Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 24, 2026

The Third Hand

The Third Hand is the third studio album by RJD2. It was released on XL Records on March 6, 2007. It peaked at number 190 on the Billboard 200 chart, number 5 on the Heatseekers Albums chart, and number 23 on the Independent Albums chart. The Third Hand Instrumentals, an instrumental version of the album, was also released in 2007.

Last revised
Jun 24, 2026
Read time
≈ 2 min
Length
501 w
Citations
23
Source
Wikipedia ↗
The Third Hand
Studio album by
RJD2
ReleasedMarch 6, 2007 (2007-03-06)
Genre
Length47:05
LabelXL Recordings
ProducerRJD2
RJD2 chronology
Magnificent City
(2006) 		The Third Hand
(2007) 		The Colossus
(2010)
Singles from The Third Hand
  1. "You Never Had It So Good"
    Released: 2007
  2. "Work It Out"
    Released: 2007

The Third Hand is the third studio album by RJD2.1 It was released on XL Records on March 6, 2007.2 It peaked at number 190 on the Billboard 200 chart,3 number 5 on the Heatseekers Albums chart,4 and number 23 on the Independent Albums chart.5 The Third Hand Instrumentals, an instrumental version of the album, was also released in 2007.67

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic60/1002
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarHalf star6
The A.V. ClubB−8
Billboardmixed9
MusicOMHStarStarStarStar10
NME5/1011
Pitchfork3.7/1012
PopMattersStarStarStarStarStar13
Spinmixed14
Stylus MagazineC+15

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 60, based on 28 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".2

Noel Murray of The A.V. Club gave the album a grade of B−, saying: "About half of The Third Hand is given over to dub exercises and soundtrack-ready soundscapes, while the other half pushes fairly conventional alt-pop, heavy on the Beatles-esque flourishes."8 Dave Heaton of PopMatters gave the album 5 stars out of 10, saying: "You may have to listen past a few layers to be satisfied, but there is a level of satisfaction to be found."13

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Intro"1:00
2."You Never Had It So Good"4:04
3."Have Mercy"3:18
4."Reality"3:01
5."Work It Out"3:26
6."Laws of the Gods"2:10
7."Get It"3:30
8."Someday"1:22
9."The Bad Penny"4:04
10."Beyond the Beyond"3:57
11."Sweet Piece"4:00
12."Rules for Normal Living"4:03
13."Paper Bubbles"2:49
14."Just When"3:28
15."The Evening Gospel"2:53
Total length:47:05
iTunes edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
16."The Past Time"9:22
17."The Wilderness"3:42
Total length:60:09

Charts

Chart Peak
position
US Billboard 2003 190
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)4 5
US Independent Albums (Billboard)5 23
References

References

  1. Kharas, Kev (January 4, 2007). "Album news: RJD2 shows his Third Hand". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on April 14, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  2. "The Third Hand by Rjd2". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  3. "Rjd2: Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  4. "Rjd2: Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  5. "Rjd2: Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  6. Bush, John. "RJD2 - The Third Hand". AllMusic. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  7. Hamilton, Pierre (August 14, 2007). "RJD2: The Third Hand Instrumentals". Exclaim!. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  8. Murray, Noel (March 13, 2007). "RJD2: The Third Hand". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  9. Vrabel, Jeff (February 27, 2007). "Review: RJD2's 'The Third Hand'". Billboard. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  10. Hands, Steve (March 5, 2007). "RJD2 – The Third Hand". MusicOMH. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  11. Mackay, Emily (March 2, 2007). "RJD2: The Third Hand". NME. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  12. Patrin, Nate (March 9, 2007). "RJD2: The Third Hand". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  13. Heaton, Dave (March 8, 2007). "Rjd2: The Third Hand". PopMatters. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  14. Harris, Keith (March 15, 2007). "RJD2, 'The Third Hand' (XL)". Spin. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  15. Weiss, Jeff (March 8, 2007). "RJD2 - The Third Hand". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on March 9, 2012. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
External links