Released in October 1986 "Greetings From Timbuk 3" was the debut studio album by the US band Timbuk 3, the album spawned three singles, their only charting single, "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades", which reached number 19 on the US Billboard Hot 100, "Hairstyles And Attitudes" & "Life Is Hard".
Timbuk3 was the husband-and-wife duo of Pat and Barbara K. MacDonald, they were nominated for Best New Artist at the 1987 Grammy Awards but lost to Bruce Hornsby and the Range, this was in huge part cause the massive success by their hit single, "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" an excellent track from that era that gets played for all the wrong reasons, many included in their proms parties but the truth is that Pat MacDonald wrote the song as a peppy take on an impending nuclear holocaust, the video also had a huge rotation on the MTV back then, the next track "Life Is Hard" — featuring a vaguely Western feel, reverb-heavy harmonica, and synthesized percussion that immediately reminds you the band Wall of Voodo, not a bad tune, just a lot more understated. "Hairstyles and Attitudes" a college-level creative writing assignment set to some semi-interesting music.
"Facts About Cats" — Barbara, she’s got this weird sometimes and this track is proof of that. The arrangement breathes a little better and you’re not clobbered over the head with the subject matter. "I Need You" a kinda of a love song althought it is a little bit sad, especially when you know that Pat and Barbara divorced in 1995. Here comes the politicial "Just Another Movie" this is one of the darkest songs on an album that isn’t all that cheery to begin with. "Friction" another lovely tune just like "I Need You", tought this seemed to be more elaborated with better melodies and some nice guitar playing. “Cheap Black and White” and oftenly overlooked tune that had enought quality to be considered a single at the time,
"Shame on You" — Barbara the singer gets the mic again for the longest track on the album. Like most of the songs on Greetings From Timbuk3, "Shame on You" sports a decent arrangement but is undone by ham-fisted lyrics. And finally "I Love You in the Strangest Way" — An interesting coda for the album, and pretty much the complete antithesis of their biggest and well-known hit featuring nothing more than Pat and Barbara’s vocals, an acoustic guitar, and a mandolin.
Timbuk3 released four more studio LPs (and even became a quartet in 1991), an EP, and a live disc before calling it quits in 1995. The breakup coincided with Pat and Barbara’s divorce, the album has gained a cult following since their heyday and its considered one of the most darkest albums ever to have yielded a hit single.
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