I've had a couple of weeks to let this disc jell and here are my thoughts by song:

1. Heaven on Earth - this is one of the best songs on the disc. David Victor sounds great. The layered vocals are deep and add to the song. It has a good vibe. The only lacking area is on the lead guitar, there are no HFS riffs here.

2. Didn't Mean to Fall In Love - This is a remastered version of the song from Corporate America. Delp sounds great on this track. It's not much different than the original release. It's a solid track, nothing to write home about other the Brad's vocals.

3. Last Day of School - I like this instrumental. It's not in the right place as far as track placement goes but it's a good track. I like the melody and the overall mix.

4. Sail Away - this is the best track on the cd. If you can get past Scholz's political statements this song shows Brad had the magic vocals right up until his death. The first 30 seconds of the track has female vocals and bs regarding news reports of the hurricane, delete this from the track and the song is better. From here, Brad is able to carry the day. The layered vocals are really good, arguably the best on the cd. Not a hard rocker but a great track. Delp's vocals are undeniable. The layered vocals in the chorus are awesome! Thank you Brad Delp for some of the best rock vocals ever recorded.

5. Life, Love and Hope - this is the first track show casing Tommy DeCarlo on lead vocals and I like it. The song has positive vibe which is a great charactistic of Boston songs. The layered vocals are good as well. The rythum guitar is really good on this track as well. Tommy does a good job on this track. I can live without the goofy guitar tones at 2:20. Overall, not killer but not a bad track.

6. If You Were in Love - HFS I can't express how much this song sucks ass. The guitar tones are the classic Boston which I love. Other than that, I struggle to find anything positive about this track. The wispery vocals do not turn my crank at all. The cheesy hand claps go right along with the rest of the song. Bottom line, it sucks ass and does not deserve a place on a Boston record.

7. Someday - A good song with a positive vibe. It has a Green Day/Simple Plan/ Bowling for Soup vibe that I really like. This is another track featuring Tommy DeCarlo. I don't think so shows Tommy's ability as a singer which I'd like to hear more. The young girl singing is good but detracts from the song, she should be left off. I'd like to hear Tommy "go for it" more on this track. It feels like he's taking the safe approach to have comfort life. Fuck that, show us what you have and if you miss it a bit live, we can life with it!

8. Love Got Away - I get the feeling Tom sang this one because of the message he was trying to convey due to his connection to song. The layered vocals do are nice on the track, I really enjoy them. No disprect to Tom but David Victor or Tommy DeCarlo would add to the song by cranking up the range. The rythum guitar is good as it is on all of the tracks on this disc.

9. Someone 2.0 - I'm not a big fan of retred material and this song is a remix of a track off Corporate America from 2002. Delp is a great singer and the vocals are right on. The track is a good song but hearing the same shite I heard in 2002 doesn't turn my crank. This mix is not appreciably different from the original release.

10. You Gave Up On Love 2.0 - This is remix from a track off of Corporate America in 2002. This mix sucks ass and is a step backwards from the original release. The rythum guitar is reasonable. The rest is a step backward from the original release, which was ok but not great. Dahme does come into it at 1:50 adn carrys a little fire through 2:15. Other than that zzzzzzzzzzzzz.

11. The Way You Look Tonight - this is one of the best tracks on the disc. It's not a traditional Boston song but it has it's merits. The layered vocals are the highlight of the song. Again this song features Tommy Decarlo on lead vocals. Tommy does a good job but plays it too safe for my personal preference. It feels like he's not pushing to ensure he can do it justice live. Again, step it up two notches and o for it a bit harder pushing the range so we can have a HFS moment as opposed to an ok a moment.

The following are some overall comments for the cd:

- The are no HFS vocal moments on the cd. Heaven On Earth gets the closest but there are no moments that make you say WTF is that guy singing. The capability is there with DeCarly and Victor but it's not demonstrated, too bad.

- Fake ass drums suck ass. Get Sib or Curly to play the drums for real on all tracks. Drum machines are not human, we can tell and they do no justice to the Boston vibe.

- The rythum guitar on all tracks is right on. I love the Boston tone and the overall rythum work is great on this cd. Well done Tom Scholz.

- The lead guitar works sucks ass. There are zero HFS lead guitar moments on this cd, and I mean zero. I hear the lead riffs and they sound like I'm playing them. I can hit the notes but don't have that "HFS" vibe that makes a decent riff an awesome riff. Scholz, GO GET GOUDREAU AND BEG HIM TO PLAY ON YOUR NEXT CD AND HOPE HE SAY YES. Barry Goudreau's riffs from the first two records are not to be denied. Boston has not been the same since his departure. The Boston guitar work is average at best since his depature.

Overall I'll of the cd an 77 out of 100 based on the material presented. Discounting the retred content we've all heard before I'd give the cd 70 out off 100. It's not one of Boston's best efforts but there are four tracks worth the price of admission. These days, if that's all you can get then lets be greatful for the good we can get.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/25/2013 05:56PM by Aaron.