Richard Knight, Jr. – Time Box (Album Review)

Time Box is the most recent record released by the incredibly prolific and versatile singer songwriter, Richard Knight Jr. Aptly named, Time Box offers a generous selection of 18 songs, arranged by a rough era in which the production has been tailored to suit the aesthetic of. The record covers sounds synonymous with the decades over a 100 year period. That’s quite a depth of musical knowledge to display!

This record shows an incredible degree of compositional versatility and music knowledge.

The Opening track is right up to date: a 2020-inspired song called ‘Youd better go’. This has a nice funky disco/dance feel, but the double vocals plate reverb feels more 1970’s, and the composition could work as well as a pop song from the 90s. The fact that all the tracks are labelled according to decade is both a strength and a weakness: it offers a point of argument/ analysis, production-wise, which might start to distract from what is incredibly mature and intelligent songwriting.  Here, we’ve not quite got the 2020’s vocal nailed: where intimate, breathy, authentic vocals are always super front in the mix. A little more study of Sam Smiths ‘Dancing with a Stranger’ might help with the execution of this track. This is a really enjoyable song that keeps interest, but respects simplicity still. The noughties aren’t Richard Knight Jr’s strongest era, but he has ordered it so to keep chronology.

Next is ‘Love is a speeding train’ hailing from 2010, but some elements of this track could work as well from the 80’s, particularly the processed drum sound and the vocal melody which sounds like it would be perfect in a Pet Shop Boys track. Richard Knight Jr shows good creativity in production by using the long tail reverse vocals and some really effective midi elements. It misses the grit, distortion and sonic spread of the EDM synth-pop a ’la Art Pop of Lady Gaga, but instead shows incredibly strong songwriting and production in its own right. As with all Time Box songs, the endings are phenomenally well thought through and delivered.

Third is ‘Love is Love’ which opens with a beautiful duet of vocals over a solo acoustic piano. The track then turns into an electronic dance/party track: offering a good bit of drama and twists in this record. Kudos for the song’s concept, and getting a selection of friends, allies and supporters of LGBTQ+AI to sing on this. The message really hits harder as a result: this song is a vehicle for acceptance, via a universally accessible format: song. The changing vocals and the message giving vibes of the 1997 BBC cover of Perfect Day (Various Artists). A catchy, strong song.

Next, we move to the 1990s Grunge era with a track called ‘Golden’. This really is an impressive track, showcasing how Richard Knight Jr can utilise different production techniques and instrumentation to best effect. Putting the decade aside, this song has outstanding backing vocals and violin parts. I don’t think it fully delivers that 90’s ‘Band’ feel (panning to reflect stage positioning, ‘live’ amp sounds, 5-7 instrument parts audible would have helped) and the vocals are way too back in the mix. However, we are treated to an amazing vocal range performance here, and full drama, again rounded off with a confident ending.

Time Box then offers two 80s-inspired tracks, ‘On (Time Box Mix)’, which is a more Pet Shop Boys/Human League pop number, and then ‘My Dreams’, which has more soft-core 80’s rock-Ballad. Both tracks utilise appropriate 80’s production technique, and Richard Knight’s vocal naturally works well with this style and era. ‘On (Time Box Mix)’ offers a more raw sounding vocal at times, and there are points for both 80’s replication, and originality in composition, particularly in moving between major/minor chords.  The second 80’s offering is ‘My Dreams’: with flange guitars and really enjoyable percussive elements that give that Wave Funk feel/pop of the ‘Then Jericho’ era. The vocal tone really works with the wetter reverb. This is a more mid-tempo feel, but still offers a chorus that really elevates. With a beautiful electric guitar solo, this is one of the strongest tracks on the record.

Time Box then dishes up three 1970s-inspired tracks: ‘I’d Like to Rest’ (Time Box Mix) with a 70s disco production starts. The arrangement skill really starts to creep up through the record as the decades step down, and this track offers lush orchestral hits and trumpet pushes that elevate these songs beyond a standard pop hit. All three 70s’ songs feature diverse elements of the decade, but their defining feature is really full, sophisticated, layered production that pulls on creative instrumentation, and strong vocal melody driven sections. Custody Battle is one of the more unusual tracks (slightly David Bowie-like in experimentation), but thanks to its catchy chorus and intuitive prosody, listeners will easily remember this track. The final track of the 70’s is ‘Imagine me and Marcus’ which is a personal favourite. Opening with a 10cc vocal feathering, Knight’s vocal line feels sincere and gives vibes of Billy Joel. The vocal delivery is spot on 70’s and the hard panned acoustic guitar really gives that mono-feel.

