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Boston

Boston

1976

Buy At Rough Trade
Boston
Album Summary

Boston is the debut studio album by American rock band Boston. Produced by Tom Scholz and John Boylan, it was released on August 25, 1976, by Epic Records. Scholz studied classical piano in his childhood and became involved in the Boston music scene in the late 1960s. He subsequently started to write and record demos in his apartment basement with singer Brad Delp; they had received numerous rejection letters from major record labels in the early 1970s. By 1975, the demo tape had fallen into the hands of CBS-owned Epic Records, who signed them. Epic wanted the band to record in Los Angeles with a record producer, but Scholz was unwilling and wanted to record the album in his basement studio, so he hired Boylan to run interference with the label. In an elaborate ruse, Scholz tricked the label into thinking the band was recording on the West Coast, when in reality, the bulk was being tracked solely by Scholz at his Massachusetts home. The album's contents are a complete recreation of the band's demo tape, and contain songs written and composed many years prior. The album's style, often referred to as the "Boston sound", was developed through Scholz's love of classical music, melodic hooks and guitar-heavy rock groups such as the Kinks and the Yardbirds, as well as a number of analogue electronic effects developed by Scholz in his home studio. Besides Scholz, who played most of the instruments on nearly all of the tracks, and Delp, other musicians appear on the album. Drummer Jim Masdea worked extensively with Scholz during the writing, arranging, and demo process and plays drums on one song on the final album, "Rock & Roll Band". Sib Hashian plays drums on the rest of the tracks. Guitarist Barry Goudreau and bassist Fran Sheehan, who joined the band after most of the tracks had been recorded, contribute some overdubs to "Foreplay/Long Time" and appear in the final track on the album, "Let Me Take You Home Tonight", which was recorded separately from the rest of the album. The album was released by Epic in August 1976 and broke sales records, becoming the best-selling debut LP in the US at the time, and winning the RIAA Century Award as best selling debut album. The album's singles, most notably "More Than a Feeling" and "Long Time", were both AM and FM hits, and nearly the entire album receives constant rotation on classic rock radio. The album has been referred to as a landmark in '70s rock and has been included on many lists of essential albums. It has sold at least 17 million copies in the United States alone and at least 20 million worldwide making it one of the best selling debut albums of all time.

Wikipedia

Rating

3.72

Votes

12179
Genres
Hard Rock

Reviews

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Thu Jan 27 2022
2

I have been replaced by Cheese. i have babybell balls and a cheesestring penis. my arse is now two full wheels of edam, my toes are wotsits, my face is like a punched brie and my knob cheese is now a refined delicacy this album is so fucking cheesey that it has the midas touch but for cheese instead of gold. the more i listen to this the more i feel like i'm lack toes intolerant. je suis le fromage.

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Tue Feb 16 2021
4

I don't "love" Boston. Not for any real reason but mainly just fatigue. That said, this album is pretty much banger after banger and each song elicits a special memory or lack of memory like getting black out drunk at various south bend bars and watching shitty dude-centric movies in the aughts where the director was probably like 'I dont know... lets just play more than a feeling over this scene'

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Wed Jul 14 2021
5

how can someone listen to this album and not get a raging boner of epicness?

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Tue Sep 14 2021
5

Radio killed Boston for me and their self-titled album is one of those I don't really ever need to hear again after hearing "More than a feeling" hundreds of times. That being said I won't hold that against the band in this review. Boston is an amazing album. Recorded at a home studio against the recorded companies wishes, it is a solid killer rock album from start to finish. I listened to it today and enjoyed it thoroughly even though I'll be putting the album away again for a while. The album is full of great guitar solos especially the one in "Hitch a Ride", a personal favorite. This is probably one of the few 5 star ratings I'll be giving for an album that I don't play a lot but it says a lot that I groaned when this came up on the list but put it on anyway and still enjoyed every moment of it.

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Fri May 14 2021
4

Peak dad rock. This dad approves.

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Tue Sep 15 2020
5

Classic. Road trip wind-blowing-in-your-hair type stuff. Standout tracks: Foreplay / Long Time Rock & Roll Band Smokin' Hitch a Ride

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Mon Nov 23 2020
5

NICE!!! Another 5/7, perfect score!!!

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Sun Feb 21 2021
5

Epic powerhouse record front to back with weaknesses. I put it in my top 100 rock albums of all time! (mic drop...with sleeveless concert tee on, haha)

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Tue Sep 14 2021
5

This is not the best selling debut album of all time (well, for a time) for no reason. If you love classic rock this is an essential. But what would I tell someone who hasn't listened to it 1000 times? Equally pounding vs. deft guitar playing, great harmonies, impressive guitar solos. And yes, some cheesy lyrics or hitting of high notes and added studio effects that likely aren't needed but that defined this era (Queen) or foreshadowed the next (Van Halen). The transition from Foreplay to Long Time is a classic music suspense moment. The last minute of Let me Take you Home Tonight is classic rock excess at its best. Essentially every song has an infectious musical intro (Peace of Mind) or verse (More Than a Feeling) or both (Smokin) that you can't help but rock out to. And if you just want to rock out, you'd be hard pressed to find a better, more fun album.

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Sun Dec 27 2020
5

Idk what I can say about this. One of my favorite albums of all time. Incredible guitar work from Tom Scholz, incredible vocals from Brad Delp, incredible drumming, God I love this album so much

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Sat Feb 13 2021
5

Stellar album great tracks, great riffs, unique sound. Awesome

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Tue Sep 14 2021
5

Total guilty pleasure - slick production, great songwriting, but definitely 70s power pop cheese. Regardless, More Than Feeling and Peace of Mind alone would make this album a 5. Plenty of great moments aside from that. There are better album I would rate a 5, but 5 seems like the right answer for this one.

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Thu Jan 27 2022
3

Just 70s shit isn't it? Fine, not awful, not good. What do you want from me? Slam poetry?

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Fri Apr 01 2022
2

It was exactly as I expected. Very familiar yet slightly irritating... all the classic rock songs I know will come on the radio and I know I will skip and change the station. It feels like sitting in an auto shop waiting room.

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Tue Jan 11 2022
1

There are some albums that, when they pop up on this generator, make ones heart sink. This is one of those albums. More than a bloody feeling indeed! It's got that hideous American "rawk" guitar and vocals sound. Ugh! Horrible.

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Sat Apr 24 2021
5

Great album, it's like the epitome of Classic rock. B side is a bit weaker but A side is banging

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Tue Jan 19 2021
5

Instant 5 star album, this is a quintessential classic rock album. One of the fastest selling debut albums of all time, the first three tracks are instantly recognizable to anyone, they are true classic rock classics. The vocals and instruments, notably the guitars, are so FIRE. Tom Scholz is a musical genius, recording a lot of these tracks in his own basement. This album is a special one and if I could rate it higher than 5 stars I would.

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Sat Nov 27 2021
5

Cet album m'était absolument inconnu avant de le lancer. Vous pourriez donc vous dire que c'est un miracle qui a eu lieu ici, étant donné ma réputation qui m'interdit de donner le moindre 5/5 a tout artiste n'etant pas Michael Jackson. Mais vous vous trompez, cela ne releve pas du miracle. Ce 5/5 était même très attendu de ma part. En effet, j'entretiens depuis de nombreux mois une relation musicale très forte avec la figure paternelle de la famille robperimètre, avec qui nous échangeons très régulièrement au sujet du générateur. Il a pour sa part déjà terminé le générateur il y a de longues années, et vit desormais en complète autonomie dans une grotte, entouré de vinyles. Lorsque je lui évoquais Boston comme album du jour, il hocha la tête et déclara: "Très très bon tirage, j'ai au moins un de leur vinyle en ma possession." Je savais à cet instant précis que j'allais passer un grand moment de musique.

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Thu Aug 24 2023
5

Scratched an itch I didn't know I had.

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Thu Aug 24 2023
5

5/5. A classic, classic rock album. Every song is just so well written and feels so clean. This is just a perfect album and the first side is one of the best vinyl sides in music history. Just so good.

