On her ’69 sophomore longplayer, Dana takes over the songwriting credits, taking full advantage of it. With Savoy Brown behind her, and Mike Vernon in the producer’s chair, one would guess that the result must’ve been as blue as blues can get, while it’s just as stylistically varied as Foolish Seasons.
With the above personnel made obvious only by the title tune, there’s also at least two tracks (Like I’m A Clown, I Was A Book) worthy of the mod-stompin’ shoulda-been-a-hit tag , already stuck firmly onto previous year’s You Just Gotta Know My Mind.
She revisits the acid folk of the debut LP’s title tune, and gets even moodier with the pair of ballads recalling The Zombies (When Darkness Fell), or The Swinging Blue Jeans’ take on You’re No Good with and additional Eastern touch to it (I Would Cry).
As a bonus, we get four sides of pre-debut singles, of which Page’s freaked-out fuzz solo in ‘65’s Thank You Boy makes the addition worthwhile on it’s own.
by Garwood Pickjon
Tracks
1. Box of Surprises - 4:26
2. Like I'm a Clown - 2:16
3. Taffy - 3:13
4. When Darkness Fell - 4:21
5. For David, The Nest Day - 4:29
6. If You're Dreaming - 2:13
7. Foolish Seasons - 2:30
8. Grecian Ode - 3:34
9. By Chasing Dreams - 3:06
10.I Was a Book - 2:03
11.Describing You - 3:04
12.I Would Cry - 4:41
13.Thank You Boy (Barry Mason, John Carter, Ken Lewis) - 2:05
14.You're a Heartbreak Man - 2:20
15.Pay You Back With Interest (Allan Clarke, Graham Nash, Tony Hicks) - 2:50
16.Adam Can You Beat That - 1:53
All compositions by Dana Gillespie except where stated
Musicians
*Dana Gillespie - Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards
*Chris Youlden - Guitar, Piano, Vocals
*Lonesome Dave Peverett - Guitar, Vocals
*Kim Simmonds - Guitar, Harmonica, Piano
*Bob Hall - Piano
*Rivers Jobe - Bass
*Tony Stevens - Bass, Percussion
*Roger Earl - Percussion, Drums
*Jimmy Page - Guitar (Track 13)