THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: boston

BOSTON – Third Stage

November 23, 2023 /

Boston made one of the best albums ever with their first album that came out way back in ’76. With that, it was always going to be tough with whatever they put out afterwards. Don’t Look Back was a great follow up, but all the reviews said it wasn’t as good as their first. It took another eight years for Third Stage to see the light of day and yep, it was still compared to the debut.

First up, I will say the production is stellar. Super clear and very loud, and Tim Scholz’s guitar sound is epic. There are some really good songs on here. Amanda, which opens the album is such a good power ballad with the emphasis on the power, it sounds huge. My favourite is Cool The Engines. Killer guitar sound and the middle section is awesome.

My criticism is that there are too many slow songs and not enough tunes that rock. Even though the sound is stellar, it can’t hide the weakness of some of the songs.

7/10 from The Grooveman.

BOSTON – Don’t Look Back

December 3, 2021 /

Imagine the pressure that the band (and especially Tom Scholz) were under when they had to follow up what was one of the greatest debut albums of all time. It took almost exactly two years for them to come up with this – their follow up. As much as the record company wanted you to believe that Boston were indeed a bonafide band, you didn’t have to dig far to realize that everything revolved around the genius that is Tom Scholz.

When you hear the opening notes of Don’t Look Back you think “wow”, it’s as though they never stopped after the first album – a killer track. A cool little instrumental piece, The Journey, leads into Its Easy, and this is the first weakfish track for me. Side 1 closes out with the big power ballad and single, A Man I’ll Never Be, which when it gets going, is a great song.

Side 2 kicks off with another single Feelin’ Satisfied, which I would class as a typical Boston song heavy on the melody. As is the track after, Party, which is nearly a mirror image. Of course Tim Scholz’s guitar playing is fantastic, but when you look at how long it took him to record to get that perfect sound, then it should be. The album plays out with Used To Bad News and Don’t Be Afraid – both are good tracks but nothing stands out and grabs you.

I guess if this was their first album then people would have hailed it as a good album, but when this is your second album and it follows an absolute monster of a first album then it’s going to disappear somewhat.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

BOSTON – S/T

January 16, 2021 /

As debut albums go, Boston’s first album is right up there with the very best. Boston the band are the brainchild of guitarist Tom Scholz. The album was released in the summer of ’76 and at the time was quite groundbreaking , with the multi track guitar sound that Scholz had developed in his basement and is at the forefront of every song with the amazing high register vocals of Brad Delp.

The 1, 2, 3 punch of More Than A Feeling, Peace of Mind, and the incredible Foreplay/Long Time that is Side 1 can not be beaten. No wonder Epic records were falling over themselves to sign the band. Incredible melodies, great songs, and some fantastic guitar playing is the order of the day here. The album went on to be Top 20 in just about every country, and rightly so.

Side 2 starts off just where Side 1 dropped us off, with the great Rock & Roll Band and into the fantastic Smokin’. The next track is the the weakest track on the album, Hitch a Ride, and even then most bands would drool for this track. Closing the album out with Something About You and the awesome closer Let Me Take You Home Tonight. How do you get to be this good on your first album? Well, Scholz was living with and working on these songs for 5 years before they got the deal, so they were ready to hit the ground running.

Personally I love all of Side 1 and the final track on Side 2. I don’t think they ever topped the quality in the albums that came after. This falls in the category of everyone should own one.

9.5/10 from The Grooveman.

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