NEW YORK, June 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Three decades ago marked the summer of 1976 and a band and album simply titled Boston. The 17 million-selling debut album and its 7 million-selling 1978 follow-up Don't Look Back remain two of the most enigmatic case studies of the modern rock era. Unjustly vilified as exemplars of so-called "corporate rock," they were, in fact, the same basement tapes that mastermind Tom Scholz submitted as demos. Their commercial release fooled the Company gatekeepers in one of rock's great deceptions.
Thirty years later, those master tapes have been digitally remastered -- for the first time by Scholz himself -- and the mysteries of Boston and Don't Look Back are laid bare for history to reconsider. Expanded editions of both albums include revelatory liner notes and music credits written by Scholz. The two digipak CDs arrive in stores June 13th on Epic/Legacy, a division of SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT.
Nearly 25 million copies later, the irony of Boston being castigated by critics for the grandiosity of its production is a last laugh enjoyed by Scholz and his principal collaborator, vocalist Brad Delp. "This demo and subsequent album turned the disco-crazed music industry on its head, breaking all known rules for succeeding in the world of rock 'n' roll," Scholz writes in his new liner notes.
Boston was in the right place at the right time as an alternative to the disco and nascent punk-rock movements of 1976. Certified Gold one month after appearing on the Billboard albums chart, and platinum one month later, it spent a solid 2 1/2 years on the list producing the hit singles "More Than A Feeling," "Long Time," and "Peace Of Mind."
For the second album, Don't Look Back, Scholz did not alter his creative method, as he once again recorded all the tracks in his basement. Scholz, who holds a Masters degree in mechanical engineering from M.I.T., had been employed as a designer at nearby Polaroid.
Don't Look Back shipped platinum and two weeks later it reached #1 where it stayed for 45 weeks on the Billboard chart. It too spun off three hit singles: "Don't Look Back," "A Man I'll Never Be,", "Feelin' Satisfied."
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