''Telegraph'' is the debut studio album by singer-songwriter

Drake Bell Jared Drake Bell (born June 27, 1986) is an American actor and musician. Born in Newport Beach, California, he began his career as a child actor in the 1990s, appearing on ''Home Improvement (TV series), Home Improvement'' (1994) and in severa ...

, released on August 23, 2005, on Nine Yards Records. It was recorded by Bell and producer Michael Corcoran, as well as a few friends in a simple home studio using a

Digidesign Avid Audio (formerly Digidesign) is an American digital audio technology company. It was founded in 1984 by Peter Gotcher and Evan Brooks. The company began as a project to raise money for the founders' band, selling EPROM chips for drum machin ...

Digi 002. The album was released on August 23, 2005, and was issued by

Michael Corcoran Michael Corcoran (September 21, 1827 – December 22, 1863) was an Irish- American general in the Union Army during the American Civil War and a close confidant of President Abraham Lincoln. As its colonel, he led the 69th New York Regiment ...

's label Backhouse Records and the now defunct label Nine Yards Records. Being an independently released production, it ran out of print, and was subsequently re-released on August 7, 2007. It released on Vinyl for the first time in 2025 to celebrate the albums 20th anniversary.

Critical reception

''Telegraph'' received critical acclaim for its dark tone and Bell's songwriting.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

wrote in its review of the album, "He specializes in upbeat, McCartneyesque ditties fleshed out with enchanting harmony vocals and big, wet production." A writer for ''

Ultimate Guitar Archive Ultimate Guitar (Ultimate Guitar USA LLC), also known as Ultimate-Guitar.com or simply UG, is an online platform for guitarists and musicians, started on October 9, 1998 by Eugeny Naidenov and based in San Francisco, US. Its website and mobile ...

'' praised Bell's vocals on the album, writing "his voice is pleasantly raspy and there's always a sense of unapologetic know-how in his delivery, without the bratty pseudo-punk attitude that litters many a radio station".

Track listing

Additional song information

*"Hollywood Girl" was performed on '' TRL'' in the TV movie ''

Drake & Josh Go Hollywood ''Drake & Josh Go Hollywood'' is a 2006 American television comedy film starring Drake Bell and Josh Peck from the Nickelodeon television series ''Drake & Josh''. It first aired on January 6, 2006, and was released on VHS and DVD that same ...

''. *Part of "Don't Preach" is also featured in ''Drake & Josh Go Hollywood'', in which Drake Bell stars. The scene shows him (as Drake Parker) performing the song at the B'nai Shalom Home for the Elderly with his band. It is also featured in the episode, "Who's Got Game?" *"Found a Way", "Down We Fall", and "Highway to Nowhere" are also on the ''Drake & Josh'' soundtrack, '' Drake & Josh: Songs from and inspired by the hit TV show''. Drake also played "Highway to Nowhere" when he guest-starred on the Nickelodeon TV show ''

Zoey 101 ''Zoey 101'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Dan Schneider for Nickelodeon. It aired from January 9, 2005, to May 2, 2008, spanning a total of 61 episodes across four seasons. It focuses on the lives of Zoey Brooks ( J ...

''. In the episode, the students of Pacific Coast Academy hire Drake to play at their school's Spring Fling. He also played "Circles" when he guest-starred on the Nickelodeon TV show ''

All That ''All That'' is an American sketch comedy children's television series created by Brian Robbins and Mike Tollin. The series originally aired on Nickelodeon from April 16, 1994, to October 22, 2005, lasting ten seasons, and was produced by Tol ...

''. *The

beatboxing Beatboxing (also, and sometimes, called beat boxing) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines (usually a Roland TR-808, TR-808), using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice.Josh Peck Joshua Michael Peck (born November 10, 1986) is an American actor, comedian, and YouTuber. Peck began his career as a child actor, appearing in the film Snow Day (2000 film), ''Snow Day'' (2000) and the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series ''The Ama ...

, Drake's co-star on ''

Drake & Josh ''Drake & Josh'' is an American teen sitcom created by Dan Schneider for Nickelodeon. The series follows teenage stepbrothers Drake Parker (Drake Bell) and Josh Nichols (Josh Peck) as they live together despite their opposite personalities. Na ...

''. *In March 2024, Bell revealed on TikTok that the song "In the End" was written after he was sexually abused by

Brian Peck Brian Richard Peck (born July 29, 1960) is an American convicted sex offender and former dialogue coach and actor. From the late 1990s to the mid-2000s, he worked on popular children's shows produced by Nickelodeon and Disney Channel, including ...

, and inspired by said abuse. *In April 2024, Bell also revealed on TikTok that the song "Somehow" was also inspired by his abuse by Peck, though he flipped it to the perspective of a girl, effectively creating a fictionalised variation of a real concept.

Personnel

As listed on

's website.Telegraph , drakebell.com
/ref> *Drake Bell – lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitars, keyboards *Backhouse Mike – bass guitar, lead and rhythm guitar, keyboards, backing vocals *Joey Finger – drums *Tom Kinne – bass guitar *Scott Bennett – bass guitar, drums, guitar, keyboards *DJ Eroc – scratching *Mike D'Santi – guitar *Josh Peck – beatboxing (track 3)

References

External links

* View this albumat

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Telegraph (Album) 2005 debut albums Albums recorded in a home studio Drake Bell albums Self-released albums