Boston

it, in fact, was not more than a feeling.

🛸🛸/ 5 Why go out for British classic rock when we've got American classic rock at home? American classic rock:

This is more than just an album, it's a feeling.

If you put Seventies American Rock into an AI generator this is what you would get. More Than a Feeling is a great song but nothing else compares to it. Worth a listen but would you listen to it again. Probably not

As bad as I remembered it!

After the first couple of songs I thought this was going to be fantastic. This is my usual kind of music and I was excited to listen in full. Ultimately, it was a little disappointing. I felt a bit bored halfway through and was quite glad when it finished. Very much the same vibe on each song and I’d grown pretty old of it by the end.

Would have been something at the time I am sure, but it has a corny element to it I can’t ignore.

This band and this album have a genuinely inspiring story. When I first heard it and read about Tom Scholz and how he created his own custom equipment in his basement to record the guitars, I told my brother he was a musical genius, which my brother was like, 'Not exactly'. But reading up on the real process behind the making of this record, the years and years that went into it, the solitary, singular focus of Tom Scholz and his fake-it-til-you-make-it ingenuity, I'm inclined to stick with my initial assessment. It's really satisfying to think about the execs who rejected this record watch it climb the charts to an astonishing degree. I listened to it a lot in middle school (I probably got it from a Columbia Records '10 CD's for a penny' deal). When my buddy was learning to play bass after tearing his ACL playing football, we played 'More Than a Feeling' over and over. Of course, these aren't the most sophisticated songs and it's not exactly the coolest band in the world. But they are a lasting testament to American work ethic, not to mention a good reminder of music executives' enduring habit of being out of touch idiots.

i know this is seminal...but it's not for me :)

Very generic 70s rock, not the kind I enjoy. This might be a case of the album pioneering this sound, which was then taken further by other artists, and seeming basic in retrospect. More Than A Feeling is firmly embedded in my mind as advert music.

Boston’s self-titled 1976 debut is a masterclass in arena-rock engineering, packed wall-to-wall with zero-filler, banger tracks. What makes this record stand out so brilliantly is its landmark production quality—Tom Scholz’s immaculate, layered guitar tones, lush multi-track harmonies, and soaring vocals set a new standard for studio recording fidelity. From start to finish, every song lands with massive hooks and pristine execution, easily earning a perfect 5/5.

As I hit side two of Boston, it dawned on me that this is a perfect album. My sister-in-law nailed it: perfect for an 11th grade kegger in the woods for Boomers and Gen X. I cannot imagine 21st century kids being this carefree, celebratory and frankly unsophisticated. Like the debut of their fellow Bostonians, The Cars, I was amazed at how I knew every single song on an album I have never owned, nor remember friends playing. It speaks to my demographic and the repetitiveness of 1980s Classic Rock radio, but at least some credit should go to Boston. (BTW, Beantown had itself quite the scene in the early-mid 1970s: Aerosmith, The Cars, Modern Lovers, Boston and I am sure about a dozen smaller bands that rocked the college kids.) Boston (the band) is quick to praise themselves for making that scene in “Rock and Roll Band” as they extol their ability to make “people come alive.” That line is about par for lyrics on the record as they offer career advice about “climbing the company ladder” and “competition” in “Peace of Mind.” The verses and choruses are perfect for shouting in a parking lot. They even offer some late night drunk and stoned swaying with “More Than a Feeling.” No one puts on this record looking for insights into the secrets of life. I just want to rock, baby. Tom Scholz provides all you need in that department. Supercharged guitars that nearly rev out of the speakers as they often provide the power after a bit of acoustic. I would not say the drumming drives the beat rather than add an occasional jackhammer to Scholz’s construction. The amount of organ was new to me. Some of it had Keith Emerson flourishes before returning to the engineered guitar. At other points I thought somebody played in a bar band circa 1966. It became more Steppenwolf charging organ than ELP prog rock. No autotune existed at the time, but the vocals sound engineered in some fashion. Competing with arena rock volume from the band required pumping up the volumes in the mix and on the octave scale. Is the latter all Robert Plant’s fault? A necessity when amps are all turned to 11? In my recall, Plant and Freddie Mercury manage to compete or complement the instrumental accompaniment without getting into screech territory. Brad Delp and the rest of the vocalists on Boston cross the line into piercing too often for me. I listened to this album alone while driving, which was the perfect set-up. Probably provided the best audio experience and I was not embarrassed to play it around other people. That sums up my take on the record.

forgettable but nice 70s rock

Solid arena rock album

More than a feeling is good the rest are unremarakble

Bom disco, apesar de um pouco irregular.

