Box of Frogs

Last updated

Box of Frogs
Origin London
Years active1983–1986
Labels Epic
Past members

Box of Frogs were an English rock band formed in 1983 by former members of the Yardbirds, who released their first album in 1984. [1] The core group consisted of Chris Dreja, Paul Samwell-Smith, and Jim McCarty. [1] Vocals on their eponymous album were done by John Fiddler (formerly of Medicine Head and British Lions). [1] On the second album, Fiddler sang on five songs, with guests singers Graham Parker, Ian Dury and Roger Chapman performing the remaining songs. Many musicians guested on their albums (including guitarists Rory Gallagher, Earl Slick and Steve Hackett, harmonica player Mark Feltham, and keyboardists Max Middleton and Peter-John Vettese). Former Yardbirds bandmates Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page played lead guitar on parts of their first and second albums, respectively. [1]

Contents

The group's formation and unusual band name were explained on the sticker affixed to original LP releases:

On June 23, 1983, as part of London's historic Marquee Club's 25th Anniversary celebrations, three original Yardbirds – Paul Samwell-Smith, Chris Dreja and Jim McCarty – found themselves together on stage again. This same venue had been a regular nightspot for the legendary guitar-based blues-rock band that was the springboard for the likes of Clapton, Beck and Page.

For Paul, Chris and Jim, the reunion made them realize they had to make more music in the Yardbirds' tradition. They added Medicine Head's John Fiddler on vocals to form the nucleus of the band.

On Christmas Eve 1983, Jeff Beck joined them at a recording session at a farmhouse south of London and added his unique touch to four of the tracks. As other old friends jumped into the sessions the idea for the group's new name came about. Now with a fresh spirit and basic rock and roll roots there is a new band from across the pond.

The group showed promise on the first album of rock radio friendly tunes, featuring Jeff Beck. The album was popular on college campuses. Plans were made for a US tour, but it is alleged that Samwell-Smith, Dreja, and McCarty hated the idea of the tour, much to John Fiddler's dismay.[ citation needed ] Jeff Beck, who along with Dzal Martin was considered as the lead guitarist for such a tour, was reportedly disgusted at his ex-bandmates' refusal to tour America. He took no part on the second album, Strange Land (1986), and Fiddler barely chose to do so before walking out. "Asylum" is one of the few songs Fiddler sang on, and was the only one featuring Page.

The group's two albums, Box of Frogs (1984) and Strange Land (1986), were combined for release on a single CD by Renaissance Records in 1996. [2] AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album four and a half out of five stars, although he commented:

Both albums are rather uneven and a little undistinguished, yet they may appeal to fans of mainstream AOR hard rock from the early '80s. For Yardbirds fans, this is essentially a curiosity, since it doesn't have the spark, sound or style of the Yardbirds, despite featuring Jim McCarty, Chris Dreja and Paul Samwell-Smith. [2]

Personnel

Discography

Albums

Box of Frogs (1984)

Box of Frogs
Studio album by
Box of Frogs
ReleasedJune 1984
StudioRidge Farm
Genre
  • Blues rock
  • arena rock
  • hard rock
Length46:44
Producer
Box of Frogs chronology
London 1963 – The First Recordings!
(by The Yardbirds)

(1981)
Box of Frogs
(1984)
Interchords
(1984)
Track listing

All tracks are written by Paul Samwell-Smith, Chris Dreja, Jim McCarty, John Fiddler (except noted)

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Back Where I Started" 3:54
2."Harder"Fiddler, Ray Majors3:44
3."Another Wasted Day" 4:12
4."Love Inside You"Fiddler2:47
5."The Edge" 4:02
6."Two Steps Ahead" 4:33
7."Into The Dark" 4:07
8."Just A Boy Again" 5:38
9."Poor Boy" 4:26
Personnel

Box of Frogs

  • Paul Samwell-Smith - bass guitar, backing vocals, percussion, synthesizer, producer
  • Jim McCarty - drums, percussion, backing vocals
  • John Fiddler - lead and backing vocals, acoustic and electric rhythm guitar, percussion, synthesizer, assistant producer
  • Chris Dreja - rhythm guitar, percussion, backing vocals, photography

Additional musicians

Production

  • Mark Larson - design
  • Gary Edwards - overdubs and mixing
  • Max Norman - recording engineer
  • Patty Dryden - illustration

Strange Land (1986)

Strange Land
Studio album by
Box of Frogs
Released1986
Studio
  • Battery Studios
  • Island Studios
  • Redan Recorders
  • Ridge Farm Studios
Genre
  • Arena rock
  • Blues rock
  • Hard rock
Length42:05
Box of Frogs chronology
Interchords
(1984)
Strange Land
(1986)
Yardbirds ...On Air
(by The Yardbirds)
Track listing

All tracks are written by Paul Samwell-Smith, Chris Dreja, Jim McCarty (except noted)

No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Get it While You Can" Gary O'Connor Graham Parker 3:50
2."You Mix Me Up" John Fiddler3:22
3."Average"  Ian Dury 4:18
4."House on Fire" Fiddler4:21
5."Hanging from the Wreckage" Fiddler3:39
6."Heart Full of Soul" Graham Gouldman Roger Chapman 3:50
7."Asylum" Fiddler4:49
8."Strange Land" Chapman4:51
9."Trouble" John Fiddler5:40

Bonus cassette version tracks:

No.TitleLead vocalsLength
10."I Keep Calling"Fiddler 
11."20/20 Vision"Fiddler 
Personnel

Box of Frogs

Additional musicians [3]

  • John Knightsbridge - lead guitar (track 1)
  • Rory Gallagher - lead guitar (tracks 2, 4, 6), slide guitar (track 4), electric sitar (tracks 5, 6)
  • Steve Hackett - lead guitar (tracks 3, 9)
  • Dzal Martin - guitar (tracks 4, 7, 9), lead guitar (track 4, [Note 1] 8)
  • Jimmy Page - lead guitar (track 7)
  • Graham Gouldman - rhythm guitar and backing vocals (track 6)
  • Max Middleton - synthesizer (tracks 1, 3), keyboard outro solo (track 3)
  • Peter-John Vettese - synthesizer (tracks 2 to 4) emulator synthesizer (track 3, 5, 6, 8, 9), keyboards (track 6)
  • Geraint Watkins - piano (track 4)
  • David Clayton - keyboards (track 7), synthesizer (track 9)
  • Neil Lockwood - backing vocals (track 1)
  • Carroll Thompson, Julie Roberts - backing vocals (tracks 2, 4)

Production

  • Mark Larson - art direction
  • Simon Hanhart - engineer at Battery Studio
  • Stephen Street - engineer at island
  • Gary Edwards - engineer at Redan Recorders
  • Jeremy Allom and Louis Austin - engineers at Ridge Farm
  • John H. Howard - illustration
  • George Marino - mastering

Singles

Transcription discs

Notes

  1. on the outro

Related Research Articles

<i>Little Games</i> 1967 studio album by the Yardbirds

Little Games is the fourth American album by the English rock band the Yardbirds. Recorded and released in 1967, it was their first album recorded after becoming a quartet with Jimmy Page as the sole guitarist and Chris Dreja switching to bass. It was also the only Yardbirds album produced by Mickie Most.

<i>The Broadsword and the Beast</i> 1982 studio album by Jethro Tull

The Broadsword and the Beast is the 14th studio album by rock band Jethro Tull, released in April 1982 by Chrysalis Records. The album's musical style features a cross between the dominant synthesizer sound of the 1980s and the folk-influenced style that Jethro Tull used in the previous decade. As such, the band's characteristic acoustic instrumentation is augmented by electronic soundscapes. The electronic aspects of this album would be explored further by the band on their next album, Under Wraps (1984), as well as on Ian Anderson's solo album Walk into Light (1983).

<i>Roger the Engineer</i> 1966 studio album by the Yardbirds

Roger the Engineer is the only UK studio album and the third US album by the English rock band the Yardbirds. Recorded and released in 1966, it contains all original material and is the only Yardbirds album with guitarist Jeff Beck on all tracks. It was produced by bassist Paul Samwell-Smith and manager Simon Napier-Bell.

<i>Five Live Yardbirds</i> 1964 live album by the Yardbirds

Five Live Yardbirds is the live debut album by the English rock band the Yardbirds. It features the group's interpretations of ten American blues and rhythm and blues songs, including their most popular live number, Howlin' Wolf's "Smokestack Lightning". The album contains some of the earliest recordings with guitarist Eric Clapton.

<i>For Your Love</i> (album) 1965 studio album by the Yardbirds

For Your Love is the first American album by the English rock band the Yardbirds. Released in June 1965, it contains new studio recordings along with previously released singles. The album features some of the earliest recordings by guitarists Eric Clapton and his replacement Jeff Beck.

<i>Having a Rave Up with the Yardbirds</i> 1965 album by the Yardbirds

Having a Rave Up with the Yardbirds, or simply Having a Rave Up, is the second American album by the English rock group the Yardbirds. It was released in November 1965, eight months after Jeff Beck replaced Eric Clapton on guitar. It includes songs with both guitarists and reflects the group's blues rock roots and their early experimentations with psychedelic and hard rock. The title refers to the driving "rave up" arrangement the band used in several of their songs.

Paul Granville Samwell-Smith is an English musician and record producer. He was a founding member and the bassist of the 1960s English rock band the Yardbirds, which launched leading guitarists Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page to fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Dreja</span> English guitarist

Christopher Walenty Dreja is an English musician, best known as the rhythm guitarist and bassist for rock band the Yardbirds for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Happenings Ten Years Time Ago</span> 1966 song by the Yardbirds

"Happenings Ten Years Time Ago" is a song by the English rock group the Yardbirds. Written and recorded in 1966, it is considered one of their most progressive works. The song was the group's first to feature the dual-lead guitar line-up of Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page. The two contribute an array of guitar parts during the instrumental sections, described as "a full-on six-string apocalypse". Lyrically, it deals with notions of past life and déjà vu.

