New Boston album

[J.C. Corbett]

Since I'm a huge fan of Boston, I bought the new album yesterday, and I'm still digesting it. I'm glad they included some retreads with Brad Delp's vocals, but do have to say, I'm impressed with Tommy DeCarlo's vocal ability. Though there's a couple of songs that feel a bit out of place, the overall sound is pretty cool. In today's world, it's impressive that the whole album was recorded on the same analog equipment that they've used since the 70's. Multi tracking on tape is a bit of an art form, and Tom Scholz is definitely the master. Overall, it's a fun album if you're a fan of the band. If any of you have listened to it, I'd like to hear your thoughts.

 

[Fishy]

I'll have to check that out! That band knew how to write awesome songs, and they had some killer guitar riffs that I need to learn! :nanatar:
What's the new album called?

 

[Dr.Jass]

It's called "Life, Love, and Hope" and after previewing it today, it's got no life, there isn't much to love, and I hope they don't make another album this bad. I'm glad I gave it a run-through before I made the mistake of buying it. There's very little in terms of guitar (what's there is essentially buried under everything else), the vocals are done by about five people--often at the same time but with very little energy--and the production value is actually pretty crappy, which I found surprising for a Boston album. I can honestly say it was tiring by about the 5th track. It's too bad, really. I really enjoy the first four Boston records. This one doesn't seem to have much effort or direction to it. I'm surprised Scholz released it at all.

 

[J.C. Corbett]

I dunno. I don't get too judgmental of bands that make changes in their sound over time. Even if I don't like the album as a whole, there's usually bits that I enjoy, and over time, more I come to appreciate. Tracks 3-5, and 7 are throwaways for me, but I enjoyed the rest. Some people will dislike it because it doesn't sound like the first album. As an artist, I wouldn't want to do the same thing for nearly 40 years, but fans are funny. I guess that's why AC/DC has such a big following. You know what to expect, because you've already heard it.

 

[Dr.Jass]

I'm not against making changes, but at least stay with what you know to some extent. There's a weird ethereal, trippy sound to the album that just isn't Boston. Boston used to have this excellent guitar player and a fantastic engineer. Neither one showed up for this album, and they're both the same guy. :doh:

 

[Not A Duster]

I dunno. I don't get too judgmental of bands that make changes in their sound over time. Even if I don't like the album as a whole, there's usually bits that I enjoy, and over time, more I come to appreciate. Tracks 3-5, and 7 are throwaways for me, but I enjoyed the rest. Some people will dislike it because it doesn't sound like the first album. As an artist, I wouldn't want to do the same thing for nearly 40 years, but fans are funny. I guess that's why AC/DC has such a big following. You know what to expect, because you've already heard it.

Agreed.

Artists who crank out the same shit, album after album are just generating product, and not creating anything of value.

Nickleback is a another good example.

I've been a Deep Purple fan for as long as I can remember. And while the band is nowhere near what they were in their prime, I enjoy listening to new music from them every few years.

I've not heard the new Boston yet, so I can't say if it's bad or good to my ears - but I'm hoping that it's not the same as the other 4 I own....

 

[Dr.Jass]

It's vastly different. It's the distance of that gap that's the problem to my ears. A number of my favorite bands have taken different directions over the years. Other than Metallica, I've generally been good if not fanatical about the changes, because core elements of what made me a fan remained. Other than occasionally hearing Brad Delp, this just doesn't seem like Boston to me whatsoever. It's Boston in name alone.

As I've mentioned, for an album he crafted over the scope of a decade, the writing, performance, and production all seem pretty low-effort in the final product. I dunno, maybe it's because I've always expected Tom Scholz to be the consummate perfectionist, and I just don't that anywhere in Life, Love, and Hope. It's like he said, "To hell with it. Good enough." This from a man whose band's demo tape was so well done it was released virtually untouched after being recorded in his basement.