BOSTON – Life, Love & Hope – CD review

BOSTON
Life, Love & Hope
Frontiers

This is the sixth album by American rockers Boston, and sets a new record even by their slow standards, by coming eleven years after the last one “Corporate America”. Of course, there have been hard times along the way, with the suicide of vocalist Brad Delp back in 2007, and the ensuing broohaha.

Delp appears on several tracks here – ‘Didn’t Mean to Fall in Love’ (remastered version from “Corporate America”) and ‘Sail Away’ as well as a reworking of ‘Someone’, from “Corporate America”. There is a host of other vocalists, with David Victor, Louis St. August, Tommy DeCarlo, Jude Nejmanowski, Kimberley Dahme and even Tom Scholz having a go.

And it’s ‘Didn’t Mean To Fall In Love’ which is the killer track here. It’s a stone cold Boston classic, with hints of ELO, an amazing vocal from the always stunning yet under appreciated Delp, and then a soaring guitar solo from Scholz, all of which remind you what made Boston great. It’s not padding, as a lot of people missed out on “Corporate America” and is well worth a revisit. And it’s another Delp track, ‘Sail Away’, where he shares vocals with Kimberley Dahme that comes a close second.

Elsewhere, there are some good bits, but you can’t help feel that something is missing. And I think we all know what it is. If you’re a colonial, or get this on vinyl, then you can get a bonus Brad Delp track in the shape of ‘Te Quiero Mia’, which is a Best Buy & LP bonus track. Long time fans will enjoy this but maybe it’s time to place (another) phone call to Fran Cosmo.

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