ALL THE TIME, ALL THE TIME, ALL THE TIME

I was in Grade 9 when this album came out, and it changed my life in how I listened to music. Thinking back about what I grew up listening to at that point in my life, it was Mike Oldfield from my mother's collection and Rush, Saga, Asia, Rainbow, Genesis and various New Wave bands from my older brothers. The Box's _All The Time, All The Time, All The Time..._ was something entirely different to these ears. The Box is one of those bands you just can't pigeonhole. Too progressive by New Wave standards, but neither symphonic or too avant garde to be considered a prog.rock band. Sure there's plenty of synthesizers here, but they sound neither '80s, '70s or '60s for that matter. It's hard for me to realize that this album came out almost 25 years ago. It sounds as fresh as it did in 1985. All I can say is that this album is full of amazing songwriting that got me through some alienating times as a teenager in the '80s. Right from the opening notes of _Remnants_, you know you're into something special. One of the finest examples of space since the rhoades piano, it begins with what might sound like a reverbed fretless bass and a low end moog. Confuses me to this day. Just amazing. Bark Psychosis, The Sea And Cake, Disco Inferno, Talk Talk and many post rock bands could've been influenced by these guys had they heard of them(they were really only known in Canada...mostly Quebec, Ontario and The Maritimes). Jean-Marc Pisapia, if I could compare his vocal style to anyone it would be that of Chris Thomson of the band CAFE JACQUES(another band that many here have not heard of). Points of reference and appeal factor to prog.rock listeners would be the stranger side of Supertramp, the flighty side of Split Enz and the spacey side of The Police. Two tracks from this album made it to the radio..._My Dreams Of You_ with it's crafty keyboard programming and the classic _L'affaire Dumoutier(Say To Me)_ which is a creepy story about the murder of Elizabeth Dumoutier where the culprit is deamed not guilty due to insanity. It's a storytelling tune, sort of a New Wave version of Rush's _The Necromancer_ in approach. Both of Canada's official languages of English and Francais are used to great effect here. The accompanying video was a real sight to behold - a man walking in the middle of the road balancing himself on the yellow line(i.e. the tightrope of insanity). One of the flightiest and strangest tunes I'd heard this side of Barclay James Harvest's _Suicide_ from OCTOBERON. The chorus (Say To Me) will have you repeating it in your head days/weeks after hearing it. This is a masterpiece of progressive pop/rock thrown in with the likes of 10cc and Split Enz. THE BOX never recorded another album like it.