Boston

Two of the blogs I've written in the past couple months have been about bands that are definite fan favorites but(in my non conformist nature) I refused to admit that I actually liked. I have written about the Stones and AC/DC. These are two bands that I really didn't get into on a regular basis. In the past year, I've come to appreciate (and love) another band. This band was named after an east coast city known for TV shows like Cheers and the home of prestigious colleges like Harvard and Yale and (for musicians) Berklee College of Music. The album and music of this band was the masterwork of a guitarist named Tom Scholz. Obviously, I'm talking the band Boston.

If you've ever been in a car with me and the radio is on, first that's rare because I hardly listen to classic rock radio. When I am listening to music, that's something I want to control. I want to listen to what I want to hear and I don't want the radio to "dictate" what I'll be listening to. Classic Rock radio is full of acts and artists that we can get tired of.  Some may get sick of Zeppelin or Aerosmith or Van Halen. There are two acts that I've grown sick of hearing on classic FM radio is Bob Seger and Boston. For years, I've heard bits and pieces of it on radio, from my peers and everywhere in between.
The self-titled album by the band Boston has long been a classic rock radio staple. I still remember some of my fellow classmates talking about this album way back in my sixth grade class in 1979. As I have researched the history of this band, the original album was released in August 1976.  This was an album that 11-12 year old boys knew about. It was something we could like that wasn't as "dangerous" looking to our parents like KISS was. Then, we grew into older kids and had new favorite bands. But, for many, Boston (especially the 1st album) was still a classic album.

I first discovered Dustys Records in my junior year of high school on a trip to Kearney State College for District Music contest,  I had no idea how much that store would mean to me and would definitely "loom large in my legend". Many weekends of my senior year were spent on the road driving to Hastings from North Platte to see my parents who had moved there early in the school year. I would always find a way to detour into Kearney and stop at Dustys on my drive to Hastings to buy a new music for the trip(usually on cassette). When I started my college years in the fall of 1985,  I was there constantly. I had auditioned for the KSC Jazz-Rock Ensemble and didn't make the group. But, many of my friends had. So, after Marching Band rehearsal, they would go to Jazz-Rock rehearsal and I would spend about an hour or so at Dustys and then back to campus to eat supper at the college cafeteria. In fact, any time I was bored (no matter the reason), I would probably find a reason to go to Dustys.
One night, I jokingly said to the guys on third floor Mantor Hall, "Hey, I'm heading down to Dustys! I feel like buying something. What should I get?"  One of the guys said, "Ted Nugent Double Live Gonzos" and another said "YOU GOTTA HAVE BOSTON!".........wait a minute.  I "gotta have" Boston?  I realize it's only an expression. But, I don't like people telling me I "gotta have" anything. Especially when it comes to the music I'm listening to.  From there, I was resistant to Boston and the greatness that my group of peers had bestowed on this album from 1976.

Looking back, I was somewhat interested in the band. In 1984, Between albums, guitarist Barry Goodreau formed a band called Orion the Hunter. The band actually featured future Boston vocalist Fran Cosmo on lead vocals and original vocalist Brad Delp on backing vocals.  Of course, the reason I bought it was because of the drummer who was longtime Heart drummer Michael DeRosier keeping time for this "just another band outta Boston".  This album is still a long time favorite and a guilty pleasure from the 80's. The production (especially the "drum sound") is very 80's sounding.

In the fall of 1986, there was a big hubbub about Boston's third album finally being released. It was called Third Stage.  It was released on MCA records where the first two had been on CBS Records. Looking back, the time between albums is not such a big deal. But, the band's second album Don't Look Back had been released in 1978.  That means it had been 8 years before the band had released any new music. Which means the grade school kids that loved Boston were now college aged kids and this legendary band was releasing new music. I was dating a girl at the time and she owned a cassette copy of that album. Let's just say we did a lot of making out to that album. I kept telling myself I wanted to own Third Stage. But, after awhile, the songs were constantly on the radio and my tastes in music were getting heavier and heavier. It just didn't seem like a must -have music purchase.  Also, the relationship with that girlfriend didn't last and the music was a reminder of a relationship gone by.