With the story behind the making of the album, you'd expect a real sense of identity. Boston by Boston recorded in Massachusetts, definitively and against label wishes. However, you listen the album and hear a white frail body embodying Aretha Franklin. Now, I don't have a real issue with white people doing black music, but I have an issue when there's no personalization to it. When Bowie did it, it was still a Bowie record. Here, it is quite empty to me. Going through the album, I got over this and just thought of the album as a love letter to the Blues tradition. The idioms fill the album. Just when I thought I was fine, the gospel outro commences. Sealed the deal. Hate the album. Is the "Boston sound" just postmodern hell? Sounds a bit like The Eagles too. Or bad Zeppelin pastiche. Sterile melodies and timbres all around to corporatize rock. You can hear the through-line to the cheesy 80s ballad. But the band plays tight.

👍

Iconic

One of the quintessential 70's rock albums from a quintessential 70's rock band. Holy nostalgia.

My musical heartland is the late 60s and the 70s. This 70s album presaged the 80s, a musical wasteland to me. I find its guitar riffs repetitive and rather harsh. One or two classic songs almost save it. 2 stars.

I didn't know the whonis playing the track More Than a Feeling, but now I know! :) Otherwise, it is not my style.

Remember had a mate who was into this sort of thing. Round his house most of us punks he played this. The shock we got 8 songs long and boring. Then we saw them thought our das had formed a group. Now nearly 40 yrs older it's still long and boring.

This rocks more than I thought after only knowing More than a Feeling!

Smokin added to a playlist! 3,5 ster

rated 3/5

aaaaah jeg elsker Boston, men kun dette album... Guitars er sick, full distortion, 70's shredding + melody før Van Halen & co... Jeg tænker, det lyder mere moderne end mange album fra den tid

Det er en lyd det her. Man kan jo høre produktionen er god, og at det her ville være nogen rigtige natklub slaskere at the time, men stor kunst er det ikke i 2026

Altså den starter jo ud med en fuldstændig vanvittig banger. 5/5 for den. Derefter bliver opskriften lidt hurtigt tynd, men det tænker jeg egentlig ikke er så problematisk. Det er sgu egentlig bare ret fed 3.8

Really rather horrible

3.5/5 Every song is fun, the production is great, and even if it’s a bit cheesy it still holds up.

fuck this album

Many happy memories of this album and it is excellent. Such jammin rock ‘n’ roll! And you gotta love the whole bit with them being professors at MIT.

Classic! Rock!

Album 364. Boston (https://open.spotify.com/album/2QLp07RO6anZHmtcKTEvSC?si=dXC3hqV6SQmW_hi-ONzgyg) — Boston (1976) Super cool start and mid everything else, or maybe it's just not the right vibe today. Anyway it's a rock classic and I love it 4/5 Liked: — More Than a Feeling — Peace of Mind

An easy album to have on repeat. A really well produced album. Crisp and clean clean sound, perfectly executed. Really clear vocals and instruments. The harmonising gives it a smooth sound, so many great songs on here. Also a very cool album cover.

"More than a Feeling" was on the playlist at the parties I went to in my early teens. I always enjoyed hearing it there, and that’s what got me interested in the band—and especially in this album. I borrowed the record from a friend and listened to it at my leisure. I was disappointed back then—I really only liked “More Than a Feeling.” So I was curious to see how I’d like the album now. Not much has changed. “More Than a Feeling” is still great. Only “Foreplay/Long Time” surprised me and was a lot of fun. The rest isn't really that interesting. 3/5

This does not sound like it was produced by one guy in his bedroom. For that, he has my respect. Also for the chorus of track 1. Sadly I didn’t enjoy the album very much.

I admire the DIY

This one definitely goes in the “fun but shallow” bucket Very frontloaded album with some huge mega hits in both More Than a Feeling and Peace of Mind, two songs I’ve always liked quite a bit off their catchy guitar riffs and high energy. The next two songs on the album are also pretty fun and catchy; they clearly have more than 2 good songs after all. As stated earlier, this is very much a surface level album where there’s really nothing super interesting going on with the actual themes or very creative musical choices. The second half of the album feels like they ran out of steam and honestly the singer guy’s vocals sorta wear out their welcome after a bit. Have said this many times before, but I’d always rather have an album that sounds good and is very much listenable than something that might be a bit deep or creative but sounds like shit. This is definitely one where you pick out the singles or at the very least don’t need to flip over to side B

Can't go wrong with some epic rockers! It's not deep but by jove, it's fun

all of these songs sort of sound the same to me

A Dad Rock gem for the ages. Even your no good, chopped unc got down with it and probably likes to tell you that they were going to Boston shows in Boston before Boston shows in Boston were even a thing. But it's not true, because he was eight at the time and busy buying smokes for his mom at the corner store and not wearing a seatbelt. A staple of backyard bbq's and boat days for five decades and probably five more to come......unless we hit the singularity. Then we are just cooked and who gives AF about Boston at that point. Not me, that's for sure. Must have been a banger when it came out. For me it is reminiscent of childhood. Not even close to my favourite record but heavy on era specific nostalgia vibes. Four stars.

I love it !!!!!!!!!! And also their outfits!!!

I fell in love with Boston’s self-titled album back when I was in high school. My brother-in-law had a pretty good collection of classic ’70s rock albums, but this one was always my favorite. The opening track, “More Than a Feeling,” has this haunting sense of longing—of losing someone close to you and realizing how easily music can connect us to our memories. I often found myself putting that song on repeat for hours, depending on where I was emotionally at the time. There’s just something about hearing those opening guitar chords that can immediately transport me somewhere else. But the album is much more than just one great song. “Peace of Mind,” “Foreplay/Long Time,” and “Hitch a Ride” are all fantastic, and the combination of Tom Scholz’s layered guitars and Brad Delp’s soaring vocals gives the entire album that huge, unmistakable Boston sound. Nearly 50 years later, it’s still an album that holds up remarkably well—and “More Than a Feeling” still has the ability to take me right back to being that kid in high school, listening to my brother-in-law’s CDs and discovering just how powerful music could be.

This is arguably Boston's seminal work. I can't think of another album that had EVERY track be a radio hit and take over the musical consciousness like this one did. Every track is a banger and although it's great throughout, it doesn't strike me as a 5 star album. This stays at 4 for me.

YES

Hearing how they produced this album is the coolest thing ever when you're a high schooler getting into music through the classic rock station. Can't say I'm ever in the mood for much of it anymore these days, but I respect it for the importance it once had for me for sure.

Equal parts rocking and easy to ignore. It’s strange. I can vividly remember how much Long time struck me as a kid. Lightning in a bottle, just not very inventive.

Boston is great

Classic and very enjoyable rock album

A bit dated despite the ufo’s

I mean how can you not like Boston arena rock? The shredding guitar riffs? The use of the electric organ to create these power rock symphonies? It's not perspective-altering, thoughtful poeticism, or the world's most technically sound musicianship, and it doesn't need to be. It's Boston. Favorite Song: Peace of Mind Score: 86/100

OK

This was a good Friday Afternoon album. Although Long Time was weird. But this is really gets you amped up.

Eine Wucht von einem Album! Unverwechselbar! Mitreißend! Nahezu perfekt!

Knew the whole album

It's decent, really good at times, but just not for me. There is something a little over polished and lacking in soul for my tastes.

Ok

I really enjoyed this. Iconic sound and some great tracks on it.

3-4

Hitch a ride

Just short of a 5 for me but this is a great album.

I give this album a lot of crap for being bad (because it is) but I should also give it some credit for being good (because it is also).

Absolute classic, tons of bangers on here

More than a feeling gets all the love, but I think long time is the best track here. Solid album.

- Like anyone else who has owned a radio in the last 50 years, I have heard the hits off this album 1001 times. They land, though they have been so overplayed that it is difficult to not have them just wash over me. - Rest of the album is essentially more of the same. Fun, but nothing more. I did think "Something About You" was a nice track I had never heard before. - A lot of these lyrics are pretty inane (or even just a little gross...looking at you "Let Me Take You Home Tonight"). Also too many prog rock undertones for me. A couple of songs take minute-long organ breaks. Yeesh.

7/8 Best song: peace of mind

Boston are from Boston. You’d probably guessed that much. But when I looked it up, I discovered that Tom Scholz (Donald Thomas Scholz) wasn’t actually born in Boston at all, but in Toledo, Ohio. As every music lover probably knows, Scholz went on to study engineering at MIT, Boston’s technical university (with the much better-known Harvard catering for the less technical subjects), and eventually got a job at Polaroid. The company, in turn, was headquartered in Cambridge, which also happens to be Harvard’s official home. Enough university trivia. Scholz was a qualified engineer – and I’ll come back to that – with presumably a very decent job, but also a musical hobby. He apparently earned enough to build a studio in his house, where he spent his evenings recording demos. For six years. After a few years, he teamed up with his equally fanatical vegetarian mate Brad Delp, singer and rhythm guitarist. Scholz mainly needed Delp for his vocals: he had been trained as a classical pianist as a child, became famous as a guitarist, could manage the bass as well, and apparently could even play the drums. Well, some people are just annoyingly multi-talented. Anyway, the two zucchini enthusiasts recorded demos in Scholz’s basement – literally – tried to flog them to record companies and, would you believe it, after all those years Epic Records finally took the bait. They had no reason to regret it. Epic wanted Boston to record in a professional studio, but that wasn’t really Scholz’s cup of tea (presumably because they served hamburgers for lunch). So he took a few months off from Polaroid and threw himself into recording with even greater enthusiasm. He was assisted by an outside producer and an engineer, neither of whom he thought particularly competent in retrospect. During those six years, he had acquired an enormous amount of recording knowledge himself (and he was an engineer, as I may have mentioned). Delp’s vocals, however, were recorded in a professional studio. The whole process took place between October 1975 and April 1976. The final recording cost a few thousand dollars – presumably one of the best investments ever made – and on 25 August 1976, the debut album by the band Boston, titled *Boston* (well, technically untitled), was released in Boston. And, as we say in Dutch, the rest is history. Worldwide sales have now reached at least 20 million copies. In the US, the album has gone seventeen times platinum (one million copies per platinum certification), three singles made the US Top 40, and now, fifty years later, the songs – and above all that perennial hit, opening track ‘More Than a Feeling’ – are still impossible to escape on classic rock radio. Commercial success is all very nice for the band members and rights holders, and probably especially for the record company, but what matters much more to us is this: here, for once, is an album where commercial success and artistic achievement go hand in hand, one hundred per cent. It’s a phenomenal album. After my first few listens, I was inclined to stick with a nine because of the handful of reservations I’ll get to in a moment. But with every additional listen, I found myself thinking more and more: surely this is simply a ten? Now, although I love old-fashioned hard rock – this album is generally labelled *arena rock* avant la lettre – it’s not quite my thing. Just a little too slick, a little too sweet, and yes, a little too perfect in every respect. But my goodness, what a brilliantly executed record. All right, there’s a bit of a dip halfway through with ‘Rock & Roll Band’ and, particularly, ‘Smokin’’, both slightly too straightforward, poppy rock ’n’ roll numbers. (Apparently, you can combine that extremely unhealthy habit with fanatical vegetarianism.) But the overall standard is extraordinarily high. And so a ten is the only fair score, despite those two weaker tracks and two other things you need to be able to live with. Delp’s voice is rather high in the male vocal register. It’s not quite an acquired taste, but it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea either. The other thing? This album is absolutely packed. My usual complaint that too little happens clearly reached Scholz two years after I was born, and he took it to heart. A lot happens. And yes, by that I occasionally mean a little too much. There’s one more element we haven’t discussed yet. I’ve already hinted that the album sounds good. In fact, it’s one of the ultimate examples of a seventies record whose sound quality is something modern albums (by which I mean anything released after 1980) can’t get within miles of. But above all, there’s that one thing: Tom Scholz’s guitar sound. This is where the engineering comes in again. Scholz built and modified his own studio equipment, particularly guitar effects. Indeed, one of the spin-offs from this album was the founding of Rockman, a company that manufactured effects pedals. It ceased to exist in 1994 (Scholz presumably hasn’t eaten a single lentil less as a result). Vintage Rockman gear, which can be used to recreate the ‘Boston sound’, apparently fetches hefty sums on the second-hand market. Scholz’s guitar tone is quite extraordinary. Just listen to the intro of ‘Peace of Mind’. I honestly think that, among my 3,500 CDs and all the other music I’ve ever known or listened to, I’ve never heard a more beautiful guitar sound. The same goes for the famous solos in ‘More Than a Feeling’. And then there’s the outro of ‘Let Me Take You Home Tonight’, which also brings the album to a close. Just when you might have forgotten what you were listening to, that fantastic sound returns in all its glory. It’s rather amusing, because I doubt anyone would rank Scholz particularly high on a list of the greatest guitarists of all time. Yet his sound alone has had an enormous influence. Oh, and he’s pretty good on the organ, too. Listen to the instrumental opening section of ‘Foreplay/Long Time’, which is best described as a cross between Bach and jazz, but played at an amphetamine-fuelled tempo. Although this is perhaps not quite the place for it, a few words about what came next. Scholz took two years to deliver a follow-up, an unusually long time back then. He was perpetually dissatisfied with what was being produced, and the eventual result was *Don’t Look Back*. Hmm. Things got even worse after that. Recording *Third Stage* took six years. And this time they already had a record deal. By then, Scholz and Delp could split the beans between the two of them: the other band members – yes, there really were others – had long since left. The album featured ‘Amanda’, which would become the band’s only US number-one hit and is one of the most archetypal rock ballads of the decade of rock ballads. Yes, that’s a cliché, but it’s also a bloody good song. According to Wikipedia, Boston went on to release three more albums, in 1994, 2002 and 2013 (Scholz wasn’t getting any quicker). Nobody really noticed. Delp was no longer involved by the time the last one appeared: in 2007, after struggling with depression for decades, he took his own life. What remains is one of the most memorable debut albums ever made. Of course, you need to have a love of rock music, mountains of guitars and, above all, razor-sharp lead guitar sounds. But if you can tick those boxes, this is just over 37 minutes of pure pleasure. [The jokes above about the band’s vegetarianism, and Scholz and Delp in particular, aren’t intended as criticism of vegetarianism. Everyone can make that choice for themselves – and that’s precisely what the two gentlemen in question apparently didn’t think, because the liner notes (from this album or a later one; the CDs are currently in a moving box) contain a piece of missionary zeal urging everyone to follow in their footsteps.]

