August 25, 1976 - Boston and Boston

A couple months since my last release a new band joins my library when rock band Boston released their debut album "Boston" on August 25, 1976. But who is Boston? They were a 5-piece rock band from, you guessed it, Boston headed by lead singer Brad Delp and multi-instrumentalist Tom Scholz. Scholz plays lead guitar, keyboards and also does most of the bass playing on this album! Fran Sheehan is the official bassist but he only plays on two of the eight songs on the album. The other two members are drummer Sib Hashian and rhythm guitarist Barry Goudreau. Boston originally had trouble getting a record deal, being rejected by several major labels, before signing with Epic records in 1975. The label wanted the band to come to Los Angeles and re-record their songs, but Scholz wanted to keep control and continue working out of his basement. Producer John Boylan actually helped run interference for the band while Scholz finished the songs by himself. When it first came out, this album would become the best-selling debut album in rock history and a classic rock radio staple. Let's see what Boston is all about!

The album kicks off with "More Than A Feeling" as it fades in with a catchy guitar riff Delp sings softly along. He hits some pretty high notes and the chorus is led by an awesome guitar by Scholz. Hashian plays some nice slow drum fills and this very chill verse sounds great. The guitar solo fits the mood perfectly, not too fast and not too slow, just the perfect melody. A quiet verse follows before they jam out to the epic chorus. We hear more cool guitar and Delp holds some long notes as it slowly fades out. Track 2 is "Peace Of Mind" which opens with a sweet acoustic riff and is taken over by another catchy, great sounding electric riff. They combine beautifully to form the main verse with some great electric leading the way. Delp's vocals sound really good as he has such a clear voice and the lyrics of this one refer to humanity's constant fight to be at the top, but he doesn't care about all that and just wants peace of mind. This song has a really nice vibe going and after the second chorus we hear the "take a look ahead" section which has some great drumming by Hashian and another sweet guitar riff. This leads into a guitar solo by Scholz and once again he plays about the most epic thing you could in a wonderful solo. They play another catchy verse/chorus and after another "take a look ahead" the final minute is just a repeated jam to the catchy main riff. The final song on this side is "Foreplay/Long Time" and Scholz plays some epic keyboards as we hear the band come in for a few nice heavy notes. Hashian does some great work on the cymbals and Sheehan plays a great bass riff overtop of the trippy keyboards. Everything comes together in an amazing part that has great contributions from everyone. It sounds quite heavy, very epic and just downright amazing! I especially like the drumming as he is going crazy, but also hitting everything perfectly in time. It gets quiet again as they repeat this riff, and why wouldn't you when it sounds so great? The second time around is still pretty great and we hear some really trippy keyboards in an epic space-y part that comes to a sudden stop. Scholz plays some great trippy guitar in the background as they segue seamlessly into "Long Time" which opens with a pretty great guitar solo! Epic organ carries the verse as well as another great slow guitar riff and Delp sounds great once again. Clapping and some awesome acoustic kick off another fantastic part as these guys just weave the greatness together so easily! How were they not able to get a record deal?! Delp's singing is just fantastic and we hear another short solo by Scholz that is really good! They struck gold with this formula and after another great verse and chorus we get our third, and best solo of the song! He really melts your face in this one and this near 8-minute song is packed with so much awesomeness! They continue to jam out as Delp and Scholz bring the greatness all the way to the end. An amazing ending to this amazing first side!

Side two begins with "Rock & Roll Band" and Scholz opens it with another catchy guitar riff as Delp sings about the lifestyle of a band in the early stages: no money, sleeping in their cars, but playing great music. It's a solid rock and roll riff with a bit of an underwhelming chorus. Delp hits some high notes though and after the second chorus Scholz plays a short but decent guitar solo. It's back to the main riff for one last go-through as this 3-minute tune wraps up quickly. Not quite side one good, but still a cool rock song. Up next is "Smokin'" as guitar, bass and drums form another stellar main riff as Delp sings some solid vocals. Scholz guitar leads the way and sounds pretty sweet and the chorus is solid as well, "just keep on tokin'"! They play another verse and chorus before Scholz takes it away for a keyboard solo. He starts slow but ends up playing some really great stuff as he is just so good at so many instruments! After the solo Goudreau plays a simple but nice guitar riff to kick off a new part. Scholz is in the spotlight again with some more epic keyboards as he slowly builds to a really cool part. Everything else gets quiet as he reels off some sweet stuff, then they're all back in for a few notes only for Scholz to wow us with more great stuff. They jam out one last verse to end this pretty cool song as the hits just keep on comin'! Track 6 is "Hitch A Ride" and a soft guitar riff and light singing carry this slower song as Boston show their lighter side. It's not spectacular but it's decent as Delp sings about getting away. Out of nowhere Scholz comes in with some wicked keyboards and this segues into a cool guitar solo! The middle part was pretty sweet, but they return to the sappy verse too soon I think. Thankfully Scholz takes up another guitar solo that fits the mood really well and also contains some pretty quick playing! The whole second half of this song is this wicked solo as it definitely outshines the slower first half. The next song is "Something About You" which has a slow opening but kicks into a typical Boston-sounding main riff led by some cool guitar by Scholz. As great as it sounds, there certainly is a formula that as the album progresses you notice a lot of things sound similar. If I say the Boston sound, you know exactly what I mean and it's just like this driving riff. Delp's singing has the same effect and to me it's getting less good by the song. The lyrics in this one are very simple love-y things and this is an example of the averageness that Boston would ultimately become. The chorus is pretty boring and this is the most forgettable song so far, but perhaps not as much so as final song "Let Me Take You Home Tonight". The only song actually recorded by the 5 members it's led by simple guitar and some decent bass by Sheehan. Scholz plays electric and Goudreau acoustic in another sappy love song. The guitar solo is very tame and there's not a whole lot happening in this one either as it seems Boston might have top-loaded this album. The first side had their best stuff for sure but this song and the second side as a whole are severely lacking in awesomeness. They pick it up for the final minute in a quicker bit that is a needed jolt but it's too little too late. Delp sounds pretty good with his yells as they jam out this part until the end.

That is the end of "Boston" and overall I thought it was a pretty good album. The first 5 songs really were all quite good, especially "Foreplay/Long Time". The last three take a toll though as they are much less memorable. This album is certainly a must-have but I think it also happens to be Boston's only good album. It's the only Boston in my library and it's sad that they couldn't replicate this greatness. It will certainly be remembered as a landmark debut album though.