Box Set (Wool album)


Box Set is an album by the American band Wool, released in 1994. Despite its title, Box Set is a studio album. The band supported the album with a North American tour.

Production

The album was produced by Rob Schnapf and Tom Rothrock. Chris Bratton replaced Peter Moffett on drums prior to the recording of Box Set. Wool included a fake history of the band in the liner notes to the album, alleging encounters with famous musicians over the course of three decades; they successfully fooled several journalists. "God Rest His Soul" is a cover of the Gregg Allman song.

Critical reception

Trouser Press thought that "weird production and an ungainly stab at MTV presentability makes the de-punked Box Set a dreadfully uneven—and occasionally dreadful—album." Entertainment Weekly called "Take a Look" "a 12-minute opus that bridges the gap between trippy Fillmore-era jam sessions and '90s grungefests."
The Telegram & Gazette stated that "the pop hooks are big, the electric guitar lines are shoved through wah-wahs and fuzz boxes for some irresistible confection and a sloppy, good-time feel permeates many of the 11 tracks." The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called the album "a nearly auspicious debut by a genre-bending band that knows enough about crafting thoughtful, raucous songs to remind listeners of the early Replacements." The Chicago Sun-Times deemed it "a strong debut album of stripped-down, hooky garage rock."
AllMusic wrote that "this was an unfairly overlooked album, lost amid the overwhelming glut of alternative rock in the early '90s."

Personnel