<i>Birdland</i> (The Yardbirds album) 2003 studio album by the Yardbirds

Birdland is a studio album by the reconstituted English rock group the Yardbirds, which was released in 2003, and the band's fifth studio album overall. Original drummer Jim McCarty and rhythm guitarist Chris Dreja reformed the group in 1994 and, for the album, the Yardbirds lineup included lead singer and bassist John Idan, lead guitarist Gypie Mayo, and harmonica player Alan Glen. The album features contributions by several guests, including Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Slash, Brian May, and original group guitarist Jeff Beck.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shapes of Things</span> Song first recorded by the Yardbirds in 1966

"Shapes of Things" is a song by the English rock group the Yardbirds. With its Eastern-sounding, feedback-laden guitar solo and environmentalist, anti-war lyrics, several music writers have identified it as the first popular psychedelic rock song. It is built on musical elements contributed by several group members in three different recording studios in the US, and was the first Yardbirds composition to become a record chart hit; when released as a single on 25 February 1966, the song reached number three in the UK and number eleven in the US.

<i>Live Yardbirds: Featuring Jimmy Page</i> 1971 live album by the Yardbirds

Live Yardbirds: Featuring Jimmy Page is a live album by English rock group the Yardbirds. It was recorded at the Anderson Theatre in New York City on 30 March 1968. At the time, the Yardbirds had been performing as a quartet with Jimmy Page on lead guitar since October 1966.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim McCarty</span> English drummer

James Stanley McCarty is an English musician, best known as the drummer for the Yardbirds and Renaissance. Following Chris Dreja's departure from the Yardbirds in 2013, McCarty became the only founding member to still tour in the band. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 as a member of the Yardbirds.

<i>Ultimate!</i> 2001 compilation album of 1963–1968 songs by the Yardbirds

Ultimate! is a comprehensive career retrospective album by English rock group the Yardbirds. The 52-song two–compact disc compilation was released in 2001 by Rhino Records. The tracks span the period from the group's first demo recordings in 1963 to the last singles in 1968. They include all 17 of the group's singles, both A-side and B-sides, supplemented with more than a dozen album tracks, their performance for the film Blow-Up, and three early solo numbers by singer Keith Relf.

Anthony "Top" Topham was an English musician and visual artist who was best known as a blues guitarist and also for being the first lead guitarist of The Yardbirds. Topham left the band before they achieved mainstream popularity and was replaced by Eric Clapton, the first of three lead guitarists from the Yardbirds to gain an international reputation.

<i>Live! Blueswailing July 64</i> 2003 live album by the Yardbirds

Live! Blueswailing July '64 is a live album by English rock group the Yardbirds. The recordings were discovered in 2003 and when the album was released that year, the date and location of the performance was uncertain. However, it since has been determined that it was recorded at the Marquee Club in London on 7 August 1964. As with the group's British debut album it contains some of the earliest live recordings with guitarist Eric Clapton.

<i>Blow-Up</i> (soundtrack) 1967 soundtrack album by Herbie Hancock and the Yardbirds

Blow-Up is a soundtrack album by American jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, featuring music composed for Michelangelo Antonioni's 1966 film Blowup. MGM Records released the album in the United States on 20 February 1967, and in the United Kingdom on 10 May. The album features performances by Hancock, trumpeters Freddie Hubbard and Joe Newman, alto saxophonist Phil Woods, tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, guitarist Jim Hall, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Jack DeJohnette. Although Jimmy Smith is credited with playing organ on the album, some sources claim it was actually Paul Griffin who was at the sessions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Yardbirds</span> English blues and psychedelic rock band

The Yardbirds are an English rock band, formed in London in 1963. The band started the careers of three of rock's most famous guitarists: Eric Clapton (1963–1965), Jeff Beck (1965–1966) and Jimmy Page (1966–1968), all of whom ranked in the top five of Rolling Stone magazine's list of 100 greatest guitarists. The band's other members during 1963–1968 were vocalist/harmonica player Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty, rhythm guitarist Chris Dreja, and bassist Paul Samwell-Smith, with Dreja switching to bass when Samwell-Smith departed in 1966. The band had a string of hits throughout the mid-1960s, including "For Your Love", "Heart Full of Soul", "Shapes of Things", and "Over Under Sideways Down".

<i>Glimpses 1963–1968</i> 2011 compilation album by the Yardbirds

Glimpses 1963–1968 is a 5-CD compilation boxed set by English rock group the Yardbirds. It contains various live and demo recordings interspersed with interviews with group members. Released on 5 December 2011 by Easy Action Recordings, the album was compiled by group biographer Greg Russo with the Yardbirds' approval.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. pp. 170/1. ISBN   1-85227-745-9.
  2. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Box of Frogs/Strange Land – Review". AllMusic . Archived from the original on 26 July 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  3. Box Of Frogs - Box Of Frogs, archived from the original on 13 September 2022, retrieved 13 September 2022