How wonderful it must be to be able to do whatever you want as a popular group. After three top 10 albums, the 3JS can break a lot. The maximum freedom of choice makes their fourth album 4 Elements a varied production. Whimsical Dutch pop (Come Back, For Once And Forever), is alternated with introspective listening songs (Recht Uit M'n Hart, Zweversleven) and there is even room for an empty-headed
… niemendall (Wat Een Avond). According to the people of Volendam, they entered the studio without a plan and surrounded themselves with various session musicians, who were also allowed to come up with ideas. The texts unify these various timbres. They have a poetic slant, with a lot of attention to contradictions: life and death, rise and fall, love and hate. The Nobel Prize in Literature will never win the 3JS, but it is certainly an advantage that the men at least try to avoid the clichés. Organic production is a second plus. "You can make a really tasty milk, but it also has to be nicely packaged ... [this is] a really bad comparison," guitarist Jaap Kwakman said about the production of the album. We agree with this. (JE)more