Just got The Yellow Box and color me impressed!

[arabicadabra]

Due to an extremely slow download speed on my internet connection for almost a year or more, I had made 12 attempts to download the debut album by The Yellow Box and always the dang connection timed out. Having specifically bought an iTunes card for that purpose, I was not going to download it from Amazon if I could help it.

About a week ago, success! And I expected this to be really good but I'm enjoying it a LOT. I've only heard it a few times so my crazy reviews will have to wait a little bit, but my early listens bring to mind EGG on a bit of speed or a "what if Geddy Lee had been the L in ELP?"

I searched for a thread here but found none, so I ask: anybody else got this? What do you think?

[aith01]

Well color me intrigued! I'm checking this out now at work, and it's sounding promising.

[Scott Bails]

Bandcamp link, for those interested. Checking it out now.

[Steve F.]

They played NFest?

[kenschwartz]

They played NFest?

After party band final year

[Splicer]

Playing is decent and the instrumental sections are pleasant enough. I have a few issues with the sound choices on the keyboards - some of them sound a bit generic. The piano is nice. Overall I'd say on the bass and drums side, they are very reminiscent of Rush. The singing leaves a little to be desired for me especially when it attempts Geddy Lee-ish histrionics. He just can't pull them off and sounds like he's straining and drifts off the notes he should be singing. When he sings in what I would consider his comfort zone, he's a good singer.

Comfort Prog is where I'd categorize this for me.

[arabicadabra]

"Comfort Prog" makes me smile. For me, the organ sound just brings Egg to mind, which IS very warm and comforting to me, but the tunes are more energetic than most of the Egg music I know.

[Splicer]

"Comfort Prog" makes me smile. For me, the organ sound just brings Egg to mind, which IS very warm and comforting to me, but the tunes are more energetic than most of the Egg music I know.

I've always defined Dave Stewart's style as "laid-back noodling". It's unique and interesting but not aggressive. It wants to be co-equal with the other instruments rather than out-front.

[Steve F.]

I've always defined Dave Stewart's style as "laid-back noodling". It's unique and interesting but not aggressive. It wants to be co-equal with the other instruments rather than out-front.

Really?

[MJBrady]

Well, well, not to offend or derail, but that Egg song brings the PROG quotient up significantly from the Yellow Box. But than again, it's Egg!
When does the "laid-back noodling" start?!?

[Prehensile Pencil]

Aside from the instrumentation, I personally don't hear much correlation to Egg, or ELP, for that matter. But, that's what makes this interesting:

The playing is WAY slick; the chops are from on high... Excellent drumming & bass work, especially. And, overall the composing works well.

But, to me, the SOUND is TOO CLEAN. You could sterilize an Operating Theatre with this. When crash cymbals specify the extent of the stereo spectrum, to my ears, everything else sounds sorta puny.

That being said, if this is truly a "band", they, or he/ she kick some major ass, and made me re-think some things... Cool congratulations to them
on a job done good.

[Prehensile Pencil]

Musta taken hours to draw the flex-points for the E Piano panning. I'm in, I'm a fan.....

[Splicer]

Really?

OK, I stand corrected. There is never any laid back noodling.

I also want to make it perfectly clear that my original remarks about The Yellow Box were filtered through the fact that I was trying to be as nice as I could about something that I might listen to once and never again. Honestly, I'm glad I didn't buy it.

[arabicadabra]

It's funny, I don't hear the Rush influence so much. I mean, the drummer exhibits serious snare chops in the first one third of the opening track but nothing specifically leaping out as a Rush type section. Perhaps the vocal sound?

[paythesnuka]

One of my favorite releases of the year. Being friends with the band members, I heard for years that they were working on it. It was like waiting for the next Peter Gabriel or Boston record. Finally, it was finished. And it was definitely worth the wait.

I think the Rush connection may be from Charlie's vocals.

[ytserush]

Due to an extremely slow download speed on my internet connection for almost a year or more, I had made 12 attempts to download the debut album by The Yellow Box and always the dang connection timed out. Having specifically bought an iTunes card for that purpose, I was not going to download it from Amazon if I could help it.

About a week ago, success! And I expected this to be really good but I'm enjoying it a LOT. I've only heard it a few times so my crazy reviews will have to wait a little bit, but my early listens bring to mind EGG on a bit of speed or a "what if Geddy Lee had been the L in ELP?"

I searched for a thread here but found none, so I ask: anybody else got this? What do you think?

You have my attention.

[Chris]

Hi everybody. I just want to say thanks for the interest in our album! Let me know if you have any questions. And by the way, as to the Geddy Lee comment, I did use his signature model Fender on three of the tracks, so maybe there's something to it! :)

[arabicadabra]

Yeah, Chris, could you describe the writing process for me? For all the proggy flavors I hear (Egg, ELP, etc.), I also think I hear some Elton John influence (i.e., the bridge in A Song For Traveller) and some other classic rock flavors. Do most of the songs start from the keys?

[Chris]

Yeah, Chris, could you describe the writing process for me? For all the proggy flavors I hear (Egg, ELP, etc.), I also think I hear some Elton John influence (i.e., the bridge in A Song For Traveller) and some other classic rock flavors. Do most of the songs start from the keys?

Some of the songs on the album started with keys, but there are some that started with a bass line or a Stick part. It's always interesting, for each of us, to have an idea where a part is going to go, and then hear the totally unexpected direction that the other person takes it. Sometimes, rather than adding a part per se, one of us will add an arrangement -- for instance, the Minimoog solo section in track 1 is all Charlie's doing, but I suggested we cut everything out before the downbeat at 8:40 and start the dreary piano part that Charlie already had written. It's a back and forth kind of thing. Rich adds a lot of those ideas, too, since he isn't playing a melodic instrument.

As for influences, we all listen to and are influenced by so much stuff that it's hard to tell what comes from where. I clearly have a lot of Geddy Lee and Chris Squire in my playing, but you'll hear some other stuff come through here and there as well, like Steve Harris or Paul McCartney. Charlie is a huge Keith Emerson fan, but he also took lessons and learned how to play classical stuff as a kid, and I know that every now and then he draws from that stuff. The hope, for us, is that there's very little of "oh, that part sounds like Yes", and that we've blended our influences enough so that it just kind of sounds like us.