Few bands of this Earth can completely top the charts with their debut record. Most bands have to grind away for years to achieve the heights of stardom available to a person. It seems that the artwork of their smash hit debut record was a statement of truth, because it would take an alien to achieve the out of this world success Boston would with their first release.
Fifty years ago on this day, Boston’s self titled debut unleashed the power pop sound onto the ’70s music landscape with a record that would go platinum seventeen times over. It’s an endlessly lauded and revered release of the time that has defined the classic rock genre. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame placed the album in the 43rd spot on their “Definitive 200” list of albums, marking it as one of the most respected releases of all time. And to accomplish that all on the first try? Wild.
The album opens with Boston’s biggest hit of all time, the instantly recognizable pop rock monument that is “More Than a Feeling.”
There’s two kinds of people in this world: kids who heard this song for the first time in the car, and the fathers who played it for them. Whenever I hear this song I’m shot back in time to being a seven year old and my dad deeming me old enough to start learning about the music that he grew up with. It’s a perfect time capsule of an era where there was a musical optimism and a carefree nature to the world that seems to be slowly dwindling away.
The other half of the one-two punch of hits that open this record is “Peace of Mind,” which feels right in line with a lot of the classic “road trip” songs that were coming out around this time. To me, this song sounds like windows down, long desert highways, and wind blowing your hair all the way back. There’s a glare in your sunglasses, and not a single care in the world. It’s an infectious energy that makes me endlessly nostalgic for a time I didn’t live in.
Boston’s debut album is a true flash in the pan moment. A testament to what can happen when the right band with the right sound comes out at exactly the right time. They changed the landscape of popular rock music going forward, and gave tons of ’70s kids an unforgettable summer with a pop rock classic.
Related: 1974 Rock Album, Once Called a ‘Masterpiece’ by Bruce Springsteen, is Preserved in the Library of Congress
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