ALBUM OF THE WEEK # 72 BOSTON - BOSTON (1976) # 4 FROM CRR

[RJhog (Admin)]

Artist: Boston

Album: Boston

Producer: John Boylan/Tom Scholz

Band Members: Tom Scholz/Brad Delp/Sib Hashian/Jim Masdea/Barry Goudreau/Fran Sheehan

Singles: More Than A Feeling/Long Time/Peace Of Mind

Best Single/Best Hidden Gem: More Than A Feeling/Something About You

Best Of The Rest: The rest (no bad tracks here)

RIAA Certification: Diamond (17 Million Copies U.S.)

Album Cover: 10/10

 

This week we'll take a look at one of the greatest debut albums of all time.  Boston's self-titled debut has sold over 17 million copies in the U.S. alone.  According to Wikipedia, that's second only to the Guns 'N' Roses debut.  You would think it hit number one on the Billboard chart, but that would be wrong.  It peaked at number three.  All three singles listed above were Top 40 hits, with More Than A Feeling being the biggest hit at number 5.  The funny thing is, there isn't a single song on this album that doesn't get played today on classic rock radio stations.

 

I'm not gonna bore you with my thoughts on the individual songs, because they are all outstanding.  But I will make one observation.  The last track (Let Me Take You Home Tonight), although I think it's just as good as the others, sounds totally out of place to me.  It has a totally different guitar sound and it just doesn't fit the overall mood. 

 

You'll have no problem finding this on CD, but I would imagine that if you don't have it already, you never will.

 

Did You Know: This was the fastest selling debut for any American band, with the album attaining Gold status after just 3 months and Platinum status after 3 more months.

 

 

Side One:

 

1. More Than A Feeling

2. Peace Of Mind

3. Foreplay/Long Time

 

Side Two:

 

5. Rock & Roll Band

6. Smokin'

7. Hitch A Ride

8. Something About You

9. Let Me Take You Home Tonight

[Scott]

Interesting choice!  I have a handful of frineds from the Boston area and they all swear they will never listen to this ever again.  I guess it so overplayed in that area that peopel there are over it.

 

Ive read Schotz's story about how this album came about a few times.  Its interetsing ...

 

No need to listen really, I can replay every track in head note for note!  But for me, Scholtz's technical abilty on geetar matched with his technical engineering skills produced one of rocks most unique tones, one thats very cool still and I look forward to everytime they hint of new music!

[Jon]

I am soooooooooo tired of this album. Not that it's bad, but sooooooooooo tired. Like the second one better nowadays.

[Gordon Williams]

The reason "Let Me Take You Home Tonight" sounds different, is because it was recorded at a studio in Los Angeles, from what I have read. Everyone has probably heard the story by now...the record company did not want to use the Tom Schulz recorded songs from his home studio. They wanted all the songs done in a "proper studio".

So the story goes that the rest of the band went to L.A., and recorded that one tune. But Scholz stayed back east and finished his mixing, engineering, etc. of the tunes. And what he "turned in" to the record company, and what was released, was his home recordings plus this last song. And the record company exec's were none the wiser.

On a side note, Scholz used to have this little practice guitar amplifier....it really was nothing more than this little box, about 3 inches wide, and about 5 inches long. You plug your guitar in to one jack, and your headphones into the other, and then you can wail away on guitar without anyone else hearing. I wore my first one out, and then bought a second one, and still have it today. It sounds exactly like the guitar tone from that first album. A great little practice set up. it was called the Tom Scholz "Rockman".