Pandora's Box (band)

Last updated
Pandora's Box
Origin New York City, New York, United States
Genres Pop
Years active1989–1990
Labels Virgin
MembersElaine Caswell
Ellen Foley
Gina Taylor
Deliria Wilde
Jim Steinman

Pandora's Box was a female pop group, assembled by Jim Steinman in the 1980s. [1] Some of its members had previously worked with Steinman, in the ensemble Fire Inc., on the album Bat Out of Hell , on live shows and on other studio recordings. They produced one concept album, Original Sin , released in 1989. [1]

Contents

Line-up

The listed members, whose photos were put on the album, were Elaine Caswell, Ellen Foley, Gina Taylor, Deliria Wilde and Jim Steinman, who was listed as a keyboardist. [1] The album credits two more artists with lead vocals on songs: Laura Theodore and Holly Sherwood. Additionally, backing vocals were performed by Rory Dodd, Eric Troyer and Todd Rundgren.

Foley had worked with Steinman on Bat Out of Hell and Neverland. Holly Sherwood was a member of his group Fire Inc. Caswell has worked with Steinman on many projects, including The Dream Engine. In 2005 and 2006, she performed "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" at shows called Over the Top and The Dream Engine, respectively, at Joe's Pub in New York City. [2]

Gina Taylor is also known as Gina Taylor Pickens, and was previously a stage actress off-Broadway and member of the band Musique. She previously worked with Steinman as part of the background vocals on the track "This Corrosion" by the Sisters of Mercy. [3]

Jim Steinman said that Pandora's box was one of his favorite mythologies. [4]

Elaine Caswell stated in interview (in 2018) that Pandora's Box was "four women; three that existed and [...] Deliria Wilde who was somewhat mythical, someone [Steinman] kind of created". [5]

Discography

Albums

List of albums, with selected chart positions
TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart
positions
AUS
[6]
SWE
[7]
Original Sin
  • Released: 1989
  • Format: CD
  • Label: Virgin
12743

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions
TitleYearChart positionsAlbum
AUS
[6]
UK
[8]
"It's All Coming Back to Me Now"198913351Original Sin
"Good Girls Go to Heaven (Bad Girls Go Everywhere)"1990100
"Safe Sex (When It Comes 2 Loving U)"

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<i>Wuthering Heights</i> (2003 film) 2003 film directed by Suri Krishnamma

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<i>Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose</i> 2006 studio album by Meat Loaf

Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose is the ninth studio album by Meat Loaf, and the third and final album in the Bat Out of Hell trilogy. It was released in Ireland on October 20, 2006, 29 years after Bat Out of Hell (1977), and 13 years after Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell (1993). It was released in the UK on October 23, 2006, and in the US on October 31, 2006.

The Dream Engine is the name of a music performance group created by Jim Steinman and Steven Rinkoff, first publicly presented in 2006. They only performed songs written or co-written by Steinman. TDE did live performances, and worked on studio recordings.

"It's All Coming Back to Me Now" is a power ballad written by Jim Steinman. According to Steinman, the song was inspired by Wuthering Heights, and was an attempt to write "the most passionate, romantic song" he could ever create. The Sunday Times posits that "Steinman protects his songs as if they were his children". Meat Loaf, who had collaborated with Steinman on most of his hit songs, had wanted to record the song for years, but Steinman refused, saying he saw it as a "woman's song". Steinman won a court case, which prevented Meat Loaf from recording it. Girl group Pandora's Box went on to record it, and it was subsequently made famous through a cover by Celine Dion, which upset Meat Loaf because he was going to use it for a planned album with the working title Bat Out of Hell III.

<i>Original Sin</i> (Pandoras Box album) 1989 studio album by Pandoras Box

Original Sin is a concept album performed by Pandora's Box and produced by Jim Steinman. It was released on November 6, 1989. Steinman wrote the majority of this album, although there are a couple of cover versions. It was the group's only album, and was a commercial flop.

<i>Hits Out of Hell</i>

Hits Out of Hell is a 1985 compilation album by Meat Loaf. It comprises seven Jim Steinman songs. The original release also contained the hit "Modern Girl" from Bad Attitude, which came out at about the same time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth</span> 1977 single by Meat Loaf

"You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth" (also known as "You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)") is the first solo single by the American singer Meat Loaf, released in 1977. It is a track from his album Bat Out of Hell, written by Jim Steinman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Original Sin (Taylor Dayne song)</span> Taylor Dayne single

"Original Sin" is a song produced, written and arranged by Jim Steinman. Steinman originally wrote, composed, and produced the song for the album of the same name by the musical team called Pandora's Box. American singer Taylor Dayne covered the song, and it was released as a single on June 26, 1994, and included in the soundtrack to the film The Shadow. The photograph displayed on the cover of Dayne's single was shot by Alberto Tolot, taken on the set of its music video. This version of the song has slightly altered lyrics referring to the themes of the movie different from the ones sung by Meat Loaf on Welcome to the Neighborhood and Pandora's Box.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through</span> 1981 single by Jim Steinman

"Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through" is a song written by American composer Jim Steinman. It was first featured on Steinman's 1981 solo album Bad for Good, with lead vocals by an uncredited Rory Dodd. It was later recorded by American singer Meat Loaf and released in 1994 as the third single from the album Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell.

"Good Girls Go to Heaven (Bad Girls Go Everywhere)" is a song written by Jim Steinman. It was first performed by Megumi Shiina as "Kanashimi Wa Tsudzukanai" (悲しみは続かない, lit. "sadness doesn't last") and used as the opening to the 1986 Japanese TV drama Kono Ko Dare no Ko? The song was first performed in English by Pandora's Box, on their 1989 album, Original Sin, with Holly Sherwood singing lead vocals.

<i>Braver Than We Are</i> 2016 studio album by Meat Loaf

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Colin Larkin, ed. (1995). The Guinness Who's Who of Heavy Metal (Second ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 268. ISBN   0-85112-656-1.
  2. Diamond, Robert. "The Dream Engine Rocks Joe's Pub". Broadwayworld.com. Retrieved September 8, 2006.
  3. "Sisters - slightly less boring FAQ". Thesistersofmercy.com. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  4. Jim Steinman Opens Pandora's Box Virgin Records, available on Original Sin 2006 Special Edition
  5. "Rockonomics Podcast: E34 - Elaine Caswell - Songstress". Archived from the original on September 4, 2018. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  6. 1 2 "Pandora's Box ARIA chart history, received from ARIA in May 2024". ARIA. Retrieved July 14, 2024 via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
  7. "Pandora's Box in Swedish Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
  8. "Official Charts > Pandora's Box". Official Charts Company . Retrieved July 18, 2024.