Box Of Frogs "Box Of Frogs/Strange Land" (1984****/1986***)

I remember seeing the original Box Of Frogs LP in the shops and passing it by immediately because of the album cover and ridiculous band name. Apparently there's a British expression I hadn't heard before: mad as a box of frogs, which certainly sounds like a crazy idea. Why would anyone fill a box with frogs? But, by all accounts, the band seems to predate the expression. I searched and searched the language sites on the internet (you may argue that I've too much time on my hands, but once my curiosity is aroused I can't leave a question unanswered). Nobody has heard the expression before the 2000's. So probably the expression means crazy like that band was for choosing such a ridiculous name. It turned out to be a bad idea, even more so because Box Of Frogs were actually famous in the 60's with the name The Yardbirds. Yes, I'm talking about the group that nurtured Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page. Singer Keith Relf had regrettably died only a few years before (electrocuted by his own guitar) so the rest of the band (Chris Dreja, Paul Samwell-Smith and Jim McCarty) added the very good singer John Fiddler (former Medicine Head) and reformed the band under a new name. This CD gathers both of their albums. The eponymous debut featured guest guitarists Jeff Beck and Rory Gallagher, ensuring some top-notch playing, while all the songs are original group compositions. The style is rootsy hard rock but the synthetic 80's production neutered their sound somewhat, making it sound like any other record of the period. So I guess the question is: can you still listen to 80's mainstream rock? How cool are you with the sounds of Foreigner, Aerosmith, Status Quo and ZZ Top from that era? Well, if you can get past the dated production values, there's much to like in BoF's debut. Opener "Back Where I Started" is the perfect introduction, a rolling boogie with great bluesy vocal and harmonica, smoking guitar courtesy of Jeff Beck and backing vocals reminiscent of The Yardbirds' heyday. It was the band's biggest hit, cracking the Top Ten in the U.S. and getting exposure on MTV. "Harder" is a commercial hard rocker with Ray Majors on guitar (Fiddler's former bandmate in British Lions). "Another Wasted Day" is an excellent mid-tempo boogie with an understated vocal that reminds me of Mark Knopfler. "Love Inside You" is mid-tempo FM rock. "Two Steps Ahead" and "Poor Boy" are bluesy hard rock a la Bad Company with stellar guitar work by Jeff Beck. Rory Gallagher takes over guitar duties for the hard rock "The Edge" and ballad "Into The Dark", where he also contributes slide guitar and sitar - talk about East meets West! "Just A Boy Again" has a folkier Americana sound, like a hybrid between Tom Petty and Fleetwood Mac. Different but also nice. The second BoF album has a bigger sonic variety but is generally considered to be inferior despite the impressive guest list. Too many songs are generic 80's hard rock, e.g. "Get It While You Can" (sung by guest Graham Parker) or synth-driven "You Mix Me Up" with misjudged female backing vocals. "House On Fire" seems to copy the plastic boogie of Eliminator-era ZZ Top while "Asylum" is almost metallic, with heavy guitar riffs by former Yardbirds alumnus Jimmy Page. Guest vocalist Roger Chapman (ex-Family) delivers excellent performances on the emotive ballad "Strange Land" and a throat-shredding reworking of Yardbirds' 1965 hit "Heart Full Of Soul" also featuring the song's writer Graham Gouldman and Rory Gallagher on smokin' lead guitar. Rory's electric sitar is the highlight of the strange electronic ballad "Hanging From The Wreckage". Ian Dury's punk sneer saves "Average" from mediocrity. The song is an otherwise average combination of hard rock and new wave, despite some nice solos by Genesis' guitarist Steve Hackett who also plays on the melodic FM-rock "Trouble". This compilation also adds single-only "Nine Lives", another Foreigner-style commercial rocker with Bowie associate Earl Slick on lead guitar. Far from being the sum of its parts, "Strange Land" seemed to make up for its lack of inspiration with a parade of guest musicians. BoF did not tour or even play live often, which may be the reason for their decline. They never made another record but in 2003 Dreja, Samwell-Smith and McCarty reformed The Yardbirds, under their own name, this time. They released a CD but mostly functioned as a touring band. I saw them in Greece and their performance was workmanlike and quite enjoyable. They've been on the road since then, although I believe that drummer Jim McCarty is the sole original member left.

**** for Back Where I Started, Another Wasted Day, The Edge, Two Steps Ahead, Poor Boy, Average, Heart Full Of Soul

*** for Harder, Love Inside You, Into The dark, Just A Boy Again, Get It While You Can, House On Fire, Asylum, Strange Land, Trouble

** for You Mix Me Up, Hanging From The Wreckage, Nine Lives