''The Third Rail'' (sometimes also referred to as ''Third Rail'') is the fourth and final studio album by

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-based

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...

band

Railroad Jerk Railroad Jerk was an American, New York-based indie rock band of the 1990s, specializing in a hard-driven punk blues sound. History Railroad Jerk's lineup changed frequently, but the core members were Minnesota native Marcellus Hall (vocals, guita ...

, released on October 8, 1996 on Matador Records.

Critical reception

Chris Nelson, of

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, ranked ''The Third Rail'' as his fourth favorite album of 1996. Writing in ''

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'',

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

gave the album a B+ grade, writing that on it, the band's frontman Marcellus Hall "...represents Manhattan art-slackerdom like the proud denizen he is."

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Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, writing that "...much of the album rocks harder and better than any of their previous records."

Track listing

# Clean Shirt – 4:07 # Objectify Me – 3:11 # You Forgot – 3:48 # Natalie – 4:20 # You Bet – 4:32 # Well – 4:45 # Dusty Knuckle – 4:01 # Middle Child – 3:13 # This Is Not to Say I Still Miss You – 3:14 # Another Nite at the Bar – 2:54 # (I Can't Get) No Sleep – 3:47 # Sweet Librarian – 1:57 # Untitled – 0:33

References

1996 albums Railroad Jerk albums Matador Records albums {{1990s-alt-rock-album-stub