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Thu Jan 27 2022
3

Kevin Garnett in his speedos climbing up a tree. A crow flies in and steals his throat soothers that he's been saving for a special occasion. Mark Wahlberg looks on pensively. The tree breaks and Kevin falls through the floor into Belgium's capital, Brussels. Jason Orange is there. Naked. A troubled horse jumps out of a house of mirrors and plays the bongos for a few seconds. The onlookers are impressed. Matt Damon appears. He's frowning. A beekeeper eats a pear. Everyone dances to Boston by Boston apart from Eddie the Eagle Edwards. He does a ski jump into the endless corridor of time. Hacksaw Jim Duggan greets him with a warm smile. A small crab falls from the sky. Robert Downey Jr catches it in his mouth and spits it back at the world. Tanny Grey-Thompson stands up and applauds. This causes a radiator to malfunction and jockey Ruby Walsh to burst into song at first, and then into flames. The gatekeeper lets 11 fish and 4 sheep into the dining room. They are presented with medals for good behaviour during their time on The Weakest Link. The orchestra plays the theme tune. The corpse of Meatloaf wrestles a priceless vase. The winner must drink the piss of Princess Diana through the eye of a needle. The referee blow the final whistle and they all go to the bathroom for chips and drinks. Sarah Palin wants crisps.

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Sat Dec 23 2023
3

Ok, look…it’s Boston…they self-produced a pretty great record, it was a massive success and then they never made anything else that lived up to this record. The songs that are worth hearing here are songs you’ve heard at least 1,001 times in your life already. It’s an exceptionally well produced album that makes great use of the 24 track tape it was recorded on: two tracks for vocals, one for hand claps, one track for drums, one for bass, one for keyboards and the remaining 18 for guitars. I’m kidding, but not by much. The DIY aspect of this record is what intrigues me the most, and it’s a good story, but musically I’m not sure it’s not far off from a REO Speedwagon or Kansas record. Pretty standard 70’s MOR rock music. It just sounds punchier because there’s a wall of guitars layered on thicker than the getup that Ralphie’s brother had to wear to school in A Christmas Story.

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Tue Oct 26 2021
2

Like movie franchises that recapitulate their templates until they're the only way their super fans can understand art, Boston engineer prog anthems so perfect they could win a Nobel Prize—except there's not much to them beyond technical wizardry. Just immaculate playing propping up a familiar hopeless romanticism. For the first half, the wispy, lispy, kind of wimpy vocals are so in thrall to the calculated catchiness of the songs that they temper the bombast enough to make it fun. So much so that I was set to give it a 3. But it’s amazing how quickly it got boring once the tunes thinned out just a little bit on the second side. P.S. I actually looked up where they were from!

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Wed Nov 09 2022
1

If you think about it, even now there must be at least a million people in the world who would say their favorite band is Boston. Life is weird. I never knew anything about this band, or cared to. I just learned that one guy played most of the instruments, which makes a lot of sense. The playing is all showy, gimmicky, grating, and empty. That kind of consistency is only possible if all the pieces are the product of the same ego.

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Mon Mar 08 2021
5

Already knew more than a feeling but the whole album is great

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Sun Feb 21 2021
5

Fantastic album, borderline progressive Rock to RockNRoll. Top of the heap in the late 70s

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Thu Jan 14 2021
5

An amazing album, enjoyed every single bit of it!

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Wed Apr 14 2021
5

Easily one of the best classic rock albums.

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Thu Jan 21 2021
5

Basically hit after hit. one of my fav

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Thu Jan 28 2021
5

Fantastic album. Pretty much every song bangs

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Sat May 22 2021
5

Perfect classic rock. 10/10 1. Peace of Mind 2. More Than a Feeling 3. Hitch a Ride

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Tue Mar 02 2021
5

Awesome stuff! Hard rock turns power pop. I really enjoyed this. Thought I'd only heard "More Than A Feeling" before, but recognized "Foreplay/Long Time", which I'm naming fave track, from a bunch of TV shows and loved hearing the whole thing!

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Tue Apr 20 2021
5

God, even if you don't like this type of rock, this record does not QUIT. And I love it.

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Fri May 14 2021
5

Insta-5. What even can be said?

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Tue Feb 16 2021
5

That was an extraordinarily enjoyable 40 minutes - which I really enjoyed as an album length but I imagine pissed people off back in the day. Half of these are classic rock anthems, but I really liked the others too. The sound is consistent and not too varied but I love it.

