’s Bush Empire and Sleep Is For The Weak and acts more as a sequel to the first release of this kind The First Three Years released in 2009. The collection includes the songs that we have fallen in love with over the past few years, as well as hitting us with unreleased tracks and a few surprises including very interesting cover versions of Wham’s Last Christmas and The Foundations Build Me Up Buttercup.

It could be said that The Second Three Years is approached with a sense of pride in its combined sphere as if to say “look at what I have achieved”. What can usually feel like a cliché – the artist fulfilling and end of contract obligation by releasing a greatest hits album – is surprisingly usurped by this release and is clearly very distant to what Frank Turner is trying to do. Much like our faith in the quality of music that Frank Turner produces, we also hold him to that same esteem as a veritable musician who would not use his music as a ‘cash cow’. Many artists whom over the years would struggle to release an album of previously released tracks to the same quality and standard that Turner has done with The Second Three Years.