Boston (CD - 1976)

Recorded at Foxglove Studios, Watertown, Massachusetts; Capitol Studios, Hollywood, California; The Record Plant, Los Angeles, California between 1975 and 1976.

Boston is one of the best-selling albums of all time, and deservedly so. Because of the rise of disco and punk, FM rock radio seemed all but dead until the rise of acts like Boston, Tom Petty, and Bruce Springsteen. Nearly every song on Boston's debut album could still be heard on classic rock radio decades later due to the strong vocals of Brad Delp and unique guitar sound of Tom Scholz. Tom Scholz, who wrote most of the songs, was a studio wizard and used self-designed equipment such as 12-track recording devices to come up with an anthemic "arena rock" sound before the term was even coined. The sound was hard rock, but the layered melodies and harmonics reveal the work of a master craftsman. While much has been written about the sound of the album, the lyrics are often overlooked. There are songs about their rise from a bar band ("Rock and Roll Band") as well as fond remembrances of summers gone by ("More Than a Feeling"). Boston is essential for any fan of classic rock, and the album marks the re-emergence of the genre in the 1970s. ~ Vik Iyengar

Recorded on a simple 12-track recorder as a demo, it was so good that the record company released it. Tom Scholz masterminded the project in his spare time; little did he know that this record came to define AOR, and would become a hi-fi store standard demo disc. Since that time, this record-breaking debut has sold 15 million copies in its homeland. Sholtz put so much effort into making it, he has managed only three further records in 22 years. "More Than A Feeling" still chills in a corny sort of way and the harmonies are pretty impressive. minimize