After college, I was working at the Dustys Records store in Grand Island NE. I had rented a small house on a local farmer's land south of town. So, I usually had about a 15 minute commute into GI. So, I would usually have some music to listen to. One night, as I drove home(listening to the radio), I caught a bit of a song that really sounded cool...very prog rock sounding. At first, I thought, "is this Rush...No wait...Yes?....I have all the Rush and a good portion of Yes albums...who is this!"  I talked to my girlfriend at the time and my coworker-Jayson and they said it was Boston! It was the intro part of Long Time known as Foreplay.  Sure enough, it's listed on the CD cover as Foreplay/Long Time.  I had heard Long Time. But, I don't think I had ever heard the amazing intro known as Foreplay in its entirety. So...the seeds of interest started. It was something I liked and might possibly get into. But, it still wasn't enough to get me to own the albums. My mindset at the time was "it's on classic rock radio in constant rotation. I can turn on the radio anytime and hear this stuff."

I kept that mentality for years. In the early/mid 90s, Vocalist Brad Delp and Barry Goodreau joined forces again in a band called RTZ. From all reports that I heard....well it sounds like Boston. Which, to me, was the ultimate in blandness. In June of 1994, I moved back to Kearney and was back working for Dusty again. One of the big new releases that came out that summer was the new Boston album called Walk On. I wasn't that interested. But there was definite customer interest and from all reports there was new singer that sounded a lot like Brad Delp. I have recently found out it was Fran Cosmo that I had enjoyed from Orion the Hunter. I still had resisted the original self-titled album. I was still cussing at classic rock radio because I wanted to anything but Boston. Then, in 2007, the news came that singer Brad Delp had died of a suicide. I was listening to a podcast by music insider Bob Lefsetz and he was talking about how he had tried resisting the music of Boston and the vocals of Brad Delp. Now it became obvious, I had to stop trying to "not" liking it and give it a listen. No doubt, this music had some great guitar licks, riffs and hooks. Also at this time, bands like Journey were trying to find singers to replace their former singers with vocalists that imitate their longtime singer for the "classic" or "legacy" sound. A news statement was released that vocalist Michael Sweet of the 80's Christian band Stryper had decided to become a member of Boston and sing the Brad Delp parts. They also found a vocalist via the internet and youtube singing songs a la Brad Delp. For years, I had heard the critics refer to Boston as a part of "corporate rock" along with bands like Styx, Foreigner, Reo Speedwagon and Journey like it was a bad thing. I actually spent my early teen years as a fan of most of these bands. Then I read an interview with mastermind Tom Scholz on classicrockrevisited.com. He was upset with the label of "corporate rock" that he had been burdened with. After all, he had basically produced the first album by himself in his basement. He had also sued CBS records between the second album and the Third Stage album. That seems like someone rising up AGAINST the corporation. Hmmmm....maybe it's time to have a listen.
About a year ago, my old friend Cory helped me secure a job with the Ashley Furniture homestore in Grand Island. Cory and I had met through a mutual friend named Marty G. Marty and I had been in a couple of bands that never made it past the garage jamming stage and a couple of local battle of the bands. In fact, Cory had actually sang for us in one of those bands. Cory had his laptop computer one day and he basically said if there were any albums on his laptop that I didn't have I could copy them to my MP3 player. Lo and behold, there was the first Boston album and I figured "might as well...I might actually like it". Well, I did and I really like it. I knew every song and they all sound great. The vocal harmonies are incredibly chilling(especially at the right volume levels) and Scholz's guitar layering is absolutely outstanding. I still find it hard to look at the artists on my mp3 player and think "I wanna hear Boston!" But, when I do, the smile on my face appears and I think what a music snob I was. As Trey from South Park says in the Rush documentary "then you're just being an old dickhead". Obviously, he's referring to Rush. But, I've learned that goes for a lot of bands that have been deemed unhip by critics and the "accepted" music press.
The thing that hit me like a ton of bricks is the opening lyric to More Than a Feeling that resonates with music fans of all ages:

I looked out this morning and the sun was gone

Turned on some music to start my day

I lost myself in a familiar song

I closed my eyes and I slipped away

It's more than a feeling

When I hear that old song they used to play

(More than a feeling)

I begin dreaming
(More than a feeling)

'Til I see Marianne walk away

I see my Marianne walkin' away

When I'm tired and thinking cold

I hide in my music, forget the day

And dream of a girl I used to know

I closed my eyes and she slipped away

She slipped away

For me, the simple thought of starting your day with music is part of the smile I start the day with. It's the frustration I spend trying to find something to lift me up. It's the constant battle to find the rhythm and groove that makes life(and traffic) move smoother, faster and makes the universe feel just right! It's the end of the day solution for decompression from a stressful day!....and I slipped away!!

1976