Material has never really been a band -- it's basically a constantly shifting constellation of musicians whose center of gravity is producer and bassist
Bill Laswell and keyboardist
Michael Beinhorn. Certain musicians are frequently included (in the old days,
Fred Frith and
Anton Fier; these days,
Nicky Skopelitis and
Sly Dunbar), but each album usually features a drastically different lineup from the last, and often a new stylistic approach, as well.
The Third Power is
Material's foray into reggae/hip-hop fusion.
Beinhorn is conspicuously absent on this album (and has remained so since, rendering
Material's name basically synonymous with
Laswell's), and
Laswell abdicates the bass chair to
Robbie Shakespeare; all the drums are played by his cohort
Sly Dunbar. Sidemen include
Bootsy Collins,
Olu Dara,
Herbie Hancock, and
James Brown's old horn section. Vocals are provided by members of
the Jungle Brothers,
the Last Poets,
Shabba Ranks and others. That kind of diversity would lead to anarchy on any other record, but
Laswell has turned chaos into revelation for years.
Sly & Robbie keep everything pumping nicely, the rappers keep it interesting, and
Nicky Skopelitis' off-kilter guitar keeps reminding you that this really is a
Material album. The mood is surprisingly constant, maybe a little too much so;
Shabba's ragamuffin chanting on "Reality" isn't treated much differently from the
Bob Marley cover that closes the album. But it's a nice mood. Pity the whole thing clocks in at just over half-an-hour. ~ Rick Anderson