The group first formed in the mind of Tom Scholz, who had long expressed interest in melodic rock and the fine particulars of recording technology. Even as a child, he tinkered with just about anything mechanical or electronic that he could get his hands on. Prior to his musical career, Scholz received both a bachelor's degree, in 1969, and a master's degree, in 1970, in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He then began working for the Polaroid Corporation as a senior product design engineer. Scholz would then reside in Boston.
Creating demos in his own home, inspired by contemporary 70s progressive rock and what came to be known as "album oriented rock" ("aor"), Scholz attracted the interest of Epic Records, who signed Scholz to a recording contract. Vocalist Brad Delp, who was born in Peabody, Massachusetts in 1951 (Scholz is about four years older) to French-Canadian immigrants and was inspired to sing after seeing The Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, served as a sort of not-so secret weapon for Scholz's project. Delp's "golden voice" has inspired numerous later rock artists to take up the microphone.
Scholz believed that his demos were good enough to be the released album but Epic told him to rerecord them. Most of the guitar, bass, and keyboards were performed by Scholz, although other players were involved sporadically throughout the recording of the album. Epic did not want the album recorded entirely in Scholz's home as Scholz intended (they suggested using a recording studio), but most of what ended up on the album was ultimately recorded by Scholz in his basement.
'Boston' was first released by Epic Records on August 25, 1976. Few industry insiders thought a guitar-heavy rock record could make much of a dent in the charts as disco ruled the airwaves at the time. The album broke out of Cleveland first, and the following week it had been added at 392 stations. Scholz, then 29, still worked at Polaroid during the first few weeks of the record's success and felt wary, changing his mind when the album quickly sold 200,000 copies. Critical praise also came to the band; for example, Rolling Stone wrote that Boston's "affinity for heavy rock & roll provides a sense of dynamics that coheres magnetically with sophisticated progressive structures."
The album was certified gold just two months after its release, and it sold another 500,000 copies within 30 days, going platinum for the first time in November 1976. With songs that became rock anthems such as the evergreen "More Than a Feeling", 'Boston' is the second best-selling debut album of all time in the United States, falling just short of Guns N' Roses' 'Appetite for Destruction'. Many critics have named it as one of the best American albums of all time. Its popularity was not only huge, but also durable: into the 2000s it was believed to be the only 1970s album that still had every single track in regular rotation on classic rock radio.
With a touring unit coming together around the line-up of Barry Goudreau, Tom Scholz, Sib Hashian, Brad Delp, and Fran Sheehan, the band played to a wide variety of crowds big and small, receiving strong fan support. Feeling an essentially unbearable amount of pressure to come up with another commercial mega-hit, Scholz still desired to experiment with his sound and had a growing sense of perfectionism. 'Don't Look Back' came out on August 2, 1978, viewed by Scholz as a hurried effort but picking up widespread success. It's been certified as multi-platinum, and its title track has become a classic rock staple.
Acrimonious fighting with label Epic Records, which soon became a long, drawn-out legal fight, left the future of the band stalled. Their next work, 'Third Stage' , came out in September 23, 1986, quite a while after their sophomore work. Bad luck and ill-will seemed to trail the group, with floods and power failures halting many studio sessions. Still, the album went to #1 on the Billboard 200, where it stayed for four weeks.
In addition, 'Third Stage' was only the second album to ever be certified triple-platinum in its first month of release, in November of 1986. As stated before, the first was Lionel Richie's 'Dancing On The Ceiling', which did it one month earlier. Nonetheless, Boston seemed to have gotten stuck.
On March 9th, 2007, Brad Delp (vocals) committed suicide at his home in Atkinson, New Hampshire. He was 55. Delp sang all the lead and harmony vocals on Boston's first three albums. Though well known for his "golden" voice with soaring vocals and range, Delp was also a multi-instrumentalist, playing guitar, harmonica and keyboards. Additionally he wrote or co-wrote several songs for Boston and many other artists.
More than 10 years in the making, Boston came out with a new studio album, "Life, Love & Hope" in 2013. Founding member, Tom Scholz stated, "These are songs from the heart, each of them taking many months of effort to write, arrange, perform and record, always up to the demands of Boston's harshest critic, me. They have all been meticulously recorded to analog tape on the same machines and equipment used for Boston's hits for the past 35 years."
The band, with Scholz and a new lineup, toured extensively in 2016-2017.
