A review of the audio project, Three Crosses was previously published.
You have probably noticed that record companies are jumping on the CD-ROM bandwagon. Three Crosses was one of the first of such projects. Unfortunately, it shows. Put bluntly, it doesn't measure up to the others.
If you're new to the CD-ROM genre, the Three Crosses CD-ROM contains all the music of Three Crosses which plays in your stereo. The bonus is that when used in a CD-ROM drive, it can be played through the computer, which also displays the lyrics for each song.
The one video on the project is for "This Is Not My Home," which has nice content and high-quality graphics; however, it was extremely jumpy, even on a 4X CD-ROM with a 120 MHz machine with plenty of memory allocated.
Sad to say, but the video is the highlight of the project. There are only a few band photos and no interview footage-although there is a short biography.
The graphics on the main screen are pretty impressive. From there, you select a song to play. Each song has its own screen, from which you can choose to see another band photo or to see the lyrics for the particular song. Where other CD-ROM's (Big Tent Revival, Jesus Freak AVCD Single for example) have impressive graphics showing the lyrics, all that is offered here is a small inset window with a scroll-bar to scroll through the song's lyrics. The text for all of the reviews (and the biography) is clunky 12-point Geneva print, which is the project's major downside.
There is one feature on Three Crosses that I especially like, however. This is the first AVCD that I have seen that allows you to switch to another application without quitting the disc's program. Unfortunately, it does stop the audio when doing so, but it is still handy to be able to operate outside the program without quitting. I will admit that I have only tested the disc on the Macintosh. I expect the performance to be about the same using a PC.
While I really love the music on their album, their CD-ROM just isn't as good as the others out there. If you loved the music of Three Crosses and don't have the regular CD project, then you may be interested in getting the CD-ROM edition. If you have the CD, then you will probably be content with that.
Other coverage for this album
The Lighthouse June 1995Reviewed by Robert BermanBlues-based rock is about as popular in the modern musicscape as Sandi Patty at the Cornerstone late night tent. But as Sheryl Crow proved with her recent Album of the Year Grammy, the blues have an eternal appeal. So perhaps we shouldn't be surprised that Three Crosses, the self-titled debut from Benson Records' latest rock outfit, sets its sails on a retro-rock track, pushed along by the winds…Heaven's Metal #53Reviewed by Doug Van PeltWhen I was back in high school, there were very few bands I enjoyed more than the screaming melodic metal of UFO and The Scorpions. One of those few bands was Blackfoot, who penned some great songs in a fun, yet blistering Southern Rock style. I think one of the reasons was the "fun factor." The monster groove riffs always seemed to bring grins to my face, rather than guitar-hero sneers. When I…
