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Boston, Greatest Hits


The_Coz

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Hey guys, I was working the other day and K-Rock, our local classic rock station was blaring as per usual. There was a mind bendingly cool chunky guitar driven hard rock song on. And I didn't know it. When the song ended the DJ mentioned it was Boston. Now I consider myself a fan of classic music, I try to listen to as much as possible. But I'm very new to Boston. If there are some fans here, I'm trying to put together a definetive collection to introduce myself. Any help would be appreciated.

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Oh My God, You NEED "Boston/Boston". Every tune is a jam!

-More than a feeling

-Peace of Mind

-Foreplay/Long Time

-Rock & Roll Band

-Smokin'

-Hitch a ride

-Something about you

-Let me take you home tonight

Some other good ones are..

Don't look back

Cool the engines

Can'tcha Say

Enjoy!!

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That album was recorded in Tom Scholz basement recording studio...not bad.

As a matter of fact, here's the story:

Tom's musical training started at age 5 as he listened to his parent's classical music collection for hours on end. At age 7, he began 2 years of classical piano instruction. His interest in modern music began when he heard The Animals and The Kinks in high school. While attending M.I.T., he taught himself to play organ and guitar, and later bass and drums.

After graduating from M.I.T. with bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering, Tom went to work for Polaroid as a product engineer. At Polaroid he acquired the technical knowledge to build his own multi-track tape machine and built a small studio in his basement. He spent nights recording demos of his songs, playing all the instruments himself, except drums. Later, he added Brad Delp's vocals to the tapes, eventually completing the six songs which landed a deal with CBS/Epic.

From this contract came the first BOSTON album, which was almost entirely recorded in a makeshift studio built in the basement of Tom's apartment. It was released in 1976 and quickly became the largest-selling debut album of all time. The band was nominated for a Grammy award as "Best New Artist," and went from being virtually unknown in their hometown to playing sold-out arena shows all over the country.

After the tour, Tom built a new basement studio to record the second album, "Don't Look Back", which was released in 1978 and quickly went to #1. A huge world tour followed, which led to the Billboard award as "#1 Stadium & Festival Artist" for 1979.

Tom's frustration with available guitar equipment and effects led him to tinker with many new ideas, and in 1980 he offered one of these ideas, the Power Soak, to the public. It was followed in 1982 by the legendary Rockman headphone guitar amp, which quickly became a hit among guitarists. Although it was intended for use as a practice amp, its trademark sound has been used on countless hit records over the years. Many of these innovations have resulted in patents; Tom is named as inventor on 34 U.S. patents.

Despite a $20 million lawsuit filed against the band by CBS Inc, Tom continued production on a third album, "Third Stage", which was eventually released in 1986. It went straight to #1, and featured the #1 single, "Amanda". A highly successful tour followed in 1987, breaking attendance records in several cities. "Third Stage" was also the first album to be certified "gold" in CD format.

During and following the 1987 tour, Tom became seriously involved in charity work, setting up a foundation to support causes such as animal rights, food banks, homeless shelters, and children. Through the foundation, he has donated more than $3 million to those causes. Tom received the Mahatma Gandhi award, and was named "Man of the Year" by the National Hospice Organization.

In 1990, Tom finally defeated the CBS lawsuit, and set about building yet another new basement studio. The band's fourth platinum album, "Walk On", was released in 1994, and the band took to the road for another big tour in the summer of 1995.

Following the 1995 tour, Tom went back into his studio to work on "Higher Power" for the band's "Greatest Hits" album, released in 1997. This album was followed by an extensive North American tour, where he was introduced to demos of songs written by Anthony Cosmo.

Inspired by what he heard, he updated his studio to interface with current digital technology, and began the four and a half year effort to record the new album, "Corporate America," this time with significant writing and performing contributions from Anthony and singer/songwriter/musician Kimberley Dahme.

Work on the song "Corporate America" spanned 4 years, with endless false starts and rewrites, but it eventually became the focal point of the new CD. Tom released the song on mp3.com under the unknown band name "Downers Revenge." Without any promotion, it became #1 on the Progressive Rock chart in just 5 days.

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The best song Boston ever recorded...

Day is night in New York City

Smoke,like water runs inside

Steel idle trees to pity

Every living thing that's died

Gonna hitch a ride

Head for the other side

Leave it all behind

Never change my mind

Gonna sail away

Sun lights another day

Freedom on my mind

Carry me away for the last time

Oh yeah

Life is like the coldest winter

People freeze the tears I cry

Words of hail their minds are into

I've got to crack this ice and fly

Gonna hitch a ride

Head for the other side

Leave it all behind

Never change my mind

Gonna sail away

Sun lights another day

Freedom on my mind

Carry me away for the last time

Gonna hitch a ride

Head for the other side

Leave it all behind

Never change my mind

Gonna sail away

Sun lights another day

Freedom on my mind

Carry me away for the last time

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I remember when the new Boston came out back in 2002, Corporate America....I worked at a classic rock station then and we were all kind of jazzed, something new from Boston, well the CD's came and we all listened, and most of us were disappointed. Not the Boston we grew up with, there was now a female voice added, and a new sound. For me personally I will stick with the old Boston, but some may like the new. Here is a review I found on the Corporate America from Music Tap....

While some will be dismayed at the obvious changes, others will realize the forward movement and respect it. It just depends on the depth of the fan. There are shades of the old Boston sound, varying throughout the album, song to song. Interestingly, the band's involvement appears fragmented throughout. On the first track, "I Had A Good Time", the musical chores are handled by Tom Scholz while the vocals is delivered by longtime vocalist, Brad Delp. On the rest of the album, varying support is used.

Delp appears strained in his singing, which used to be higher than what it is here. But it doesn't hurt the compositions. There are times where the signature sound of Boston just jumps out. You realize that some of these tunes could have worked on some of their earlier albums. Scholz's musicality is still effective. He knows what Boston sounds like. However, he chooses, many times, to alter the formula.

That's OK. Bands change. You can hear the change in the pleasant "Stare Out Your Window" but then you get to "Corporate America" and suddenly the band has developed a conscience. This title track, not only offers little Boston recognition except for recognizable leads, but delves into a bit of icky and reprehensible hypocritical drivel. The challenge here is lyrical credibility. Without diving too deep in the critical pool, it seems that what Scholz rails against is negated by the release of this CD. The disc was created at an environmental cost by a corporation with a bottom line that he so delicately tells to ..."shove it". He should leave the social conscience to others better suited or at least make it more subtle.

But there's plenty to appease Boston fans here just not enough to serve up a great Boston disc. Is the disc bad? No. Is it signature Boston? No, there's too much creative separation from their earlier materials. Does it fly? Sure. For those that insist that it's a disenfranchised work, they need to realize that they themselves have submitted to changes in their lives. So have Boston.

So...if you come looking for vintage Boston, you'll get it in measured doses. What you'll really get is a grown up band, one who gives you a different view of what Boston can sound like...older, different, wiser.

Boston explores different territories, especially with the curious addition of Kimberley Dahme. Not a great Boston album, but since you get so few to begin with, you have to roll with the changes. You might as well enjoy it.

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