My Boston Top 10 Countdown
Boston’s legacy pretty much rests on their 1976 self-titled debut album, which remains one of the biggest selling albums of all time and continues to dominate classic rock and oldies radio stations to this day. That said, for those who have already heard the debut album thousands of times Boston's 1978 follow up Don't Look Back is definitely worth a listen as well. After that I recommend proceeding with caution and keeping your expectations in check though they did score a #1 hit with Amanda in 1986 that should be familiar to most older listeners. Boston doesn’t have a huge catalogue of songs I listen to frequently in fact this top 10 is pretty much most of what I ever listen to. That said the top half of this list contains songs I have listened to more times than I can count since 2002 and I will continue to listen to those songs frequently until I die.
10. The Journey/It’s Easy
This is basically supposed to be the Foreplay/Longtime on their 1978 follow up Don’t Look Back. It’s definitely not in the same league but it’s still pretty solid. Boston was never able to match their debut but the follow up is where they come closest so give this a spin after you’ve listened to Foreplay/Longtime a few hundred times.
9. Used to Bad News
Used to Bad News is a bit of an overlooked gem. One that I have only recently come to appreciate. It’s shorter than most Boston songs but that’s OK. I like the opening guitar tone quit a bit actually and the use of keyboards is a nice touch throughout. The keyboard/guitar solo is pure Tom Scholz.
8. Something About You
This is one of those Boston songs you probably don’t recognize by name but I guarantee that if you have spent any time listening to classic rock radio you have heard this. It’s a solid arena rock song that demonstrates the likability of their debut album.
7. Higher Power
This for me is the lost gem of Boston’s catalogue. It was recorded for their 1997 Greatest Hits which most people skipped because they had the debut and if they needed more they bought Don’t Look Back. Nonetheless it’s easily their best song since their debut and the title track off Don’t Look Back. After replacing Brad Delp on the 1994 album Walk On, this Greatest Hits album was his welcome back into the fold. High Power has a great chugging riff that sounds the closest Boston ever got to heavy metal and it’s quite memorable. Like always Scholz delivers a soaring guitar solo, but then he follows that up with a harmonica solo and I am sucker for good harmonica. This is easily the least known song on this list so if you’re a huge Boston fan and have not heard it I think you’re in for a treat.
6. Smokin’
Whenever I hear this song now I always think of South Park and if you know what I am talking about you get a cookie! The riff is memorable and I love that keyboard solo too.
5. More Than a Feeling
For a lot of people this is # 1 and it’s definitely the first song I knew by them. More Than a Feeling ushered in a new age of classic rock. This is the moment rock became big business and everything is polished so much there is no real grit. What you have though is one if the catchiest and most well produced songs in rock history topped off with the soaring vocals of Brad Delp. More Than a Feeling is the moment classic rock went from belonging to hippies to belonging to the yuppies and every other mainstream rock album (Both hair metal and soft rock) was influenced by it until Grunge. Then again that opening riff to Smells Like Teen Spirit does sound like a dirty punked up version of More Than A Feeling’s guitar riff so even then Boston’s influence continued even when their production style finally went out date 15 years later.
4. Hitchin’ a Ride
This song reminds me of my senior year of college. I got my friend and roommate Josh into Boston that year and we played this song all the time. It’s kind of a ballad but kind of not. It starts with acoustic guitars though those acoustics guitars are produced and layered so much it doesn’t sound unplugged at all. But it really takes off in the middle when Tom Scholz shoots us into space with multiple keyboard and guitar solos that continue to be sprinkled throughout the song. Nobody does guitar solos like Tom Scholz and this features some of his best.
3. Don’t Look Back
This is the only song after their debut album that matches the quality and success of their first album. What’s interesting to note is that this was a last minute addition to their 1978 album after the record company didn’t hear a hit. Good thing because it’s really the only major hit off their second album that you hear played as much today as anything off the debut. The opening riff is immediately memorable, the chorus is top notch and that guitar solo soars. Again nobody does guitar solos like Tom Scholz. I bet a lot of people today just assume this is off the debut album and are probably confused when they don’t hear it on the 1976 self-titled debut.
2. Foreplay/Longtime
Love this one! It’s ridiculous and of its time completely but that doesn’t take away any of its power. The intro of course is something bands stopped doing after the mid 80s but it does give the song an epic feeling. It sounds like you are flying deep into space powered only by keyboards and Tom Scholz’s guitar. Once you get to the song proper at the 2.5 minute mark it’s another Boston winner with great interplay between electric and acoustic guitars. I do love when the main chorus switches out the acoustic guitars for electric guitars at the very end. That moment always provides me with a good eargasim as does the main guitar solo which might be Tom Scholz’s best which is saying something.
1. Peace of Mind
This is the Boston song that speaks to me the most. From a structural standpoint it’s catchy as hell. That main riff, that chorus, those 2 guitar solos and Brad’s soaring vocals during the chorus is Boston at the peak of their game giving you one ear worm after another and it never lets up for a second. Resistance is futile with Peace of Mind. You will succumb to Boston’s insanely hooky rock music whether you want to or not. But what makes this even better is that it’s the Boston song who’s lyrics I actually deeply identify with. The song speaks to how people get so wrapped up with their careers, social status and success that they forget that life is more than that. While working is important it shouldn’t be everything because one day you will be gone and all those job promotions won’t matter at all anymore. It’s how you live your life that matters not what job title you have. As I get older this message resonates with me more and more. Learning to have perspective and be happy in the moment is something we should all strive for but all too often we keep thinking about our next move and how we can make more money without enjoying what we already have. It’s the one Boston song that makes me think whereas the others I just enjoy for how insanely hooky and perfectly constructed they are. Make no mistake Peace of Mind is hooky and features everything we love about Tom Scholz and Brad Delp but it goes that one step further with the lyrics by giving me well Peace of Mind.
