Shocking Blue was a Dutch rockband from The Hague that was at their peak in the sixties and seventies and gained major cross-Atlantic success. The band was founded in 1967 and after recruiting vocalist Mariska Veres they soon became huge. With their single 'Venus' they became the first Dutch band ever to reach the first spot on the American Billboard Hot 100. The band had a series of subsequent hits but decided to call it a day in 1975. Their influence reached well beyond their generation: even bands like Nirvana and The Prodigy used Shocking Blue's 'Love Buzz'. '3rd Album' is strangely enough not their third full-length album but their fourth and was originally released in 1971. This reissue comes with six bonus tracks consisting of singles and b-sides and a gatefold sleeve.