Box of Frogs/Strangeland [PA] (CD - 1996)

Box Of Frogs: John Fiddler (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, synthesizer, percussion); Chris Dreja (guitar, percussion, background vocals); Paul Samwell-Smith (synthesizer, bass, percussion, background vocals); Jim McCarty (drums, percussion, background vocals).

Additional personnel: Ian Dury, Graham Parker, Roger Chapman (vocals); Jimmy Page, John Knightsbridge, Steve Hackett, Jeff Beck (guitar); Dzal Martin (electric & slide guitars); Rory Gallagher (electric & slide guitars, acoustic & electric sitars); Ray Majors (guitar, percussion, background vocals); Mark Feltham (harmonica); Guy Barker (trumpet); Geraint Watkins (piano); Peter-John Vettesse (piano, keyboards, synthesizer); David Clayton, Max Middleton (keyboards, synthesizer); Neil Lockwood, Julie Roberts, Carroll Thompson (background vocals).

Engineers: Max Norman, Jeremy Allom, Louis Austin, Stephen Street, Gary Edwards, Simon Hanhart.

Originally released as 2 separate LPs. BOX OF FROGS was released in 1984. STRANGE LAND was released in 1986.

Box of Frogs: John Fiddler (vocals, guitar, synthesizer, percussion, background vocals); Chris Dreja, Dzal Martin (guitar, percussion, background vocals); Jim McCarty (keyboards, drum, percussion, background vocals); Paul Samwell-Smith (synthesizer, bass instrument, percussion, background vocals).

Audio Mixer: Gary Edwards.

Box of Frogs' two albums, Box of Frogs and Strange Land, were reissued on a single disc by Renaissance Records in 1996. 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. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine minimize