The story of Boston is the story of one man and his pursuit of perfection. For Tom Scholz, the leader of the group since its inception in the mid-70s, music is not just a vocation, it’s an obsession. It was his genius – as a songwriter, arranger, multi‑instrumentalist and producer – that made Boston one of the most successful rock acts of all time. Equally, it’s his meticulous work ethic and pure artistic sensibility that has made Scholz a maverick within the music industry.
What he achieved with the first Boston album, released in 1976, was astonishing. It was created wholly by Scholz himself in his self-made basement studio, except for a singer with a million-dollar voice: Brad Delp. The record’s blend of hard rock power and rich melody would define a new genre: Adult Oriented Rock. The album became the biggest-selling debut in the entire history of American music, that record since broken only by Guns N’ Roses’ Appetite For Destruction.
For Scholz, the perfectionism that drives his creative process would prove both a blessing and a curse. In the early 80s he was sued by the band’s record company CBS for breach of contract after he’d spent five years fussing over a third Boston album. In this battle of art versus commerce, Scholz emerged victorious: the album, Third Stage, was eventually released in 1986 on a different label, MCA, and was another multimillion-selling hit. In such a long career, however, he could have done more. By working so slowly, so painstakingly, Scholz has made just six Boston albums in almost 40 years.
Of the many musicians Scholz has utilised throughout Boston’s career, Brad Delp was the best foil he ever had. The singer, who committed suicide in 2007, will always be remembered as the voice of Boston. Across the years, Delp also collaborated with another member of the band’s original line-up, guitarist Barry Goudreau, on non-Boston albums that could almost have passed for the real thing. Almost.
But the Boston sound is something truly unique, and only one man can make it. This sound is so deeply embedded in American rock’n’roll culture that its influence would be heard in another era-defining anthem: Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit. It’s a sound that has sold more than 30 million Boston albums. And it’s still a thing of wonder.
And one to avoid...
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