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Fri May 07 2021
5

Really enjoyed the album. Excellent guitar and vocal work.

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Mon Jul 26 2021
5

Practically a greatest hits record, one of the strongest debuts of any band. Every song is an instant classic, and I don't think there's a wasted second on the record. Brad Delp's voice is wonderfully joyous throughout the entire record, backed by some excellent roaring guitars. Favorite tracks: "Foreplay/Long Time", "Rock and Roll Band", "Peace of Mind"

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Mon Aug 09 2021
5

5/5 - I mean, this is one of the greatest albums ever.

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Fri Nov 26 2021
5

I wouldn’t say I’m a Boston fan but this album rocks from the beginning to the end. Maybe I am a fan?

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Tue Aug 22 2023
4

A childhood favorite. Timeless as far as AOR goes. Favorite tracks: First five. Rock & Roll Band is underrated. 4/5

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Tue Aug 22 2023
4

I wasn’t familiar with Boston until recently but these songs really slap

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Mon Feb 08 2021
3

This album is fun! Can see where the darkness got their inspiration.

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Tue Jan 19 2021
5

Bom demais meu deus. E a página da wikipedia vale a pena ler.

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Wed Jun 16 2021
5

Had the cassette. Perfect for the drive from Ft Worth to Dallas and back. Played air guitar the entire way to the Cotton Bowl.

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Tue Feb 16 2021
5

Great band and this album is almost a greatest hits. Thinking about this great MIT grad Tom Scholz makes me wonder how Yichao is doing... I hope well

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Fri Mar 05 2021
5

Every song is a hit that stands up today. Didn't understand that this is a near perfect pop rock album as I've heard all of these songs for years on radio.

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Fri Feb 26 2021
5

Classic album by a classic band

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Wed Mar 17 2021
5

Classic but every song sounds the same

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Fri Apr 30 2021
5

So many bangers. Peace of Mind. Smokin’.....

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Tue May 04 2021
5

Fantastic album, it put me in a great mood

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Mon Apr 19 2021
5

Lots of classics. I feel like I’ve heard all these songs before even if I didn’t necessarily know who the band was when I heard them.

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Mon May 10 2021
5

i’ve loved this album for ages, makes me very nostalgic bc i grew up listening to it with my parents a lot

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Mon May 17 2021
5

Amazing A-side. Truly top notch. B-side doesn't disappoint.

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Mon Jul 26 2021
5

Cracking album. Generally good tracks with some great hits thrown in there. Would pay decent money to buy if I came across it - Great 80s rock and (possibly?) my favourite album of the ones I've rated so far A solid 4.5 from me

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Thu Aug 05 2021
5

just great, full of absolute bangers

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Thu Sep 09 2021
5

A hard rock classic. This album has been on my regular listening cycle for 40+ years.

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Sat Sep 11 2021
5

This is what an excellent classic rock album should be. It's a was a fun to listen to, great guitar work, solid debut album. If you like the genre you'll enjoy it!

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Sat Sep 18 2021
5

Great album - 8 tracks, and all 8 get regular classic rock play. Defined 70's hard rock sound, with classical touches. "Peace of Mind" would make a good punk cover by Bad Religion.

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Sun Sep 19 2021
5

Oh man....this is still in my topb10. This is a perfect album!

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Mon Sep 20 2021
5

It feels cringe to give it 5, but it truly does stand on its own as one of the best of its era and of debut albums.

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Sat Oct 02 2021
5

A whole album of straight bangers.

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Tue Oct 05 2021
5

Este disco es el epítome del Dad Rock, y me encanta. Creo que de las ocho canciones que son conocía seis o siete y todas me parecen muy buenas. Encima tiene el mérito adicional de ser un material hecho casi en su totalidad por un solo tipo que además no era músico de profesión sino ingeniero. Y sí, quizá los siguientes discos son más de lo mismo y pierden gracia, pero este, como debut, es una chulada. Obviamente mi parte favorita son las guitarras, en dos o tres capas y llenas de efectos que las hacen sonar masivas (cuando en realidad fueron grabadas en un sótano) pero también las capas de voces son muy buenas y en general la estructura de las canciones que las hace hits de concierto.

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Tue Oct 05 2021
5

Este álbum me sorprendió mucho. Más por el hecho de que la banda me era esencialmente desconocida. Para ser rock de los 70's, me sorprendió mucho que el sonido fuera muy 80's, aunque conservan algunas cosas que revelan su época: la canción "Foreplay / Long Time" tiene ese aire ácido/experimental/progresivo de otras bandas de la época, pero con un sonido mucho más nítido (crisp) y completo (full). El estilo de esta música me recuerda al de Lynyrd Skynyrd, y quizá un poquito a Journey. Un gran, gran álbum.

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Tue Oct 05 2021
5

No sé realmente que esperaba cuando le di play y lo primero que salió fue More Than a Feeling, pero seguro no era lo que encontré. Siete canciones del más puro rock americano. Peace of Mind me voló los sesos y de ahí en adelante el disco mantiene la calidad, siendo la parte más fuerte Peace, Foreplay, Rock & Roll Band y Smokin. Ese combo, columna vertebral del disco, es impresionante. Songs: Peace of Mind, Foreplay / Long Time, Rock and Roll Band, Smokin'

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Wed Oct 13 2021
5

This was a junior high staple in my hometown (and everywhere in the USA). Every song is now in classic rock regular rotation, and deservedly so. Catchy, poppy, rock n roll with easy melodys, memorable choruses and good guitar riffs. Even though it’s not my go to music, I can’t justify less than five stars here. Doesn’t get much more classic 70s pop rock than this. “That album cover is so fricken’ cool” - friend Brad…

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Wed Oct 13 2021
5

Love the album. Great start, but still enjoy the back half.

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Thu Oct 14 2021
5

Easy 5 and I'm not ashamed to say it.

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Thu Oct 14 2021
5

I think this is the most successful debut album ever. Legendary, iconic, packed full of timeless hits, epic guitar playing, epic bass and drum playing, incredible singing, prog rock, classic rock, arena rock, it’s difficult to see what you could conceive of to count against this, seems to cover all the bases of rock n roll and more, easy 5 stars.

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Sat Oct 16 2021
5

If someone asked me what classic rock was I'd stick on this record. Doesn't miss a beat from start to finish. The guitars, melodies and harmonies are on point throughout and the songwriting is exceptional. 5/5

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Thu Nov 11 2021
5

Absolutely banging top-notch album. I always forget what a banger this one is, but it is something truly special.

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Sun Nov 14 2021
5

all hits in one album classic

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Thu Nov 25 2021
5

Ifhem, aħjar minn Festen jew x'illalla jisimhom.

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Fri Nov 26 2021
5

Fun classic rock album. Great for cruisin’!

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Thu Dec 02 2021
5

I knew all the songs on the album, without having listened to it before. That's how good it is!

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Thu Dec 30 2021
5

Probably listened to this one a thousand times. Put on the vinyl for another listen to rate it... WOW, an absolutely flawless album. Pretty much the definition of classic rock, with a unique signature sound. Beautifully produced and just sweet sounding on the ears. Takes me back to hot summer days at the river, smokin and tokin...Add on the awesome album art, just doesn't get any better than this for me.

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Tue Jan 11 2022
5

Aaah, I fucking LOVE Boston. I am a sucker for guitar ANYWAY, but add all of the exciting (at the time) new tech to their sound and it's just on another level. As a band they have a very enjoyable emotive ability. I wouldn't objectively rank them above most of the other five-star albums on this list, but shit, the enjoyability is undeniable. This is full of air-guitar-in-the-car jams. Fave track is a predictable choice: More Than a Feeling. This shit fucking SLAPS. Deeply underrated karaoke song.

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Tue Oct 12 2021
5

Another perfect debut album.

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Mon Jan 24 2022
5

Te goed. Prachtig album van een legendarische band. Ik moet dit wel 5 sterren geven

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Mon Jan 24 2022
5

Première fois qu'on tombe sur un album que je connaissais déjà, et quel album !

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Mon Jan 24 2022
5

Tom Sholz il se drogue pas mais c'est du rock quand même

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Fri Jan 28 2022
5

Animado. Um arzinho anos 80, toque futurista

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