Boston's web site is at www.bandboston.com
Cool The Engines
Boston Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't like burnin' out
Every time you turn it on
Makes me want to shout
We keep getting hotter
Movin' way too fast
If we don't slow this fire down
We're not gonna last
Cool the engines
Red line's gettin' near
Cool the engines
Better take it out of gear
I'm no fool
Gonna keep it cool
Take it day by day
Cool the engines
We won't know where we might go
'Til we make it all the way
Oh
Yeah
Take me for a ride
Take me all the way
Take me where I've never been
Someplace I can stay
Don't get yourself too hot
Don't get yourself too high
If we don't take it easy now
We can kiss it all goodbye
Cool the engines
Slow this rocket down
Cool the engines
Why don't ya take a look around
I'm no fool
Gonna keep it cool
Take it day by day
Cool the engines
We won't know where we might go
'Til we make it all the way
Cool the engines
Cool the engines
Goin' over the line
Goin' off the dial
Runnin' out of time
And it's gettin' wild
Got flashin' lights
Goin' 'round and 'round
Until we get it right
Better cool it down
Better cool it down
Cool the engines
And now, we're on our way
No need to hurry just to get from day to day
And I, oooh, I know
We don't have to run that hard to get where we can go
Cool the engines
Cool the engines down
Cool the engines
Cool the engines down
The song "Cool The Engines" by Boston is about slowing down in life and taking a break from the high-speed, fast-paced lifestyle that we often get caught up in. The lyrics are essentially a cautionary message about the dangers of constantly pushing yourself to the limit and not taking time to rest and recharge, both mentally and physically. The singer acknowledges the allure of speed and excitement, but encourages listeners to "cool the engines" and take it slow, one day at a time.
Throughout the song, the idea of slowing down is framed in the context of a car or other high-speed vehicle. The lyrics use words like "burning out," "red line," and "rocket," which all suggest a sense of urgency and danger. The chorus, which is repeated several times throughout the song, emphasizes the need to "cool the engines" and "take it easy." Overall, the song is a call to action for listeners to slow down and enjoy life, rather than rushing through it and burning out.
Line by Line Meaning
Well I like takin' off
I enjoy starting new projects or taking on new challenges.
Don't like burnin' out
I don't want to exhaust myself or push too hard until I have nothing left.
Every time you turn it on
Each time I begin something new or take on a new challenge.
Makes me want to shout
It fills me with excitement and energy.
We keep getting hotter
We keep pushing ourselves harder and working faster.
Movin' way too fast
We're moving too quickly and not taking the time to slow down or reflect on our actions.
If we don't slow this fire down
If we don't take a break and relax, we'll burn out and not be able to continue at our current pace.
We're not gonna last
We won't be able to sustain this level of energy and activity.
Cool the engines
We need to slow down and take a break.
Red line's gettin' near
We're pushing ourselves to the brink of exhaustion and burnout.
Better take it out of gear
We need to shift our focus and pace to a lower level to preserve our energy.
I'm no fool
I'm not foolish enough to keep pushing too hard and burning out.
Gonna keep it cool
I'm going to maintain a calm and controlled approach.
Take it day by day
We need to focus on our goals and objectives one step at a time and not rush through everything at once.
We won't know where we might go
We don't know what the future holds.
'Til we make it all the way
We won't know our true potential or ultimate success until we finish what we started.
Take me for a ride
Let's embark on a new adventure or challenge together.
Take me all the way
Let's commit to finishing what we started and achieving our goals.
Take me where I've never been
Let's go on a journey that challenges us and takes us out of our comfort zones.
Someplace I can stay
A place where we can settle down and put down roots.
Don't get yourself too hot
Don't push yourself to the brink of exhaustion or burnout.
Don't get yourself too high
Don't become too elated or excited, as it may lead to reckless behavior or decisions.
If we don't take it easy now
If we don't take a break and relax now in our journey, it may cause problems later.
We can kiss it all goodbye
We may ruin all the progress and success we've achieved so far.
Slow this rocket down
We need to lessen our pace in order to maintain our success long term.
Why don't ya take a look around
We need to take stock of our situation and evaluate our progress so far.
Goin' over the line
We're pushing ourselves to the brink and risking our success.
Goin' off the dial
We're exceeding the limits and boundaries of our current situation or environment.
Runnin' out of time
Time is running out for us to achieve our goals and objectives.
And it's gettin' wild
The situation is intensifying and becoming more unpredictable and uncontrollable.
Got flashin' lights
We're attracting attention and drawing people's eyes to us as we push ourselves further.
Goin' 'round and 'round
We're caught in a cycle of endless work and fatigue, with no end in sight.
Until we get it right
Until we achieve our goals and objectives with success.
Better cool it down
We need to slow down and take a break for the sake of our own health and well-being.
And now, we're on our way
We're making progress towards our goals and objectives.
No need to hurry just to get from day to day
There's no rush for us to keep moving non-stop in our daily lives.
And I, oooh, I know
And I, well, I realize and understand.
We don't have to run that hard to get where we can go
We don't have to exhaust ourselves to achieve success, we just have to work at a smarter pace.
Cool the engines down
We need to slow down and take a break for the sake of our own health and well-being.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BRAD DELP, FRAN SHEEHAN, TOM SCHOLZ
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind