Here's something that doesn't happen every day: A new CD from Boston! (1 Viewer)

[rob kilbride]

I haven't listened to the album yet, but based on the sound clips I've heard on line, and the liner note credits I'm disappointed to find that Brad doesn't sing lead on all tracks and shares vocals with Fran Cosmo on others. I don't get it. I was so excited about hearing Brad sing on the greatest hits album and was disappointed to hear him basically dueting with Fran. I don't get why Fran isn't let go or relegated to back-up singing because he was obviously picked to imitate Brad Delp and he certainly isn't as good as the real thing. At least the guy taking Perry's place in Journey is a better facsimile of the original. I don't get why Tom wants it this way and why Brad puts up with it. Delp sang all lead tracks on the 1st 3 albums and most of the back-up tracks too. Others sang backup on the 1st RTZ album but still Brads voice is clearly allowed to dominate the vocal sound. This is certainly preferable to what they've done with this album. I'll probably like the album anyway because I like Walk On but am disappointed to say the least. I like the RTZ album very much and consider it to sound more like Boston than Walk On and probably CA. Yes the trademark TS guitar sound isn't there but Barry imitates it well enough that Brad's vocals are able to tip the scale.

 

[KeithH]

Jeff,
Yeah, I know what you mean. I have become more an audiophile in the eight years between the releases of Walk On and Corporate America, so I am more critical now. When I bought the Walk On CD in 1994, I was perfectly happy copying it to tape and playing it on a boombox in my research lab. Sound quality never occurred to me. Ah, it was such a simpler time.
Rob,
I agree with you. I love Brad Delp's voice and would prefer hearing him do all the lead vocals.

 

[Rick_Brown]

I have listened to the new CD 3 times now, and I'm very disappointed. This is a lame, pedestrian, murky mess! There is a sonic veil covering the music which makes it very fatiguing to listen to. The song-writing is rather amatuerish, and the vocals strangely lacking committment. Almost every song is a change-of-pace; there is very little regular "Boston" tunes. Even the guitar playing is lacks any sense of "Wow!" like it usually does.

 

[Dan Joy]

Keith, Glad to hear I am not the only one hearing static. I blew a tweeter yesterday, replaced it , and then started listening to Boston and thought what else did I do. So far, the back cover irks me, I read this while munching on a cheeseburger . The album does get fatiguing rather quickly, but I find my self trying to listen some more any way.

 

[Brian Perry]

It's disappointing to hear that the sonics are lacking, especially from a group whose first albums sounded so good considering they were recorded in a basement.

 

[KeithH]

Rick,
I'm not as disappointed with Corporate America as you are, but I am disappointed nonetheless. It has a bit of the Boston sound, but it is not up to par with their other albums. Years back, I read a lot of criticism of Walk On for sounding like the same thing over again. That's not a bad thing, as far as I am concerned. I love the "Boston sound" on the first four albums. Unfortunately, Corporate America misses the mark, in my opinion.
Dan,
Thanks for confirming the static issue. Sorry to hear you blew a tweeter. Did Boston do that? :frowning:

 

[Dan Joy]

Thanks for confirming the static issue. Sorry to hear you blew a tweeter. Did Boston do that?

No, believe it or not Melissa Etheridge's new dvd Live and Alone did A solo performance (I did't know that's what alone meant in the title, for all I knew she could have recked another marriage )that seemed to be recorded at a low level. So I turned it up and poof, bye bye tweeter. Thankfully my hifi store replace it immediately (something said for service) Anyway, I am a big Melissa fan, I just wish she could have included her bad, they can really jam!

 

[KeithH]

Dan, glad to hear you got such excellent service. Remember that dealer next time you are looking for some hardware! They would have earned the opportunity to gain my future business.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

After listening to the new album a number of times it is growing on me. It is pretty derivitive of earlier albums in a number of places (two more songs with a More than a Feeling vibe), and I can't help thinking some of Fran's songs remind me of Oasis. There are some pretty cool moments though, and dispite my criticisms, this still is better than 99% of the other music out there.

 

[KeithH]

Jeff said:

this still is better than 99% of the other music out there.

No doubt about that. The album is growing on me a bit. It's still not up to par with Boston's other efforts, in my opinion, but it has its good points. I like the sound of "I Had A Good Time", as it has that good Boston feel to it. However, the reprise, where Kimberley Dahme says, "Wanna do it again?", is a bit cheezy.

 

[Pete Gia]

I was fortunate enough to see Boston here in St. Pete back in the day,after the release of the debut album. They sounded great. Flawless performance. It still amazed by how good the first album sounds.

 

[KeithH]

Pete,
You lucky dog! I was only six back when Boston debut album came out, so I wasn't going to any rock concerts back then. However, I would have loved to see them back then. I still remember when my brother bought the LP back in '76. As a youngster, it is one of the first albums in which I could make a connection between the band and the music. That album holds incredible sentimental value to me. I played the cassette constantly in high school, and it was the first album I bought on CD. (I probably said all of this in an earlier post within this thread, but I don't care. )
I read in the latest Columbia House music catalog that Boston Boston is the best-selling debut rock album of all-time, with over 16 million copies sold. I am not at all surprised. This is a great factoid for Boston fans.
All,
I have to say that Corporate America is growing on me. It's only 8:37 a.m. as I type this, but I am already playing the CD for the second time this morning. Yes, the sound quality is still lacking, and the static in "I Had A Good Time" is annoying, but the music is good. There is some definite Boston sound in this album, but not all the way through. "I Had A Good Time" reminds me of Third Stage and Walk On, while "Corporate America" has a Walk On sound. Overall, I have to say I am happy with this album. Above all, I am thrilled to have a new album from Boston. As I said in the subject of this thread, we don't get new stuff from Boston every day, so these are good times!
NP: Boston Corporate America (Duh!)

 

[Pete Gia]

Yeah Keith,I`m an "old guy". All this talk about the new Boston disc makes me want to check it out. Saw Cream when they first came to the States. FANTASTIC. Saw Hendrix too.He was wasted on "smack",but was Great. Other notables include the Beatles,ThreeDog Night,and Vanilla Fudge. Was also fortunate enough to see Count Basie and Buddy Rich big bands on a regular basis,in small night clubs. Those were the days!(What I remember of them) Happy Listening -Pete

 

[KeithH]

Pete, wow, you have seen some great performers. You are lucky. Definitely pick up Corporate America. It isn't Boston's best album, but it is a good one.

 

[Rob Tomlin]

Quote:

I agree, except it wasn't Kimberly Dahme, it is "Julia Van Daam, whoever that is?!
All in all, I am still extremely happy that Boston has released another album. Definitely worth the purchase. Cuts 1, 2, 3, and 6 are quite good, and worth repeated listening!

 

[KeithH]

Rob, you offer fair criticism. I guess I am getting used to Corporate America. As I said, it is not their best effort by a long shot, but there is some quality material there. As for "Livin' for You", it doesn't belong there, but when it comes up on Corporate America, I don't complain since I like the song. Still, I don't know why they added it. I agree with you that any real Boston fan should already have Walk On and Greatest Hits. It's not like Boston churns out albums at a frenetic pace that we cannot keep up with.

 

[Rob Tomlin]

Just for comparison's sake, I listened to Walk On for the first time in a while. Some of the songs on that album are really quite good. I believe that album, with the exact same songs, would have been received much better if Brad Delp had sung lead vocals on it.
In any event, I believe that overall Walk On is the better album between it and Corporate America. But, CA has Brad Delp, so songs like "I Had A Good Time" and "Corporate America" are not found on Walk On.
Corporate America has grown on me a bit more, although I still think it is the weakest of their 5 albums.

 

[KeithH]

Rob, I agree with everything you said. Walk On never got a lot of notoriety. For one thing, it came in 1994, when I think a lot of people had forgotten about Boston. Also, I their style wasn't exactly popular by 1994. As I said earlier in this thread, I read criticism of Walk On some years back because it sounded "like the same thing over again." In other words, it was standard Boston. I don't care. Walk On was a wonderful album. I too would have preferred Brad Delp on lead vocals over Fran Cosmo, but it's still a great album.

Corporate America has grown on me, but it is Boston's worst album, in my opinion. Some songs stand out, like "I Had a Good Time". That's a great song, but the static is really annoying. Given Tom Scholz's attention to detail, how did the song get released with the static? I can't believe it was intended.

 

[Rob Tomlin]

Given Tom Scholz's attention to detail, how did the song get released with the static? I can't believe it was intended.

I have only listened to Corporate America in my car, so I haven't noticed the static yet. I will need to listen on my Home System, or headphones. But, as far as Tom's "attention to detail", I would have to say that he must not be the perfectionist that he once was.
I have seen Boston in concert 4 times. The first two times were unfrickinbelievable. Like listening to the actual CD! The third time (for the Walk On tour) they were still very good and tight, but you could tell that they were not quite a perfect as they use to be.
Then, I saw them at Universal Amphitheater a few years back, I believe it was after the greatest hits album came out. Anyway, Universal Amphitheater is a great place to see a concert, with excellent acoustics. Man, Boston did not sound too good that night! Both Fran and Brad struggled with some of the notes, and perhaps most noteworthy of all was the fact that on several occasions there was very bad feedback coming through the system.
This was quite shocking in that Tom Scholz use to be known as such a perfectionist. Some like this would have really pissed him off. But he didn't bat an eye.
I remember for the Third Stage tour, he would arrive several days before the show to make sure all the equipment was set up perfectly, and there would be no "mishaps" like the horrible feedback we got at Universal. Very surprising and disappointing.
Also, the fact that Tom now uses a drum machine is very hard to swallow. Go back and read the liner notes from Third Stage. He makes a point of telling everyone how every sound from that album is from a real instrument! No synthesizers were used, brags Tom. But now he uses a drum machine? I don't get it. And the drum machine was used on Walk On too.
Oh well, I still love Boston and they are, and always will be, one of my favorite bands of all time. They set the bar so high with their first two albums, how could we ever expect them to approach that greatness again!?

 

[KeithH]

Rob, I guess Tom Scholz has mellowed over the years. In this case, that's not a good thing. Regarding the static, I have listened to "I Had a Good Time" through computer speakers, a boombox, and the car, and aside from my home systems, I could only readily pick up the static in the car. It is easiest to detect on my better home system.
I saw Boston in concert on the Walk On tour in the summer of 1994. That's the only time I've seen them live. They were great. I did not know that Brad Delp was on the tour beforehand, so that was a pleasant surprise. I thought they gave a great show. No technical glitches, and everything sounded solid. I wouldn't say that the music sounded like the albums, but it sounded good. I would have loved to have seen them in concert in the early days, but I was only six when Boston came out.