When you're the author of an unexpected hit single called The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades, it can be difficult to redirect listeners toward the rest of your work. Nevertheless, Timbuk 3 has always been more like a less gothic Handsome Family than anything resembling a novelty act. Husband and wife team Pat MacDonald and Barbara K. MacDonald's achingly sardonic alternative folk songs don't reflect society and relationships in the lenses of sunglasses -- they refract and redefine them with the aid of a cracked looking glass. This set from a 1993 date in France draws from the group's studio work to that point and features bassist Courtney Audain and drummer Wally Ingram, real-live humans who replaced Timbuk 3's famous drum machine for 1991's Big Shot in the Dark. The rhythm section is strong throughout, but it's on Tarzan Was a Bluesman that Audain's sly, lightly funky bass really makes its presence felt. Likewise, Ingram's constant kick drum and snare claps fuel Too Much Sex (Not Enough Affection)'s shifts between shuffling reggae and full-on ska. Of course, on top of the rhythms are Pat and Barbara's effortless harmonies, guitar, harmonica, and violin. Throw Down Gun ties a downcast groove to coldly cynical, yet oddly world-weary lyrics, while Sample the Dog plays on T3's techno-acoustic building blocks in the midst of some classic lyrics. "There's a new age family out in North Carolina," Pat sings. "A dog named Jamaica and a daughter named China/The son plays in a band called Sample the Dog." Espace Ornano really isn't even a live album, since there's little acknowledgement of or noise from the audience. Rather, it's a great way to discover the dry groove and prescient lyrics of a band who's future was bright even before the shades went on. ~ Johnny Loftus, Rovi

1		Dirty Dirty Rice
2		Too Much Sex (Not Enough Affection)
3		Daddy's Down In the Mine
4		Acid Rain
5		Rage of Angels
6		Tarzan Was a Bluesman
7		A Sinful Life
8		Throw Down Gun
9		The Border Crossing
10		Big Shot In the Dark
11		Bleeding Heart
12		Sample the Dog
13		Reckless Driver