Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Box of Frogs: "Back Where I Started" (1984)

This is a story about a potential super-group that simply went away.
In the mid-1980's, some of the founding members of the iconic Yardbirds got together and did some live dates. These former band mates included rhythm guitarist Chris Dreja (who also played bass),bassist Paul Samwell-Smith, and drummer Jim McCarty, who also founded with another former Yardbird, (Keith Relf) the dreamy progressive rock group Renaissance.

The live dates went very well and they formed Box of Frogs to record an album. This self titled effor featured John Fiddler on lead vocals (former Yardbird Relf electrocuted himself in 1976 by playing an ungrounded guitar) and help from another former Yardbird Jeff Beck, as well as Rory Gallagher.

The first track, "Back Where I Started" did well and cracked the top 10 in the U.S. The album became a hit on college campuses and there was great demand for a tour. Apparently three of the members did not want to tour and that was that. Reportedly, Jeff Beck was so upset he quit and refused to play on the second album, Strange Land. This second effort did not do as well and the band broke up shortly thereafter.

It occurs to me, after watching the video a time or two, that the plot is all about getting the band back together.

The Yardbirds tour in a different configuration today and "Back Where I Started" is part of their set list.




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