Album Review: Joe Diffie - "Third Rock From The Sun"

By the time Joe Diffie recorded this album, he was at the height of his country radio height, though he did barely scrape the Top 40 with his fifth and final single, "The Road Not Taken," from the album.

The best albums usually begin with a bang, and then never lag after that. Third Rock From The Sun is consistent like that. “Third Rock From The Sun” (the song, not the show), is good spacey fun. Then, most everything that follows that fast start just keeps the goodness coming.Of course, “Pickup Man,” like “Third Rock From The Sun,” was also a number one country hit. Its lyric praises truck ownership, without coming off too corny, and finds Diffie right in his sonic element. One wonders, however, what country artists have against Coupe de Villes, however.
Remember, that’s the devil’s car choice, according to his Joe Nichols hit “Brokenheartsville.” “I’m in Love with a Capital “U”” features an irresistible groove, too. Even the album’s ballads, which include “That Road Not Taken” and “So Help Me Girl,” are strong.

This album is one of the rare recordings where Diffie didn’t write or cowrite a few of its songs. Nevertheless, he contributed to “The Cows Came Home,” a rollicking fun album closer. Diffie really leans into its lead vocal, and it so good, it really should have been the album opener, instead. Heck, it even features cow mooing sound effects on it.

You might say this album is both down to earth, and out of this world.

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