Despite being the ones who inevitably hold the purse strings, the “suits” of the music industry don’t always know better than the creatives. That is to say, record label executives won’t necessarily have a better intuition for the “feel” of a hit record than the artist who’s responsible for making it. Sometimes, these “suits” reject a band before they make it big.
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Other times, they demand artists record their albums under specific conditions, even if they have no way of knowing whether the artist complied with their request. In the case of Boston’s debut album, which includes their hit single, “More Than a Feeling,” there was a little bit of both.
Boston Received “Insulting” Letter About Debut Hit “More Than a Feeling”
In between shifts as a senior product design engineer at the Polaroid Corporation, Boston founder, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Tom Scholz would work on debut demo tapes at local recording studios and, when that became too expensive, in a makeshift studio he put together in his basement. From 1970 to 1975, Scholz spent countless hours in this studio, recording nearly every instrument for his demo tracks, which included recognizable hits like “Peace of Mind,” “Rock & Roll Band,” and “More Than A Feeling.”
These songs are recognizable now. But back in the 1970s, Scholz was sending these tracks cold to record labels that had never heard them before. Somewhat ironically, some labels claimed Scholz’s music sounded too similar to what was already on the market. “I got an incredibly terse rejection letter from a guy in the A&R department at Epic, saying, ‘This band has absolutely nothing new to offer,’” Scholz recalled in a 2023 interview with Classic Rock.
“It was quite funny,” Scholz continued. “I think later that same guy claimed that he had discovered Boston. But we still didn’t get a deal. I still had two more songs to finish that weren’t quite complete at the time. I finished those up, put the six songs together, and within a matter of a few weeks, Epic came in with a good offer to make an album.”
From a Boston Basement to a Sunny L.A. Studio
Tom Scholz recorded the Boston debut demo tape that finally got the attention of major record labels in his Massachusetts home’s basement. When he finally signed to Epic, the label requested he re-record the songs at a studio in L.A. The only problem was that after years of working independently in his home studio, Scholz had grown accustomed to recording alone. So, Scholz explained, “John Boylan, the producer Epic chose, offered me a deal. I would make the record in my basement and wouldn’t tell anybody.”
“[Boylan] would take Brad [Delp, vocalist] and Barry Goudreau—my old friend that used to play guitar with me—and a couple guys he knew out to L.A.,” Scholz said. “They would record some songs out there, and Epic would think all the recording was done in L.A. “Let Me Take You Home Tonight” was the only song that ended up being included that was recorded in L.A. I think they worked on three of Brad’s songs out there. Meanwhile, I would make a master with all the instruments on it back in my basement.”
The majority of the instrumental parts on Boston’s eponymous debut were from Scholz’s basement sessions. “I preferred the demos,” he said, “but there were minor improvements technically in the mastering.” Epic was none the wiser, content with what it believed to be an L.A. record through and through. Boston released its self-titled debut in August 1976. After earning an RIAA Gold Record in three weeks and a Platinum Record in three months, Boston became the fastest-selling debut album of any American group. Not bad for a collection of basement recordings with “absolutely nothing new” on them.
Photo by John Atashian/Getty Images
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