The history of Boston began around 1969 when Donald Thomas "Tom" Scholz joined a band founded by Barry Goudreau (guitar) and also consisting of Brad Delp (vocals) and Jim Masdea (drums). This band, known as "Mother's Milk" although it had no official name, formed the beginning of Boston.
The debut album Boston from 1976 was an immediate hit: ‘More Than A Feeling’. Scholz recorded most of the tracks himself with his own equipment. The following albums, Don't Look Back (which the band worked on for two years) and Third Stage (1986) were also mainly Scholz’s work.
Scholz experienced a lot of pressure and spent time in court during and after the production of the albums. His label Epic claimed breach of contract due to the extremely long period Scholz took to release the albums. In the 1990s, Scholz, now alone, released more work but without much success. As an inventor, he made more progress. Later Boston reunited for a tour, but Delp died by suicide in 2007. He had attached a note to his T-shirt saying "I am a lonely soul".
On 22 March 2017, Sib Hashian died on a cruise ship. He was to perform as part of the Legends of Rock Cruise. Hashian was 67 years old.
Top 2000
In the 24th edition of the Top 2000 (we are now in 2022), Boston has two entries in the Top 2000:
Sunday Morning Classic
Among all the great rock names from the ’70s, we must certainly not forget Boston! On 26 March 2023, their debut album Boston from 1976 was played on our Sunday Morning Classic turntable.
In January 1977, More Than A Feeling became a hit in the Netherlands, peaking in the Top 20. I was 12 years old (and my wife was born that year). My ears were tuned to disco and not yet ready for heavier music styles. In retrospect, I soon discovered Boston and many more names. The magazines praised the unique, warm sound and the immense production qualities of the record. Super melodic and yet that wall of sound. Tom Scholz had been tinkering with all this in his basement for years; people found it very special. Many experienced sound engineers must have listened in amazement to this brilliant newcomer, a spaceship arriving at warp 7.
Tom Scholz has a beautiful voice with which he can really belt out, but which also finds its way in the more than good ballads.
The record has no weak songs, the vocal and guitar melodies are more than beautiful, the variety is great. Here and there exciting, like on Foreplay with some progressive rock influences, just like some passages in Smokin’. The subtle intro of Something About You remains beautiful, soon followed by that wonderful guitar sound. That and much, much more, there is so much to enjoy.
The album is praised as one of the best in rock history, with an entry in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
On Spotify you can listen to our list of Sunday Morning Classics: Spotify Sunday Morning Classics
Source: NPO, Wikipedia and passages from various sites Photo: public domain and Michael Borkson
