Published on Mar 31, 1998
Sometimes, my ears surprise me.
It had been a long time since I had listened to Boston’s fourth
album
Walk On. The first time I listened to it when it came out in
1994, and I thought it was the biggest pile of dog crap to ever hit
the freshly mowed lawn. What was this – Boston without the vocal
stylings of Brad Delp? Boston without Brad Delp to me was like, oh,
I dunno, The Beatles without John Lennon… no, wait a
minute…
Fast forward four years to me doing some spring cleaning in the
Pierce Archives, when what should my wandering eyes glance but the
now dusty cassette shell for
Walk On. Ah, what the hell, I figured… it’s been a while
since I wrote a good old fashioned scathing review…
But while the music on
Walk On is definitely different than the songs that first
put this band on the map, there are some flashes of past
brilliance. Too bad there aren’t enough to carry the whole
album.
Tom Scholz is still the mastermind behind Boston, though some
might wonder if his meticulous control over each note this band
produces isn’t just a bit of overkill. Keep in mind, this is a band
that has only released four albums in over 20 years. Filling in
behind the microphone are Fran Cosmo, David Sikes and Tommy
Funderburk – problem is, it’s impossible to tell who is singing on
what track.
There are two problems with the
nouveau Boston. First, when Scholz goes out and tries to
copy the sound of 1977, the band turns into a self-parody. “I Need
Your Love,” the first single from
Walk On, sounds like a studio outtake, and was a
questionable selection. Second, I know how hard it must be to come
up with an album’s worth of materials in only seven years (this is
called sarcasm, kids), but taking up damn near a third of the album
with variations on the title track – including
two reprises, for God’s sake – is a clear sign that the
batteries are running on empty. By the time that “Walk On (some
more)” fades out, the question arises as to whether Scholz should
have called this collaboration anything except Boston.
But just when I was ready to completely write off
Walk On, there are songs that make the whole experience
worthwhile. “Surrender To Me” seems to try to capture a whole new
sound for Boston – and it
works
! Likewise, “Livin’ For You” and “Magdalene” capitalize on a
different Boston sound – one not entirely dependent on Scholz’s Les
Pauls pumped through a Rockman. The guitar sound is almost more
natural – boy, is that refreshing!
But with all the positives and negatives that make up
Walk On, the question still remains if this should have been
called a Boston album. In one sense, I guess it deserves the
moniker – like the band’s other works, it is both overblown and
overdrawn, while maintaining some level of excitement.
But
Walk On is still laden with weak performances, and ranks as
Boston’s lamest album. Still, the diehard fans will undoubtedly
jump on this one. Guess P.T. Barnum was right all along.