Son of Three

The original version of "Son of Three" appeared on the Breeders' 2002 album Title TK.[2] While most of the album's tracks were recorded by Steve Albini at his Electrical Audio studio in Chicago, "Son of Three" is one of two songs from a session recorded by Mark Arnold and Andrew Alekel at Grandmaster Recording Ltd. in Hollywood.[2] The composition was written by Kim Deal, who also sang on the track.[2] The other musicians who played on the recording were Kim's sister Kelley Deal on guitar and vocals; Richard Presley on guitar; Mando Lopez on bass and guitar; and Jose Medeles on percussion.[2]

Following the release of Title TK's first two singles, "Off You" and "Huffer",[7][8] a third single was requested for the European market.[9] For this purpose, the Breeders decided to record a new version of "Son of Three".[9] The session, which took place in July 2002 at Track Record Studios in North Hollywood,[10] was fit in during a short break between a European and a US concert tour.[4] This recording is faster than the album version, and reflects the sound of the group's live performances of the song in 2002.[4] The engineers for this session were Ai Fujisaki and Justin Hamilton, with additional engineering credited to Marc Arnold.[10][n 1]

Kim Deal (left) her sister Kelley (right) were reportedly devotees of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series in 2002.[11] As the Breeders, they covered its theme song as one of the "Son of Three" single's two B-sides.[10]

The sound of "Son of Three" has been described as "dark punk",[6] and elsewhere as a "garage symphony of bubblegum grunge, woo-woo gurly harmonies and body-snatching sci-fi eeriness".[5] One interviewer in 2002 described the lyrics of "Son of Three" as "motorific", noting the numerous references to driving in the song and throughout the Title TK album.[9] The song's lyrics include lines such as "No more time on the meter", "Cross another county line", and "Are we there?"[2]

The second track on the three-song single, "Buffy Theme", was also recorded at the July 2002 session.[10] This composition was originally performed by the group Nerf Herder, whose version was included on Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Album.[12] It was written by Nerf Herder members Dennis, Grip, and Sherlock.[10] Kim and Kelley Deal were both fans of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer television show[11] and had been playing "Buffy Theme" in concert in the first half of 2002.[11][13] At some point after the July recording session, Kim Deal telephoned Buffy musical supervisor John King to ask whether the Breeders could be on the show.[14] On November 5, the group appeared on the episode "Him", in which they performed "Son of Three" and "Little Fury".[15] The Breeders' "Buffy Theme" was also later included on the album Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Radio Sunnydale.[14][16]

The final track on the "Son of Three" single, "Safari", written by Deal,[17] was recorded in concert at the Melkweg music venue in Amsterdam in June 2002 as part of the Leidsekade Live radio show.[10] The original studio version of the song had been released on the Breeders' Safari EP in April 1992.[18]

Title TK came out on May 20–21, 2002,[1][19] and the "Son of Three" single on September 2 of that year.[20] The single reached No. 72 on the UK Singles Chart.[21] The album and single versions of "Son of Three" have mostly been well received by critics. AllMusic's Heather Phares called the Title TK track "sweet [and] playfully spiky",[1] while Will Bryant of Pitchfork cited it as a "standout" of the album, that "get[s] the job done".[22] PopMatters' Matt Cibula reported "rockin'... hard" to the song and commented on the originality of the lyrics, such as the line “If I find the door / I am the son of Go”.[23] A reviewer at Contactmusic.com described the single version of "Son of Three" as "special",[4] and for NME's Stephen Dalton, it was a "jewel".[5] Richard Garnett of Leeds Music Scene similarly praised the track, commenting that "the beefy descending bass line is enough to send shivers".[24]

Critical appraisal of the single's B-sides has been mixed. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic characterized the Breeders' "Buffy Theme" as "wonderful".[16] Garnett called the track "cheap", noting its short running time (1 minute 13 seconds).[24] For Dalton, the recording amounted to "a comedy cover", and the live version of "Safari" was "inessential".[5] By contrast, the Contactmusic.com reviewer rated this performance of "Safari" as "fantastic".[4]

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics