BOSTON LEADER THINKING ABOUT MAJOR TOUR, NEW MUSIC:

Press Article / Launch Radio Networks has issued the following report from Bruce Simon:

Boston leader Tom Scholz has been working on material for a new album for years - but since he has a habit of working on albums for up to eight years, nobody is expecting a release anytime soon.

However, fans will hopefully be able to see the band perform next year, as Scholz told us: "We would like to go out on the road next year and do a huge tour. We'll probably be doing a lot of the older Boston songs, you know, if we get out next year, along with the songs from this new release that I'm planning."

Earlier this year Scholz personally remixed Boston's self-titled debut from 1976 and its follow-up, 1978's Don't Look Back, for CD, greatly improving the sound.

[Word has it that the tour will still feature REO Speedwagon as opening act. REO will be supporting the release of their new studio album Happy Ending.]

Maybe I'm reading too much into this press release, but does it sound as though they're quietly disavowing the Corporate America album?

Can't wait for the new album-2065 isn't that far away!

All I ask is just let Brad Delp actually sing lead again. One of the best voices in rock, IMO, and he was practically regulated to backing vocals on CA. I saw them in concert for that tour (figuring it might be the last chance) and he was simply amazing!

Jeff

No matter how long it takes, I bet it'll still beat Chinese Democracy to the market!

Linda...this was my take exactly. I know that I don't speak for everyone, but I thought that "Corporate America" was a major league stinkbomb and its sales would seem to support my point.

To me, Boston was all about "that sound"...their distinct sound that permeated their first two albums and parts of their third and fourth albums. Without that signature sound, I'm just not all that interested.

You know, I really don't mind if Scholz wants to alter his sound a bit. As I said, Delp has one of the best voices EVER and he was woefully underutilized on CA.
I have the CD that Delp recorded with former Boston guitarist Barry Goudreau from a couple of years ago, and that one was a bit on the acoustic side. It was WAY better than CA, and even "Walk on" which Delp wasn't on at all.

Jeff

You know I've never heard or bought "Corporate America". It wasn't even around during that Tower liquidation. Guess I didn't miss much.

Better my memories of Boston are their first two albums and a little bit of the third and fourth.

I never much cared for "Third Stage", but I really thought that "Walk On" sounded more like the first two albums, sans Delp of course. If Delp had been the primary vocalist on "Walk On", I think it could have been up there with the first two albums.

Delp fronts a group called Beatlejuice which plays in the Boston area often. As I recall, it's either a Beatles covers thing or at least something in the style of the Beatles. AFAIK, they've never recorded anything for release though. Someday I'll have to check them out.

I understand everyone's feeling about Corp. America but if you pick selected tracks (like I do when I play it) some of the tracks are really good.
Is the album on the whole stand with the rest of the catlg, no way.

But at least half of it rocks! And at that late stage in their career I'll take it!

Rick A.

The opener on Corporate America "I Had A Really Good Time" is one of the Boston tunes I've heard.
Sadly, the album is mediocre but in no way do I think it sucks. I guess people really bashed it but I still like 3/4 of it.
I do think Walk On was great (just released at the wrong time yet it still went Top 10 and Gold) and Third Stage always brings back great memories of high school for me-good stuff.
The first two are amazing and "Higher Power" on Greatest Hits rocks!
I read Tom said they filmed a DVD on the 2003 leg of the CA tour-whatever happened to that???

I too like "I Had a Really Good Time", worth the price of admission alone. And "Higher Power" on Greatest Hits is an absolute affirmative!

BOSTON LEADER SUING FORMER BANDMEMBER

Boston leader Tom Scholz has filed suit against latter-day guitarist Anthony Cosmo over the use of the band's name. Scholz made his move after Cosmo began advertising his connection to the group, which is a violation of his contract, according to the Boston Business Journal. Scholz is also upset because Cosmo and his father Fran, who was a lead singer with the group, played a show recently in St. Croix that they advertised as Boston.

The lawsuit, which was filed in Suffolk Superior Court in Massachusetts, seeks to force Cosmo to honor the contract, as well as repay legal fees. The contract in question expires in March, but certain parts will be in effect forever, including the ban on his using the name Boston to promote himself, and Scholz's lawyer said, "Tom Scholz owns the trademark, the name, and there's a lot of value to that, and he wants to protect that value."