5 stars for just how good this sounds.

Absolutely amazing. A bit front loaded with the bangers, but that’s more than half the album.

Dobar album. Dobri instrumentali. Najdraza pjesma: Foreplay / Long Time

Turns out I love Boston.

10/18/26 i enjoyed some of the tracks on this overall, just not something that i'd come back to. Notable Tracks: - More Than a Feeling - Peace of Mind

It never ceases to amaze me how some muricans call this shit great music. It fucking dire ! It’s just generic dated boring crap. Get a grip for fucks sake

Одним словом величие, вызывающее светлую веру

Gave it an extra star as I lived in Boston. Also they had the Schlitz advert song

Pretty cheesy American rock. More than a feeling I enjoyed. The rest I did not.

There was a quiz on Spotify on how well you know Boston - I got a 36%; mostly because two of the questions were on this album Boston and guessing. I do not know Boston very well. I recognize a good amount of songs from this album but never searched them out.

Great album listen. Like a rock opera. Range of tracks is great Lots of rock on this list .. Notable tracks : more than a feeling , foreplay/long time

Iconic

Damn fine dad rock. Not a single bad song and I’m pretty sure I’ve heard all eight of the songs on the radio at some point in my life

Geen fan van progrock

This is up with the few albums where every track has been tattooed on my brain since formative years. Deep track (not sure anything on here could be considered a deep track) highlights - Hitch a Ride, Something About You.

Classic. Sometimes blends together.

I've occasionally wondered why I've never heard anything by Boston apart from More Than A Feeling, which is great. Now I know. Everything else was terrible. Rock by numbers with cringe lyrics. AI could probably write this, now.

Excelente disco, suena increible!

All American rock…llegue tarde a eso, por suerte

Kitch et rock : j’aime bien mais je réécouterai pas forcément

More than a feeling obvs a banger but just 70s rock to my ears

An album full of bangers, basically. Honestly, I was surprised that I knew every single song on this album without ever once having tried to listen to Boston, the album or the band. But every song I enjoyed, nodded along with, and even sang to. Great shit.

is boston really just two guys and some studio musicians? yes. have these songs been getting the shit played out of them on the radio for the last 50 years? also yes. but is basically every one of them an absolute all-time banger? lord yes. 5/5.

A somewhat entertaining, completely harmless, and pretty cheesy rock album. There is exactly one song on this record that everyone should listen to, but of course, everyone has already heard it way too many times

Not on Apple Music. Rating based on other album.

Such a great classic album to rock out to for my Friday! More Than A Feeling is such a strong opener, but Peace of Mind is probably my favorite. Really the whole album is great throughout, all the more impressive after learning Tom Scholz was the mastermind behind the most of it and the unconventional recording process he employed.

Classic

Such a great album!

What a hoot! I love classic rock and this scratches an itch. Good playing and sweet harmonies.

It’s fun, slightly schlocky, and filled with great musicianship. No it isn’t massively deep, really it’s pop music dressed in rock clothes, but there is nothing at all wrong with that. I enjoyed the whole thing!

Overall, it slaps! They bring the energy and the songs are interesting. I actually think this would be a fun show.