blackleatherbookshelf | Entries tagged with boston

35 Years Later...
2 Out Of 5 Stars

And Tom Sholz, the notorious perfectionist, is wondering why folks aren't taking to new Boston albums with the fervor of old. He even blames the unspectacular reception given 2002's "Corporate America" on poor promotion instead of the fact that Boston's audience has simply moved on, so much so that there are three re-recorded or re-mixed songs from that album here, even a few featuring the late Brad Delp. Who was, frankly, a major brick in the wall-of-sound Scholz so prefers. So how does "Life Love and Hope" measure up? Let's just say that nobody will be giving up their copies of "Don't Look Back" for this one.

The fault lies mainly with Scholz. He can spend as much time as he wishes in the studio, but the songs need to have a significant hook if he wants them to stick in the memory. On "Life Love and Hope," it seems he forgot that part. He favors the trademark layers of guitars that are a hallmark of Boston's classic sound, and when it clicks (like on "Someone," featuring Delp), it's "More Than A Feeling" all over again. It's telling that the best track does feature Delp, as the new singers are either imitations (Tommy DeCarlo) or the inappropriate female vocalist Kimberly Dahme, who doesn't have the powerhouse voice needed to propel herself above that wall of sound.

What's memorable then? "Heaven On Earth" may be a cliche of a title, but it does kick the album off with fond reminisces of Boston past. "Someday" is noble in its intent, as a song against bullying. "Te Quiero Mia" is another retread (from the reissued Greatest Hits) and again features Delp, and also makes the best of Sholz's studio perfectionisms. After that, it's strictly hit and miss. I might add "The Way You Look Tonight" as a decent love song, and that's about it. Everything else will depend on personal tastes, or just how bad you're jonesing for Scholz's particular brand of classic rock. I'll even give the guy some bonus points for a decent production job, which studiously ignores the loudness wars for a recording that has some sonic depth to it. If that is also an attraction for you to pick up "Life Love and Hope," by all means, dig in.

Current Mood: chipper
Current Location: Philadelphia
Current Music: "Someone" Boston

Hungover
3 Out Of 5 Stars

In the span of time from their debut to their second album, "Love Drunk," Boys Like Girls jump from punk-pop emo band to all out boy band power pop. This is not a completely bad thing, as the super sugar choruses and duet with Taylor Swift show. But the evolution is not without some speed bumps.

First off, the good stuff. The lead off track, "Heart Heart Heartbreak" is pure adrenaline hormonal rush. The repetitive title kills it in the chorus, making for a great little earworm. Then the title track revisits the zing of their debut. Then comes the head scratcher. "Two Is Better Than One" is a ballad, but strip some of the electricity out of it and factor in Taylor Swift, and you have a country tune that would have fit just as nicely on one of Swift's albums than it does here. It also shows that lead singer/guitarist Martin Johnson can work his way around a sappy ballad with the best of them. It's the hookier tunes that play to the band's punkier roots, like "Contagious" that work the best.

That's where things go somewhat awry. Propulsive emo-pop and power pop are great for the guys that need girls and the girls that break their hearts. But the new addition of strings and syrup (like the closer, "Go," which limps the album to its end) make for the kind of song the band isn't quite up to yet. Add a southern accent and ditch the auto-tune, and these would be country ballads. While they make this country pop hybrid work much better on the follow-up, "Crazy World," it's a tough sell on "Love Drunk." It's as if Boys Like Girls suddenly took on a split personality and couldn't decide it they wanted to stay true to their Boston Emo roots or just pack up the cats and relocate to Nashville.

That's the issue with "Love Drunk." You get two distinct bands on this album, the whiz-bang pop of the debut, and the country-pop that would dominate the next album. Boys Like Girls were in transition, and while "Love Drunk" did debut in the top ten, their three albums are essentially the work in progress of differing mindsets. There's plenty to like on the album. What there isn't? Consistency. Hence the solid C grade.

Current Mood: sad
Current Location: Philadelphia
Current Music: "Heart Heart Heartbreak" Boys Like Girls

PS, Red Sox lost to Cleveland.

For more pictures, click the Citgo Sign!

Current Mood: amused
Current Location: Philadelphia
Current Music: "Centerfield" John Fogerty

All Your Money, won't another minute, buy
5 Out of 5 Stars

Kansas hit their crossroads with both "Leftoverture" and this 1977 follow-up, "Point of Know Return." When "Carry On Wayward Son" put the band into America's largest arenas, their mix of heartland boogie and English progressive rock gave them a starting point that became this, their most successful album. Like a lot of bands at this point (think Styx or REO Speedwagon), Kansas opted to pull more pop into their mix and less Magnum Opus.

That meant a focus on shorter songs with bigger hooks. It also meant (as the new, excellent liner notes point out) the band was starting to fray when success began to pump up individual egos. While the songs are still universally decent, there's less inter-musician jamming. Some songs, like the concert-ready "Lightning's Hand" or "Sparks of The Tempest," don't have as cohesive a feel as the band's best work. (It's also worth noting that "Sparks of The Tempest" is here as a bonus live version.) A proggy-keyboard workout, "The Spider," harkens more towards that era, as does the title track.

However, it was the least unconventional song on the album that would prove to be Kansas' high-water mark. A guitar warm-up exercise that Kerry Livgren set poetry to evolved into "Dust in The Wind," a solo acoustic guitar enhanced by violinist Robbie Steinhardt. It's as art rock as "Icarus" (from "Masque") would be, even if it was stripped down before such things became popular. As such, it hit number six on the pop charts and found Kansas added to the same radio stations that would play Barry Manilow but not BTO. It also signaled the tipping point for the band.

By the next studio album, "Monolith," Steve Walsh had begun chasing a solo career, Kerry and Dave Hope would soon become born again Christians and the music became less focused. "Point Of Know Return" was not just a trippy album title, it was kind of a harbinger of the band itself. It makes this album and "Leftoverture" two for a pair (and the band's first three albums a trilogy of American Progressive Rock), as well as being their best album.