Scholz told Cosmo via e-mail that he couldn't afford to take him on future Boston tours, and Cosmo's agent responded that meant the contract was null and void, but Scholz replied that the deal still in effect. Cosmo's agent Anthony Messina wouldn't comment on the St. Croix concert billing because he didn't represent Cosmo at the time, but in regards to linking his client to Boston, Messina said, "Anthony and his father Fran were in Boston, and to dispute that ever took place would be an infringement on their speech."

Boston is mapping out a tour for this year, and the Cosmos won't be part of the band.

Anthony and Fran Cosmo have their own band named Cosmo, and you can check out some of their music at myspace.com/cosmotheband.

Source: http://www.Icebergradio.com

Wow!, There's something you never hear. Tom Scholz suing somebody! LOL

Jeff

Didn't he once mistakenly sue himself?

I really thought Scholz would put the band to rest after Delp's passing. Without Delp, it's not a Boston album in my opinion. "Walk On" failed miserably without him, and he was barely used on "Corporate America" (even though the less said about that one, the better).
Scholz should be releasing archival material, and a live album from past tours, not a remastered "Greatest Hits". Who needs that again?, if you own the first three albums, you have thier greatest hits, and the new songs on GH were terrible.

Jeff

No dates in Nevada? The shameless whoredom of this tour would actually be legal in a few counties there.

I heard that Tom Scholz tried getting Paul Rodgers, but he was unavailable for some reason...



The debut album alone is an FM "Greatest Hits." Every song on it was played on rock radio in New England and continues to be to this day.

Go to Wolfgang's Vault and check out two 1977 sets. Boston was a great live band in those early years.

"Walk On" did not fail miserably (a Top 10 gold album at the height of grunge was pretty damn good-not 20 million, mind you, but good, and I liked it) and "Higher Power" which Delp sang on on "Greatest Hits" is one of the best Boston rockers ever! "Corporate America" was not good, but a few songs were. The disc does kinda suck though.
As for this tour, I'd agree this is a joke.
Let's see now, in 1996 Judas Priest find a singer from a Priest cover band. Wild story-almost unheard of.
However, since then, Journey grabbed a guy (Steve Augeri) who was managing a Gap store, and now they found a guy through You Tube.
Now Boston has found their guy on My Space.
I believe Van Halen will soon announce that Eddie has been replaced by a due they found after accidentally grabbing the wrong pictures at the local drug store. The guy had a VH shirt from '82 with the black and white baseball sleeves in a photo and they just knew it was their guy. Mullet included.

Boston To Wrap New Album After Summer Tour

May 02, 2008, 2:05 PM ET

Gary Graff, Detroit

Boston leader Tom Scholz tells Billboard.com he hopes to finish recording the band's next studio album after its summer tour and have it out "just after the first of the year."

Scholz says the album -- Boston's first since 2002's "Corporate America" -- is a mix of "really straightforward rock 'n' roll songs and some things that are pretty esoteric.

"When I first started," he continues, "I was doing music that had pretty simple themes. Then as I got into 'Third Stage' and 'Walk On' I got a little more technical and a little more involved, more complicated. In this one I'm trying to do both."

The new album will also include several songs from "Corporate America" that Scholz is remixing, rearranging and, in some cases, completely re-recording -- including the title track, "You Gave Up on Love" and "Someone."

"'Corporate America' was a really poor seller," Scholz acknowledges. "Very few people have heard it. I'd like to give some of these songs another chance to be heard."

Brad Delp, whose 2007 suicide "completely derailed" Scholz, appears on a couple of tracks on the new album.

Scholz says he felt "very weird" about playing Boston music without Delp at a tribute show last August, but has grown more comfortable with the idea during rehearsals for the summer tour with former Stryper singer Michael Sweet and Tommy DeCarlo, a fan Scholz discovered via a Delp tribute DeCarlo posted to YouTube.

"Brad was the most amazing musician [and] singer I've ever known. There's nobody on the face of this Earth that could replace him and do what he did," Scholz says. "But I have to say that these two guys, Michael and Tommy, do a really impressive job of performing these songs live.

"So it seemed wrong not to take it back out, and there were an awful lot of people out there that don't want to hear Boston go away," he adds.

Boston's tour kicks off June 6 in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Scholz has prepared a revised version of the group's "Greatest Hits" album to coincide with the tour.