The Third Power: Getting' Together (1970)

 |   |  1 min read

The Third Power: Getting' Together (1970)

Aside from unleashing his own extraordinary music onto an unsuspecting world in '67, Jimi Hendrix also kicked down the door for a thousand other guitarists who studied his technique and tone and then attempted something similar.

The trio of Third Power out of Farmington Hills near Detroit were on Vanguard and perhaps the heaviest and most psychedelic of any on the label.

They didn't last long, just one album – Believe – in 1970.

Located along the power trio axis of Hendrix and the Cream – with a powerful pop quality alongside the freakout – they were real hard rockers wrapped in the bright colours of the period. The guitarist Drew Abbott (who shared singing duties with bassist Jem Targal) was the key player and after the band broke up he joined up with Targal's neighbour in his band.

believeThat neighbour was Bob Seger and Abbott was on all of Seger's Silver Bullet Band albums from the early Seventies (among them Beautiful Loser, Live Bullet, Night Moves and Stranger in Town) before quitting in the early Eighties, when the gloss went off Seger as he became more commercial.

The good news is the Third Power's Believe album (with a couple of extra tracks) is on Spotify and it's a real Play Loud psychedelic rock album, with some typically dreamy songs.

Check out Gettin' Together.

Incidentally two of their tracks appeared on this Vanguard compilation. 

For more oddities, one-offs or songs with an interesting backstory check the massive back-catalogue at From the Vaults.

Share It

Your Comments

post a comment

More from this section   From the Vaults articles index

The Adverts: Gary Gilmore's Eyes (1977)

The Adverts: Gary Gilmore's Eyes (1977)

A noble entry in the "one-hit wonder" category, this punk era single by London's Adverts had all the key elements of the genre: short and buzzy, sounding just enough like the Damned et al... > Read more

Jake Holmes: Dazed and Confused (1967)

Jake Holmes: Dazed and Confused (1967)

From the moment of its release, the Led Zeppelin debut album in '69 gathered as much controversy as it did praise -- and indifference from many American reviewers who just heard the bombastic... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

BILL SEVESI INTERVIEWED: Light of the Pacific

BILL SEVESI INTERVIEWED: Light of the Pacific

Bill Sevesi says he speaks three languages, but he actually speaks four. The three he will admit to are Tongan (he was born in Nuku'alofa almost 88 years ago), English which he learned when he came... > Read more

FINDING FELA, a doco by ALEX GIBNEY (Madman DVD/Blu-Ray)

FINDING FELA, a doco by ALEX GIBNEY (Madman DVD/Blu-Ray)

Early on in this in-depth two hour documentary about the life, music, cultural impact and legacy of the Nigerian lightning rod Fela Anikulapo Kuti, the director/choreographer of the Broadway... > Read more