Album review: BOSTON – Life, Love & Hope

Boston - Life, Love & Hope

Frontiers www.frontiers.it [Release date 09.12.13]

Relatively quick in Boston terms at just over ten years since the last album ‘Corporate America’ and some songs of that album get reworked by Tom Scholz on this album, a man always on a quest for the perfect Boston notes and sound.

For fans we get to hear the late, great Brad Delp including ‘Someone (2.0)’, a reworking of a song that first appeared on ‘Corporate America’. Delp can also be heard on ‘I Didn’t Mean To Fall In Love’, a classic Boston song from the organ backing, handclaps through to those unmistakable Boston guitar riffs. It’s good to see long time guitarist Gary Phil still involved with the band, along with vocalist Curly Smith (although with a name like that I half expect him to be a drummer!).

Tom Scholz himself sings on ‘Love Got Away’ as he states in the press release the lyrics are very personal to him and he’s not a bad singer. Another ‘Corporate America’ song ‘You Gave Up On Love (2.0)’ is a re-recording and has a bit more punch than the original version. ‘Heaven On Earth’ is one of the best of the all new songs with David Victor and Louis St. August (Mass) on vocals.

Overall more enjoyable than ‘Corporate America’, however it’s a shame there are not many all new songs on here and for me it lacks a real rocker, a ‘Cool The Engines’ or ‘Walk On’. Now Mr Scholz, about those long overdue UK tour dates… ***1/2

Review by Jason Ritchie

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Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024

ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)

Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)