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
Sail Away
Boston Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We're loosin', it's confusin', we're beggin', they're refusin'
Can't replace it, erase it, come back to hell and face it
Without lying, we're dying, the choppers keep on flying
Like they're playin', who're they saving?
The President is waving
Ooh, sometimes I see the faces, so real to me
Big shot in helicopters on my TV
Can you feel anything after all?
And everyone is telling me
This is just the way it's meant to be
You're living in a world of fantasy
And there we waited
Each wasted day, hope devastated
Sail away, sail away
For the human race we're gonna leave disgrace behind
Sail away, sail away
From the jaws of hate we'll take control of fate this time
Sometimes I had the feelings I'm going through
You can lie, but you know no one cares
Outside the waves are crashing the piper's due
Here inside you can't go anywhere
And everyone keeps telling me
God will save us all eventually
This is just the way it's meant to be
Just scared of thinking the angry seas
Our ship is sinking
The lyrics to Boston's "Sail Away" paint a picture of distress and confusion with powerful visual imagery. The song seems to be addressing issues of war and political corruption, with lines like "the President is smiling" and "who're they saving?". The first verse describes a chaotic scene where people are begging for help, but those who could help are refusing. The singer is acknowledging the dire situation they are in, and accepting that they have to face it head-on. The second verse expands on this feeling of isolation, with the singer describing how they see faces on their TV, but can't connect with them. The people in power are telling them that everything is fine, that they're just living in a world of fantasy, but the reality is that they're waiting for something to save them as their hope dwindles.
The chorus, "Sail away, sail away, for the human race we're gonna leave disgrace behind," is a call to action. The singer is saying that it's up to us to take control of our fate and step away from the hate and destruction that surrounds us. The use of nautical imagery, with sailing away from danger, reinforces this idea. The final verse drives this point home, with references to a sinking ship and angry seas. The singer seems to be saying that the only way to survive is to take action and sail away from the danger, rather than waiting for something or someone to save us.
Overall, "Sail Away" is a powerful commentary on war and political corruption, and the need to take action in the face of danger. It paints a bleak picture, but also offers hope in the idea that we can take control of our fate and leave the disgrace behind.
Line by Line Meaning
They're flying, they're styling, the President is smiling
The elites seem to be living their best lives while the President expresses happiness at their state of affluence.
We're loosin', it's confusin', we're beggin', they're refusin'
The masses are suffering and in disarray, struggling to make ends meet, while the wealthy refuse to help.
Can't replace it, erase it, come back to hell and face it
We can't ignore or erase the problems we're facing and must confront them head-on.
Without lying, we're dying, the choppers keep on flying
The harsh reality is that people are dying without any respite or help, and those in power are oblivious to their plight.
Like they're playin', who're they saving?
The President is waving
The choppers are flying around as if it's a game, while the President is waving, seemingly unconcerned with the situation at hand.
Ooh, sometimes I see the faces, so real to me
Can you see anything you recall?
The singer sees the faces of the suffering people in his mind, and wonders if others can empathize with their plight.
Big shot in helicopters on my TV
Can you feel anything after all?
The singer sees the wealthy and powerful on TV, but wonders if they truly care about the suffering of others.
And everyone is telling me
This is just the way it's meant to be
You're living in a world of fantasy
And there we waited
Each wasted day, hope devastated
Others are telling the singer to accept the reality of the situation, but he feels helpless and hopeless as he sees more and more people suffer each day.
Sail away, sail away
For the human race we're gonna leave disgrace behind
Sail away, sail away
From the jaws of hate we'll take control of fate this time
The singer suggests that, rather than accepting the current situation, we need to take control of our fate and sail away from the sorrow/hate that is plaguing us.
Sometimes I had the feelings I'm going through
You can lie, but you know no one cares
The singer feels like no one cares about his struggles and that people may be lying to him about their intentions.
Outside the waves are crashing the piper's due
Here inside you can't go anywhere
The outside world is tumultuous and chaotic, while the singer feels trapped and unable to escape his own problems.
And everyone keeps telling me
God will save us all eventually
This is just the way it's meant to be
Just scared of thinking the angry seas
Our ship is sinking
The singer is once again being told to accept the situation and rely on divine intervention, but he feels that they are scared to confront the problems that are leading to their downfall.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: TOM SCHOLZ
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind