Album Club 2019: Boston - Boston
 

Boston - Boston

https://i.postimg.cc/mhxchybQ/square.jpg

recorded: October 1975 – April 1976
released: August 25, 1976

tracklist:

1. More Than A Feeling 4:44
2. Peace Of Mind 4:55
3. Foreplay/Long Time 7:56
4. Rock & Roll Band 2:59
5. Smokin' 4:44
6. Hitch A Ride 3:18
7. Something About You 4:19
8. Let Me Take You Home Tonight 4:12

The album presented in this episode of Album Club 2019 is brought to you by the "Member of the Year," Occult Hawk.

I thought this would be a fun record to revisit or to discover but it seems it hasn’t held up so well in the test of time.

Positives including being part of a movement of fantastic high budget classic rock production. Also there are moments with great hooks and gorgeous melody and musicianship. The problem is these great moments are painfully short and when it falls short it’s almost unbearably bad.

This is a record to remember fondly and to maybe touch on the best moments and then to wander off quickly before the cynical truth kicks in.

5/10

This was one of the first records I ever heard. I remember sitting on the floor of my childhood home and going through my dads records and coming across this because I was six and it had spaceships and I thought I was Spaceman Spiff. Six year old me loved this record. Adult me does not and I don't even buy them anymore when they inevitably come into the shop. The're just always beat up from six year old kids like me of present day who don't know how to use a turntable and scratch the sh*t out of their dads records. Still, this was the beginning of my musical journey and I appreciate it for that.

Not a good album. Sounds dated and boring now but I will say that "Foreplay/Long Time" is still a f*cking jam and I'll rock that sh*t once in a while.

3/10

I actually bought this album recently to listen to it in my car. I'd had the LP when I was a teenager, and had a cassette from the 80's or 90's, but hadn't listened to either in ages since I don't have a record player anymore and rarely listen to my cassettes. So I bought the CD. The album was good, but not really as good as I remembered. A lot of the songs sounded similar to each other. There are 2 outstanding songs (More Than a Feeling and Hitch a Ride), and all of the rest of the songs are decent, but not great. That said, there are no real "bad" or even "mediocre" songs either.

Gotta give a rating.

EDIT: Wait, we're doing polls now? Why did Nea take over? Did I miss something?

I gave it 4 stars. ("I liked it.")

We used to give a 1-10 scale rating. I didn't see the poll before I responded to your post. I don't know what's going on now.

Boston's self titled is a fun album, albeit overplayed thanks to all those classic rock radio stations. 'Foreplay/Long Time' and the immortal 'More Than A Feeling' are great, but my favorite's always been 'Hitch A Ride' near the end of the album. Partly because radio hasn't ruined it but also because I like how laidback and warmly lyrical it is.

Back when I did that AOR thread with Unknown Soldier, we both concluded that the Boston self-titled was something of a gamechanger since it bridged progressive rock with the AOR / classic rock sound of the early 80's. Plus the production values are just outstanding. So it would get at least a 5 just for those things even if the music wasn't great...but the songwriting still holds up.

8 out of 10

Sorry nerds, this album ****s hard. The production is amazing, the songcraft flawless, the hooks infinitely memorable. This album is like one giant slice of 70s cheese in all the best ways, and the songs, though I haven’t listened to them in god knows how long, were all instantly recalled into my brain as soon as the opening notes hit. This is, while maybe not going out on any flimsy limbs, a strong record from musicians who happily noodled on their instruments and smiled while they sang. I can’t help but love that.

I give this joyful shmaltz 8/10.

I was totally stoked to talk about this album, then my enthusiasm deflated like Tom Brady's football as the reviews started rolling in. Now I'm not in the mood to talk about it at all. I rather be in a geriatric home listening to old people complain about their sciatica than listen to people here complain about one of the finer moments in Rock n Roll. I don't see the problem with it. "Dated?" As in "passé" or old hat? Well, I listen to Jazz and Doo-wop from the 50s so that's makes this album twenty years in future for me. This album is amazing, it's a work of art.

rating: 93.3 out of 100