BOSTON-
LIFE LOVE & HOPE
On Boston's first album in 11 years, and the first since the
tragic death of legendary vocalist Brad Delp in 2007, the band sticks with its
tried-and-true sound, one that has come to nearly define the classic rock
genre.
Or, said another way, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
From the first time the world heard "More Than a
Feeling" in the 1970s, Boston burned its way into rock's DNA with an
identifiable sound: layer upon layer of angry guitars, harmonic solos and
angelic vocals backing Delp, who could hit notes only dogs could hear.
There are three tracks on the album that feature the late
Delp’s vocals. The unreleased song, "Sail Away," is about the
government's response to Hurricane Katrina (it HAS been a long time between
albums, right?), while the two others ("Someone" and "Didn't
Mean to Fall in Love") appeared on the band's Corporate
America album, but Scholz was never really happy with them and has
rebuilt them from top to bottom while keeping the original Delp vocals.
Or, said another way, Scholz was unable to come up with an album full of new material in more than a decade.
"Heaven on Earth," with David Victor singing lead
could be a hit single, if all the Boston fans who were "Smokin'" in
the '70s remain loyal to a group who helped define what rock 'n' roll sounded
like for many years.
Sadly, that audience is probably in the early stages of
dementia and may not remember the band.
Other songs don't fare as well, including "If You Were
in Love" with Kimberley Dahme's vocals coming off as nothing-special, and
Tom’s turn on lead vocals not even passing that bar.
Vocals by Tommy DeCarlo, the
Delp sound-alike found on You Tube, are not bad, but the songwriting does not
approach that of the first three Boston albums.
When you consider
that there are three re-records and one short instrumental, you’re left with
seven new songs in eleven years.
And only one is good enough to be lined up against that first album.
I would think with that much time on his hands, Scholz would have outdone the first album.
I like the album, don't get me wrong-the songs are ok, the performances good and the production slick (a little overdone, but that's Tom's production style). I'm just not sure that this is an album for everyone-it's a lot closer to the last two albums than the first three.
Overall, worth checking out for die-hard fans. Nostalgic fans looking
to revisit the stellar debut may want to just break that one out of mothballs.
HEAVEN ON EARTH
IF YOU WERE IN LOVE
I actually like If You Were In Love better... once I get past the "a girl singing lead for Boston" part. But if they are the best the lp has to offer, it doesn't grab me. I don't think anything has since Cool The Engines. I might have liked it even more if there'd have been a shared male lead in there somewhere.
ReplyDeleteCW-I do not mind the different voices, and Kimberly has a few solo albums that are quite good. But your second point is what miffs me-Third Stage took several years but was a pretty darn good album. The next three albums have been just so-so....and that's mainly the fault of the material....and Tom is writing the material.
DeleteNo offense, I never heard the lp. Just what I heard on the radio after Don't Look Back. And Amanda was too "let's be like Journey and Styx and make money off the teenyboppers" for me. So CTE was about it.
DeleteCW-I never take offense over music opinion...since junior high school, most opinions were the depth of "your bands sucks" and "my band rocks," so I learned a long time ago that I like what I like and everyone else is free to do the same.
DeleteIf you think of the song Amanda though, it had a hook in it-you probably could still have caught yourself humming it even while you felt it was a sell out.
The last few records are missing that.
Sounds like it would be worth it for the nostalgia but that's about it. Shame. All those years to work on it.
ReplyDeleteI hear ya, Alex-unless Scholz has a day job (I'd think he was set for life from the original album royalties), what else did he have to do but create music? This one is lacking in quantity and quality!
DeleteNot gonna lie, wasn't crazy about what I heard. That second song in particular (as you mentioned, her vocals are just kinda... "there") is a huge turn off. Probably won't be adding this album to my collection.
ReplyDeleteDon't blame ya, Bryan-I'm a completist nut, so of course I had to have it, but for me it's mostly that at a rate of less than one song a year, it should be a better album (in the liner notes, Scholz talks about working on this for more than a decade).
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