Out of the box
Originally released on Songs on the Eve of Dismissal (2017), now re-recorded for Time to Disappear, on its way to release this fall.
Opens with a single trombone phrase before the singer starts pleading her case: she’s too conventional, too by-the-book, no innovator, has fought every change put in front of her, and yet here she is, begging to be released from a box she’s never once actually tried to leave. “Release me, I pray,” she sings, and the trombone answers not with sympathy but with long, sustained notes, patient, unmoved, almost fated, the sound of a question that’s already been answered by the way she’s lived. She wants out. She has never once tested the door.
Out of the box
Everyone’s creative, until you meet me
I ‘m not into solutions, only irony
I can find new ideas, if I know where to look
Don’t hate me for the fact that I do things by the book
I’m bound to turn your brainstorm session into a burlesque So let’s stay on the safe side, the safe side of my desk!
I don’t do innovation, I will fight any change
Now I’d like to work on, if it can be arranged
chorus
Out of the box
someone show me the way out of the box
release me, I pray
Tell me what it’s like out there? Are the people wise and fair? Out of the box
(please) Get me out of the box
If I open my mind, it switches to limbo
I’m no Steve Jobs, man, I’m still using windows! But first let me give you a sharp observation
I’m only creative in your imagination
chorus
Bridge
I’ve been outside my comfort zone Almost ev’ry day
I came out of the closet
I am proud that I’m this way dropped out of university
got knocked out of my socks
So how come I have never been out of the box
Chorus
Lyrics: Bastiaan Geleijnse
‘A gospel for those consigned to cubicle life, Chris Abelen’s album captures the angst and ennui of the career office employee.’
– Band Camp Jazz Pick
Vocals: Linda Ropa
Trumpet: Angelo Verploegen
Alto Saxophone: Floris van der Vlugt
Trombone: Chris Abelen
Bass Clarinet: Tini Thomsen (solo)
Guitar: Thijs Huybens
Double Bass: Ulrich Wentzlaff-Eggebert
Percussion: Yonga Sun
Lyrics: Bastiaan Geleijnse
Recording: Wedgeview Studios, except vocals, trombone & baritone sax, recorded ‘at home’.
Music, editing, mixing, mastering & production: Chris Abelen
Cover photo: Interior Lens
Amsterdam/Netherlands