Oh, Corey Hart. YouÁ¢€â„¢re trying so hard to say something meaningful and deep here, but weÁ¢€â„¢ll be damned if we know what youÁ¢€â„¢re on about. Is it about James Dean, as you claimed in many an interview? Or is it just a bunch of random rhymes that sounded good at the time? Á¢€the wolf cried Á¢€ËœfoxÁ¢€â„¢ to the boy in the boxÁ¢€¦Á¢€ Really? YouÁ¢€â„¢re gonna go with that one? YÁ¢€â„¢sure, hun? Okay.
A graduate of the Simon Le Bon School of Lyrics, Corey Hart began his questionably poetic career with the equally bewildering Á¢€Å“Sunglasses at NightÁ¢€. See, he wears Á¢€Ëœem in the dark so he can Á¢€Å“weave and breathe your storylineÁ¢€. Or something. While lyrically lacking, Hart could definitely whip up a hook, evidenced by Á¢€Å“SunglassesÁ¢€, and his second albumÁ¢€â„¢s smash single Á¢€Å“Never SurrenderÁ¢€ (which kinda takes an Elmer Fudd sheen with his delivery, Á¢€Å“nevah suwwendahhhhh!Á¢€).
Oh, Canada, so much to answer for…
After Á¢€Å“Never SurrenderÁ¢€ hit #3, the albumÁ¢€â„¢s title track, Á¢€Å“Boy In The BoxÁ¢€, was up next, a dancey time capsule that sums up 1985 pretty neatly; obtuse lyrics, fake, compressed drums with a snare that sounds like someone spanking a thawed turkey with a ping pong paddle, and that annoying little orchestral sting that was in every third song released that year. The 12Á¢€ version takes it to even more ludicrous levels. But ya know what?
I still like it. When the “one, two / you can’t get enough” of the chorus hits, I’m right there.
Á¢€can you see me from outside? / can you hear me from outside?Á¢€ Uh, no dude, youÁ¢€â„¢re IN A BOX.
“Boy In The Box” is out of print, but Amazon has an import and used copies for sale.
Á¢€Boy In The BoxÁ¢€ peaked at #26 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #19 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.
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