The last group in that little trifecta courtesy of my cousin was Boston. Their album Don’t Look Back had just come out and Flavia had it. The cover to the original vinyl LP was configured likeit was a double album. I used to look at that cover intently. It had so many cool things going on. There was a placid green valley with crystal mountains and a huge guitar shaped space ship. It was designed to capture my imagination. click on the picture. I included a fairly large one so you can check it out. Inside were some pitcures of the band and a shot of a pair of glitter encrusted high-top sneakers that would play a role in my wedding 10 years later.
After living in Vermont this long, I discovered that my favorite time of day was that magical time when the sun had gone behind the mountains but before it got dark. With the sun being blocked by a mountain, it really stretched out that twilight time. It was then, in the cooling of evening that I’d look down the green valley and imagine a brightly lit guitar shaped space craft silently gliding my way. In my mind The Journey would play.
As with Kansas and Styx, there seemed to be a lot of orchestration in Boston’s music. With distinctive guitar sounds and layer upon layer of musical elements adding that third dimension in sound. I really have to thank my cousins for introducing me to Kansas, Styx and Boston. I still enjoy these bands very much to this day. Of course as I wrote that I realized that I haven’t seen any of them live. A missed opportunity perhaps? Maybe it is better to keep them pristinely preserved in my memory.
Don’t Look Back
The Journey / It’s Easy
The Journey has been my favorite Boston track since I first heard it. It invokes such imagery and that bass note that resonates through most of it is a thing of beauty. I read that The Journey was also Tom Scholz’s favorite piece too.
Party