The next three tracks are arguably the best of the whole record: there is something hard to capture in 1960’s music, but these tracks offer the glamour of a 1960’s era in a casino in Las Vegas: big band with sophisticated strings, soaring flutes, smooth saxophones. It’s very heavy eyeliner and hairspray. ‘Candy Hearts and Choc’late Dreams’ has a bit of a Cliff Richard feel to it with innocent lyrics to suit. It’s a giddy samba inspired pop number that feels very family-friendly, with a noteworthy ending. ‘Bird of Paradise’ is the strongest number, a slow, sumptuous Bossa Nova offering faultless arrangement to evoke a dreaminess by a bygone glamour. Finally ‘Haunted Love’ is a more ballad style delivery, where a more brassy crooning voice might suit the vocal melody more. However, the whispered ending resolves a less strong vocal line, and the instrumentation of piano and strings gently coaxes the vocal melody forwards beautifully. People don’t make music like this anymore…..its utterly magical to see such dedicated craftsmanship to the 60’s.

Heading further back, we have a 50’s number, which turns away from the 60’s glamour to an edgier jazz feel. Knight has shown us his skills in pop, big band, and the rest of the record demonstrates his jazz knowledge, which was gained earlier in his career. The result is potentially a less mature songwriting style (less well-developed prosody) but increasing musical complexity and skill. Both ‘Life Walks the Edge (Time Box Mix)’ and ‘Buzzy Reed, Noir Detective’ are wonderful scores to a film noir yet to be written. Both offer compositional choices to create tension and urgency, with incredible arrangements. ‘‘Life Walks the Edge (Time Box Mix)’ offers a story-led vocal line, and ‘Buzzy Reed, Noir Detective’ is an instrumental piece. Knight again shows he can compose instrumental pieces with relish: ‘Buzzy Reed’ in particular lumbers through dark, complex chords, with lyrical melodic lines that skitter, sneak and slither through the track in perfect personification of a shadowy figure. Ideally placed without a vocal line at this point in the album.

Still in the 40’s, next is ‘You are Music’. This big band number feels a little underdeveloped in production, and stylistically could be 40’s or 50’s. Again, it would sound fantastic with big polished crooning vocal, full vibrato and rounded tone.

We move finally to the 30’s and 20’s. It’s some of the earliest written material by Knight Jr, and I think this shows. Production is appropriate and evocative, but the songs are overall less strong. ‘Over and Done’ has a wonderful clarinet arrangement, ‘Cookin up the Blues’ has a cabaret feel to it, but it’s a little less worked up in sound than it could be. The track that really pulls it off is ‘And Now the Music Begins’, which begins with a lovely opening with warm vinyl crackle, and the entire track has a wonderful filter over it to add cinematic drama to the ¾ timing. This track feels distant and otherworldly, certainly the production feels correct for gramophone listening, with the orchestration very low in the mix, reflecting the original wax-cylinder reel recording process. A short track, rounding the album off nicely.  

Overall, this is a mind-blowing display of songwriting prowess and mastery of the techniques, composition and production over the past 100 years. I don’t know who else can even claim that! Arranging the songs by decade offers a great platform for analysis and conversation, but sometimes comes at the cost of natural listening order, and sometimes overrides the ability to appreciate the tracks in their own right. Knight’s composition talents extend to well-crafted endings, something of a dying skill. Sometimes the tracks are totally transporting, and it feels like this man must have been behind some of the biggest hits of the decade. It is a long album, and potentially Knight could have weeded out 2-3 of the weaker numbers to limit the total listening length. I think the application of Time Box should be used for anyone studying music! It seems Richard Knight Jr creates these pieces out of sheer joy of the process. That is also a huge lesson to remember.

Score/Excellent: Particularly highlighting the 60s, 70’s, ad 80’s tracks, Richard Knight Jr naturally has vocals that lend itself to these eras. Credit for composition and arrangement specifically for the 60’s section, where the orchestral elements are at their strongest. An incredible journey through music, with so much passion displayed for the breadth of musical styles. Occasionally, breadth and quantity are prioritised over creating his best works, and with his incredible knowledge, the best is probably yet to come.

[We rank singles, EP’s, and albums on a scale of Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent and Outstanding]

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