tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post7746619197875549960..comments2024-03-02T07:40:22.786+03:00Comments on Only Solitaire blog: Boston: BostonUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-1026032737680998052021-01-06T23:30:36.759+03:002021-01-06T23:30:36.759+03:00On the old site you wrote about Brian May: "t...On the old site you wrote about Brian May: "to show himself an absolute master of all these tricky guitar technologies. His obligatory spotlight, the lengthy solo on 'Brighton Rock', doesn't bore me for a single second."<br /><br />Just today it struck me, while listening to a live version from 1977 of Lunar Musick Suite by Steve Hillage, that that guitar wizard pulled off similar tricks. He proceeded with a cosmic interpretation of the Bo Diddley beat - quite funny.<br />Be warned: this version of LMS lasts 23 minutes. So you must really feel like trying.MNbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01427385535099104405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-66157960540759724962015-03-20T11:40:14.265+03:002015-03-20T11:40:14.265+03:00If Paul McCartney, and not Robert Plant, had front...If Paul McCartney, and not Robert Plant, had fronted Led Zeppelin, THIS is what it might have sounded like.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10396800970322002521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-75464320999070868022015-03-14T18:44:01.141+03:002015-03-14T18:44:01.141+03:00The first album is definitely the only one worth l...The first album is definitely the only one worth listening to and the only one with songs that have held up.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01167182864755645970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-64960814453419503442015-03-12T18:36:40.626+03:002015-03-12T18:36:40.626+03:00Just saying that after constantly hearing first 3 ...Just saying that after constantly hearing first 3 albums (plus fourth a couple of times without liking it), "Don't Look Back" remains their best and the band only needed a couple of years to follow up the overhyped-though-still-worthy debut.Dean "I don't care what others think" LaCapraranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-20452423850970937692015-03-12T00:49:08.625+03:002015-03-12T00:49:08.625+03:00I don't think any statistically relevant amoun...I don't think any statistically relevant amount of people hold that viewpoint at all. You're just making up some weird mindset to justify a subjective difference of opinion. The vast majority of people don't even consider Led Zeppelin's debut to be their best, so your argument falls apart right there. Do you know anybody who thinks Please Please Me is the best Beatles album? How about England's Newest Hitmakers for The Rolling Stones? Pretties For You for Alice Cooper? White Music for XTC? High Volatge for AC/DC? This Was for Jethro Tull? The list goes on basically forever.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-32575586176811332662015-03-11T21:28:36.862+03:002015-03-11T21:28:36.862+03:00"and/artist has x number of years to write th..."and/artist has x number of years to write then record their debut, whereas the follow-up(s) will get maybe a year or possibly more,"<br /><br />Huh? If there's an artist with hugest gaps between albums in the history of mankind, that would be Boston. That's plenty of time for going "into composition, rehearsals, etc." Each consequent album worse than the previous.Simpliushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13125893204327162588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-46435573008656544112015-03-11T05:32:23.003+03:002015-03-11T05:32:23.003+03:00Sorry but here's a rare case when/where the so...Sorry but here's a rare case when/where the sophomore album shits all over its predecessor (not like it sucks or I don't care for at least some tunes, notably "Hitch a Ride" and "Something about You," two undeniable rock 'n' roll classics). <br /><br />I don't understand why fans and most critics have this notion in their minds: a band/artist has x number of years to write then record their debut, whereas the follow-up(s) will get maybe a year or possibly more, though back in the Seventies probably a few months if you don't count being on tour. Therefore, album #1 must be superior! In the case of Boston, Led Zeppelin & others the debut must be their finest hour! Look how much time went into composition, rehearsals, etc. It must be true!<br /><br />The historical reality of pop and rock music: the vast majority of important bands/artists peak 3-5 years after their debut, unless you're in a band like the Sex Pistols who only made one real album or are lucky enough to be part of a Supergroup like the Beatles, Who, obviously the Stones...you get my drift.<br /><br />"Boston" is likely my second favourite of a group who've only released a half-dozen albums since 1976; the last 25 years have been mostly garbage whereas the 1978 oft-ignored US chart-topper (granted, spurred on by all the hype/success of this album) is arguably that year's best. Here side one is a lesson on phoning in three corporate "hits" with of course one being their most-played song ever, plus a relatively good overall second half.Dean "Toronto" LaCapraranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-36689892869202584612015-03-10T19:50:03.327+03:002015-03-10T19:50:03.327+03:00What is the metric how you determine something as ...What is the metric how you determine something as sincere and emotional? I hope you're human being.Simpliushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13125893204327162588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-57906587653132506312015-03-10T12:45:49.173+03:002015-03-10T12:45:49.173+03:00You might want to check some Japanese bands: the Z...You might want to check some Japanese bands: the ZZZ's and the Akabane Vulgars.MNbnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-86884298429695812422015-03-10T12:43:46.168+03:002015-03-10T12:43:46.168+03:00Yeah, but how do you determine? Gut feeling is not...Yeah, but how do you determine? Gut feeling is not exactly a reliable method.MNbnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-61961787763437530122015-03-10T04:56:20.255+03:002015-03-10T04:56:20.255+03:00Oh, whoops, didn't see that it had been posted...Oh, whoops, didn't see that it had been posted already.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-35110467702903022422015-03-10T04:55:11.649+03:002015-03-10T04:55:11.649+03:00>What would that electric jellofish spaceship o...>What would that electric jellofish spaceship on the front cover be about, otherwise?<br /><br />The spaceships are guitars, actually. The same guitar-spaceships as on all the other Boston album covers (even <i>Third Stage</i>; it's docking with the organ-spaceship on that one).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-34932218348774816912015-03-10T01:00:33.640+03:002015-03-10T01:00:33.640+03:00If there is a sincere and soulful Boston song - th...If there is a sincere and soulful Boston song - that would be 'More Than A Feeling'.<br /><br />Bon Jovi? None, all fake.Simpliushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13125893204327162588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-27357447329752613432015-03-09T23:26:05.282+03:002015-03-09T23:26:05.282+03:00That "electric jellyfish" is, if you foc...That "electric jellyfish" is, if you focus better, indeed "electric guitars" escape/escapism from this world that is breaking apart. Apparently heading to the worst possible wolds of the Boston's last two albums.Simpliushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13125893204327162588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-72743686116110939022015-03-09T23:12:15.438+03:002015-03-09T23:12:15.438+03:00The ultimate guilty pleasure album, and the real b...The ultimate guilty pleasure album, and the real beginning of the corporate rock. A genre that will show its ugly butt a couple of years later.<br /><br />Queen and Brian May parallels are excellent: 10000 superimposed guitars, and proud "No Synthesizers" declaration on the both bands' covers.<br /><br />After so-soish second album, and invention of the portable guitar amp, "Rockman", whatever Tom Scholz created further was a step downward. <br /><br />The epilogue today is that Scholz is an old fool, totally deprived of any creative juices that he possessed, and rambling about the superiority of compact cassettes over digital formats.Simpliushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13125893204327162588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-27335249466277003822015-03-09T22:17:57.553+03:002015-03-09T22:17:57.553+03:00This comment has been removed by the author.Simpliushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13125893204327162588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-22674157586184233942015-03-09T22:05:37.831+03:002015-03-09T22:05:37.831+03:00A damn good album -- and just about the only good ...A damn good album -- and just about the only good thing they ever did. I can't think of another band that put out one gem of a record and only a handful of passable songs over the next 40 years. Cheesy and dumb for sure (as is the very nature of arena rock), but with enough flair and taste to be enjoyable -- Tom Scholz is a skilled guitarist and songwriter (at least for now) and Brad Delp's overblown vocals never get too obnoxious. Most of the songs are catchy and energetic, with a healthy mix of thunder and artsiness (particularly "Foreplay/Long Time" and "Smokin'", a ZZ Top-esque song with a Deep Purple-ish midsection).<br /><br />These days it's a vain cause to hope for a new Led Zeppelin or Deep Purple in today's hard rock/heavy metal scene, but I wouldn't mind hearing more bands that at least reached the caliber of "Boston".Which One's Pink?https://www.blogger.com/profile/01967778287591586043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-42218986169359733692015-03-09T21:28:35.856+03:002015-03-09T21:28:35.856+03:00Brad Delp committed suicide seven or eight years a...Brad Delp committed suicide seven or eight years ago.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01167182864755645970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-62024541908143289992015-03-09T19:16:19.975+03:002015-03-09T19:16:19.975+03:00"the ultimate formula for it appears before o..."the ultimate formula for it appears before our eyes"<br />We can easily grant Boston this point, but the first ones to do arena rock were of course Deep Purple with both Smoke on the Water and Woman from Tokyo. These songs already contain the points you mention. What Tom Scholz adds is the heavenly oversteered guitar sound. Brian May would do the same a few years later on for instance Spread your Wings. And that begs the question: why are that song and More than a Feeling so enjoyable, while Bon Jovi can be so annoying? "Sincerity" is not a good enough answer. Boston never was that sincere a band either. Freddy Mercury compensates by making clear that it's all theatre, so that the question of sincerity becomes irrelevant. Catchiness is not a good enough answer either - Bad Medicine is equally catchy.<br />I suppose you're right that on this album bombast is put in service of the music (Dio-era Rainbow would do the same in an entirely different way) while Bon Jovi puts the music in service of bombast. Ie bombast as a means versus bombast as a purpose.<br />Let me take you Home Tonight (were it entirely acoustic I might have tolerated it) confirms this when it totally unnecessarily turns into bombast at the end. I don't like the too bland Something about You either, so I always stop at Hitch a Ride.MNbnoreply@blogger.com