Boston (album)
| Boston | ||||
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| Studio album by Boston | ||||
| Released | July 25, 1976 | |||
| Recorded | October 1975 – April 1976[1] at Foxglove Studios in Watertown, Massachusetts; Capitol Studios in Hollywood, California; The Record Plant in Los Angeles, California[2] | |||
| Genre | Rock, hard rock | |||
| Length | 37:41 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Producer | John Boylan, Tom Scholz[2] | |||
| Boston chronology | ||||
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Boston is the debut album by American rock band Boston, released in July 1976 on Epic Records.[1] It peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200,[3] and has been certified as selling 17x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in 2003.[4] The album is the second best-selling debut album of all-time in the United States, after Guns N' Roses's Appetite for Destruction.[5]
Contents |
[edit] Background
Tom Scholz started off jamming in a makeshift band that included drummer Jim Masdea, lead guitarist Barry Goudreau, and vocalist Brad Delp. Unsatisfied with the live sound, the perfectionist Scholz disbanded the act and instead made demos in his home studio with Delp on vocals and Masdea on drums.[6] The demos eventually attracted the attention of Epic Records.
Scholz was satisfied with the demos to the point that he wanted to finalize them to a real album. Unfortunately, Epic declined. "The material had to be recorded in a 'professional' studio in exactly the same way!" Scholz later wrote. Scholz insisted on doing the re-cuts in his basement. Epic producer John Boylan, who had worked with the Little River Band among many others, made a deal with Scholz. Boylan would have the rest of the makeshift band record some studio arrangements in Los Angeles, to "create a diversion" while Scholz made his multitrack recordings at home.[6]
Most of the instrumentation was performed by Scholz and recorded at his basement studio in Massachusetts. After Scholz recorded the instrumentation the tracks were then transferred from his 12 track tapes to a 24 track machine in a remote recording truck outside his basement studio to make them compatible with standard professional studio equipment. Delp's vocals were then recorded at Capitol Studios in Hollywood with producer Boylan. The album was then mixed by Scholz, Boylan and Warren Dewey at Westlake Audio in Los Angeles.[6] Drummer Sib Hashian plays on all but "Rock & Roll Band", and only two tracks feature the contributions of Goudreau and Fran Sheehan, "Foreplay/Long Time" and "Let Me Take You Home Tonight".[7] This quintet would perform and tour under the name Boston.[6]
[edit] Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Rolling Stone | (favorable) [8] |
| Robert Christgau | C [9] |
The album soared, with three singles becoming Top 40 hits. All eight of the songs on the album still receive regular airplay on classic rock radio to this day, across the country. Taking a mere three months to earn an RIAA Gold Record Award (500,000 in unit sales) in 1976, and a Platinum Award (1,000,000 in unit sales) after three months, it was the fastest selling debut album for any American group. It has continued to sell very well, accumulating 9 million in sales by the tenth anniversary in 1986, reaching diamond in 1990, and 17x platinum by 2003.[4]
[edit] Remasters
Legacy Records released a remastered version for compact disc on June 13, 2006. The original master tapes were digitally remastered by the band's leader, Tom Scholz, after he heard that the remastering project was to be handled by Sony. This was unacceptable to him, and he took it on himself after negotiations with Legacy. "I've always wanted to make those albums sound good on CD, and the chance arrived," he said.[10] The re-masters have received very high praise from magazine critics[citation needed], and especially from the die-hard fan base.
A small number of the Sony-remastered versions briefly went on sale in Canada on April 4, 2006 before being yanked from the shelves. Those discs also included bonus tracks with live versions of "Smokin'" and "Foreplay/Long Time" from a 1976 Philadelphia concert.[11]
[edit] Track listing
All songs written and composed by Tom Scholz, except where noted.
| Side one | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "More Than a Feeling" | 4:44 | |||||||
| 2. | "Peace of Mind" | 5:02 | |||||||
| 3. | "Foreplay/Long Time" | 7:47 | |||||||
| Side two | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "Rock and Roll Band" | 2:59 | |||||||
| 2. | "Smokin'" | Scholz, Brad Delp | 4:22 | ||||||
| 3. | "Hitch a Ride" | 4:12 | |||||||
| 4. | "Something About You" | 3:48 | |||||||
| 5. | "Let Me Take You Home Tonight" | Delp | 4:44 | ||||||
[edit] Personnel
Per liner notes[7]
- Tom Scholz – electric guitars, acoustic guitars, clavinet, organ, bass guitar, design consultant, remastering, liner notes
- Brad Delp – lead and harmony vocals, acoustic guitar, producer, engineer
- Sib Hashian – drums
- Jim Masdea – drums on "Rock & Roll Band"
- Barry Goudreau – lead guitars, rhythm guitars on "Foreplay/Long Time" and "Let Me Take You Home Tonight"
- Fran Sheehan – bass guitar on "Foreplay" and "Let Me Take You Home Tonight"
[edit] Additional personnel
- John Boylan – producer
- Paul Ahern – direction
- Charles McKenzie – direction
- Warren Dewey – engineer
- Deni King – assistant engineer
- Bruce Hensel – assistant engineer
- Doug Ryder – assistant engineer
- Steve Hodge – assistant in mixing
- Bill Ryan – remastering
- Toby Mountain – remastering
- Tom "Curly" Ruff – digital transfer
- Kim Hart – design consultant
- Jeff Albertson – photography
- Ron Pownall – photography
- Gary Pihl – photo editing
- Roger Huyssen – cover illustration
- Joel Zimmerman – reissue design
[edit] Charts
Album
| Chart (1976) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200[3] | 3 |
| Canada RPM 100 Albums[12] | 7 |
| UK (The Official Charts Company)[13] | 11 |
| Netherlands (Top 100 Albums)[14] | 26 |
| New Zealand (Top 50 Albums)[15] | 16 |
| Sweden (Top 60 Albums)[16] | 26 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | "More than a Feeling" | Billboard Hot 100 | 5[17] |
| 1977 | "Long Time" | Billboard Hot 100 | 22 |
| 1977 | "Peace of Mind" | Billboard Hot 100 | 38[17] |
[edit] Certifications
| Organization | Level | Date |
|---|---|---|
| RIAA – United States | Gold | October 26, 1976 |
| Platinum | November 22, 1976 | |
| 9x Platinum | October 30, 1986 | |
| Diamond | January 29, 1990 | |
| 11x Platinum | December 10, 1992 | |
| 15x Platinum | November 9, 1994 | |
| 16x Platinum | January 10, 1997 | |
| 17x Platinum | November 20, 2003 | |
| CRIA – Canada | Platinum | January 1, 1977 |
| 2x Platinum | December 1, 1978 | |
| 3x Platinum | December 1, 1978 | |
| 4x Platinum | July 1, 1979 | |
| 5x Platinum | July 1, 1979 | |
| 6x Platinum | May 13, 1997 | |
| 7x Platinum | May 13, 1997 | |
| 8x Platinum | May 13, 1997 | |
| 9x Platinum | May 13, 1997 | |
| Diamond | May 13, 1997 | |
| BPI – UK | Gold | March 20, 1979 |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Iyengar, Vik. "Boston - Boston" at Allmusic. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
- ^ a b (1976, 2006) Album notes for Boston by Boston, p. 11 [CD liner]. Epic Records/Legacy Recordings (69699 86322 2).
- ^ a b "Boston > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums" at Allmusic. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
- ^ a b "American album certifications – Boston – Boston". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22Boston%22. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
- ^ http://www.billboard.com/news/ask-billboard-best-selling-debut-album-dido-1003870064.story#/news/ask-billboard-best-selling-debut-album-dido-1003870064.story
- ^ a b c d Scholz, Tom (1976, 2006). "How to Make Extra Money Working at Home in Your Own Basement...", p. 2-4 [CD liner]. Album notes for Boston by Boston. Epic Records/Legacy Recordings (69699 86322 2).
- ^ a b (1976, 2006) Album notes for Boston by Boston, p. 10 [CD liner]. Epic Records/Legacy Recordings (69699 86322 2).
- ^ Nicholson, Kris (October 7, 1976). "Boston". Rolling Stone (Straight Arrow) (RS 223). ISSN 0035-791X. Archived from the original on March 17, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070317231314/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/boston/albums/album/300997/review/6068063/boston.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. "Boston". RobertChristgau.com. http://robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=boston. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
- ^ Scholz, Tom. "What the Deuce IS UP With Boston?". A letter from Tom Scholz regarding the newly remastered Debut album and Don't Look Back!. Boston.org. http://www.boston.org/officialreissueletter.html. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
- ^ "Boston". Sony Legacy Remasters. thirdstage.ca. http://www.thirdstage.ca/boston/boston-remasters/sony-legacy-remasters/402-boston-limited-remaster. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
- ^ "RPM Top Albums". RPM (archived at Library and Archives Canada) (Volume 26, No. 11). December 11, 1976. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.5146a&type=2. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
- ^ "Boston". ChartStats.com. http://www.chartstats.com/albuminfo.php?id=4012. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
- ^ "Boston - Boston" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Boston&titel=Boston&cat=a. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
- ^ "Boston - Boston". charts.org.nz. http://charts.org.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Boston&titel=Boston&cat=a. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
- ^ "Boston - Boston". swedishcharts.com. http://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Boston&titel=Boston&cat=a. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
- ^ a b "Boston > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles" at Allmusic. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
[edit] External links
- Album online on Radio3Net a radio channel of Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company
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