Boston

By: Boston

Type: Classic Rock

Hot Tracks:

• More Than a Feeling
• Smokin’
• Rock and Roll Band
• Foreplay/Long Time

No CD collection is complete without this classic album. Though it’s been out for over twenty years, it remains a staple of classic rock radio, and even the most technology-friendly bands of modern music are hard pressed to match the legendary Boston sound.

Tom Scholz is one of the best minds in the rock and roll world even today. We don’t hear a lot about him, but his musicianship, mixing skills and electronic wizardry are especially evident on this album, which came out well before electronic guitar effects processors were common. Scholz, more than any other musician out there, knows how to use equipment to get exactly the sounds he wants and often invents equipment to make the sounds that he can’t get. He has built a successful business, Scholz Research and Development, out of the manufacture and sale of guitar effects processors and pedals.

But all this talk about electronics has nothing to do with the music. On this album, you will find a strong commitment to melody and harmony, as well as plenty of straight-ahead rock and roll. Songs like “Smokin’,”Foreplay/Long Time” and “Rock and Roll Band” showcase the instruments while “More Than a Feeling” and “Something About You” put a little more emphasis on Brad Delp’s soaring vocals. All of the tracks are high-energy and the sounds fill the room (or your headphones) well when you crank up the volume. This album also makes good driving music, though it is too short for significantly long trips.

Boston’s productivity has been hampered by record contract problems, personnel changes and fairweather fan reception since the beginning of the eighties, but Still, Scholz occasionally finds the time to a new batch of guitar driven, synthesizer free (mostly) rock and roll with the same killer sound and songwriting style.

A friend of mine used to say, “Boston is the sound the electric guitar was born to make.” I tend to agree. The tone Scholz was able to pull from his Les Pauls back in 1976 was every bit as fat and good as today’s advanced equipment can produce; in fact, most guitarists have a very difficult time duplicating that sound without some of Scholz’ equipment. It just goes to show you where a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering can take you.