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THE BOX

The Box

Crossover Prog


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Gooner
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars The precursor to The Box masterpiece _All The Time, All The Time, All The Time..._. Pretty much an album of ideas in progress. The unique sound of The Box is already in play, however. The spacey keyboards, the excellent lyrics of Jean-Marc Pisapia. All tracks have a drum machine, though, which was corrected on _All The Time_ with a live drummer. Guy Florent has to be one of the most underrated guitarists. He has a great knack at using space and picking just the right notes. Never too many notes, always the right ones. This album is a great companion piece to _All The Time_, sounding like a progressive version of MEN WITHOUT HATS at times. Would appeal to fans of the more creative New Wave bands such as Comsat Angels, China Crisis and Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark(OMD). _Live On T.V._ is their first classic. An observation of real time news where _you can watch them die_(sort of an omen to youtube news and eyewitness cellphone reports). _Dancing On The Grave_ is another interesting one where they mention doing as such on the grave of rock & roll. _Quand Le Roy_ is their first mini stab at prog.rock which was a fan favourite in Quebec. Did I mention post rock in the same sentence as The Box? Not your average New Wave band. 3.5 stars for a promising debut.
Report this review (#206762)
Posted Thursday, March 12, 2009 | Review Permalink
b_olariu
PROG REVIEWER
5 stars Finaly I got the chance to see this band added here . This is real classic art pop music of the highest calibre. I know this band from 2001, while I discovered at some friend of mine who was simply nuts about them and have all their albums. After some spins at his home , this first album and aswell the second one, I was very pleased impressed, really, great musichianship and excellent ideas. Because I never review an album that I don't own no matter if I knew the album and is here, this month I decided to buy both first two classics of The Box from amazon (canadian one) at a special price in digi pack format, released at Unidisc. The box was released in 1984 and was a succes both comercial and musicaly. Being more than a pop band from mid '80's , The Box manage to creat something than stood the test of time very well. Best I describe their music is art pop, because they were better and more inventive than many pop bands around in that period, including great key passages, catchy and very intristing arrangements on guitar. Another thing that must be mentioned is the voice of Jean-Marc Pisapia, brilliant voice for this kind of music, great range, smooth and elegant all the way, love this guy voice. All the musicians doing on this album waht they know best, they never try to sound to pretentios , always great and damn intristing. Like the previous reviewer said , sometimes The Box are a more complicated version of Mens Without Hats (another canadian pop band from '80's). Maybe to some of you this is another New Wave band with a more captivating sound then the average one's, but to me is a great band who releases, at least the first two albums in a period when prog music was almost dead, only some bands were here and there trying to keep the flag high.They gain very much succes , specially in their native country Canada, but also in Europe they were quite know, sold from the first two records more than 400.000 copies worldwide. The best pieces are: Must I Always Remember, Dancing on the Grave, War Going On and the last one Checkmate/Quand Le Roy, the rest are also great. The Box always sound to popy to usual prog listner and to polished to pop listner, they were in between and manage to creat something valueble, and very intristing, at least for me, after 25 years of the first release. The lyrics are quite intristing specially on Dancing on the grave and Walk Away. So, finaly a very pleasent album, who has a special place in my collection along with the next one All time, all time, all time. I simply love their music, th is first album and their second remains two of my fav album ever in music, not very complicated, not easy listning. 5 star for sure, while is not a masterpice of prog music or in progressive terms, is a masterpice in music in general and is a good example of great and timeless album. Recommended to those who prefer at some point Peter Gabriel (solo albums, So era), Talk Talk, etc and for those who want to listen something else in art pop, and I mean not an average band from mid '80's. The cover art is aswell very intristing and fits like glove with the music. Is a painting made by the canadian artist Richard Hetu.
Report this review (#209469)
Posted Wednesday, April 1, 2009 | Review Permalink
Peter
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
3 stars Quebec's The Box's eponymous 1984 debut is by no means "progressive rock," but it is very likeable, often danceable and always intelligent. Keyboards, solid bass lines, a perhaps too-precise drum machine, and the thoughtful lyrics and winsome, Franco-everyman vocals of band leader Jean Marc are the mainstays, and make THE BOX an engaging slice of 80s pop which has aged very well.

Catchy, up-tempo songs such as "Weekend" and "Checkmate/Quand Le Roy" immediately caught my appreciative ears when I first heard them on Canadian public radio back in 1984, and I fondly return to them again and again, to this day. Other standout tracks include the poignant and lovely "War Going On," and "Walk Away," with its infectious guitar hook and lyrics of a weary office worker daydreaming wistfully of "an open field, in October, when the wind turns the sky to grey." "Great Summer Fair" is a haunting, nostalgic vignette from childhood, where the horses of a fair's merry-go-round "tortured by their slavery, condemned to run in circles" offer intimations of the regimented adult life that waits to stifle the wondering spirit of the child. (Jean Marc would revisit childhood and the loss of its innocence repeatedly is in his lyrics, a theme which will resonate with many adult listeners.)

THE BOX is a solid album of polished, feel-good 80s music that yet has considerable depth. It remains very dear to me. Music fans whose tastes extend to clever, well-crafted pop could do far worse than this fine disc. It's somewhere between quite good and excellent, and thus in the 3.25 - 3.49 star range.

Report this review (#276833)
Posted Thursday, April 8, 2010 | Review Permalink

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