Customer Reviews

Greatest Hits

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Before my review I want to answer a question that comes up a lot about greatest hits albums:

In the days of Digital Downloads why do people buy greatest hits?

Here are some of the reasons why I still like Greatest Hits packages: 1) The best songs remastered; 2) A great way to thin out my collection by replacing albums I may have liked just one or two songs from anyway; 3) The liner notes; 4) In the days of shuffling music on iTunes it is nice to have the volume at the level of most modern CDs; 5) The compulsion to buy something "new" from a favorite band.

I think Boston's Greatest Hits fits all of those reasons I listed above. For those of you who may not know, the leader of this band Tom Schulz recently remastered his first two albums and now he went back and remastered this Greatest HIts that was originally released in 1997. Also included are great liner notes and it's fun to read his commentary of the tracks he selected. The remastering does sound pretty good but it is just a subtle difference considering these tracks were already remastered in 1997.

The track list from this set is a little different from the original list. Some of the tracks were dropped and replaced by other tracks that more accurately represent Boston's history. The tracks added to this set are "I Had A Good Time" form Boston's last album "Corporate America" and this song is by far the only real classic Boston track from that album and is a very welcome addition. The other added track is from the "Walk On" album, "I Need Your Love". Though it doesn't feature Boston's long time lead vocalist, Brad Delp, it has a classic Boston sound and really keeps this set rockin'. Another change is none of the songs bleed into each other. On the original version "Don't Look Back" faded into "Cool The Engines". Now both of these tracks stand on their own.

With any greatest hits album there will always be a fan favorite or two missing. For me there are two that I really wish were included, "Livin' For You" and "We're Ready". "We're Ready" was a top 10 billboard hit so it would have been great to see it remastered and on this set. "Livin' For You" was on the original greatest hits and to me I think it is a great power ballad that if it was recorded in the 80s would have been a pretty big hit. I can understand why it was removed since it is a slow song. Replacing it with the upbeat "I Need Your Love" was a good move. With that said, what is included are some truly classic songs and it is easy to forget what is missing and enjoy what's there.

Though I am more likely to play their original debut album, when I am interested in listening to Boston's 30 plus year history this is a great enjoyable sampler. With only one slow song it is a perfect road trip album.

A good compilation, with all the Boston songs that most people would know. But as a major fan, it would have been nice to fill the extra 10+ minutes of the CD with another song or two. I'm still not sure why the #9 hit "We're Ready" from the Third Stage album was left off, unless Sony didn't want to pay MCA the rights to use it. It would have been nice to include "Hitch A Ride" from the debut, too, but I guess they couldn't have TOO many songs from the debut, else there'd be no reason for people to buy it! I also would have hoped that the re-release would have had a new cover, as I don't care much for it.

I'm not going to write about the songs, because I'm sure that there is nothing I can write that Boston fans haven't read. I'll just concentrate on the sound quality of this 2007 remaster. Well all the songs sound real good. The vocals on "I Had A Good Time" in my opinion sound more clear than the original. The opening guitar riff of "Feeling Satisfied" sound better than any previous versions. On "Higher Power" there is actually a different guitar lick than the original after Brad Delp sings 'The world is spinning, and I'm not afraid'. There is also a variation of the drums after Fran sings 'Let me love you...' Anyways, the tracks do sound exceptional. What bothers me is that there was around 8 minutes left on the cd; enough room for at least another song. I think "We're Ready" was a top 10 hit back in 1986. They could have added that one.

Boston always was ahead of their time in terms of sound and composition, and Tom Scholz's combination of chops and electrical engineering geekiness provided guitar tones and ensembles that shaped the future of rock guitar recording. I bought this CD because I wanted to have the seminal Boston pieces in my collection. This CD certainly provides these in excellent remastered sound quality. So far so good. However I wish that the four or five "filler" songs from their less popular work were omitted (or placed at the end of the disc instead of at the very beginning!!). The disc would have been better without these songs.

I am really enjoying this album - I had forgotten how many songs were from my memories.Worth buying - especally when you are cruising along PCH, your windows are down, and you are enjoying the ride.

In Boston's case, they could have taken their entire first album, thrown in a few tracks from their other albums and called it good. Of course, they left a few songs from the debut album off, but what you get it the best of the best. All the classics, plus a killer new tune "Higher Power" (in my opinion, the Kalodner edit is much better than the standard track). With the updated Greatest Hits CD adding "I Had a Good Time" and my personal favorite "I Need Your Love," it's safe to say this is a CD worth owning.

Like it, as I liked Boston. These is a nice collection of many of Boston's best tunes and it's sells for a very reasonable price.

You would be better off spending your money on the "Boston" and "Third Stage" albums. Half of the songs on this so called Greatest Hits album were not even hits and received little to no air play. The best of Boston is on the the "Boston" and "Third Stage" albums. If you must have the song "Don't Look Back" spend an additional $0.99 to download it.

BOSTON-GREATEST HITS: You can wade through this 16 track testimony to 70's high tech...soaring multi-tracked harmonies and arena sized guitar riffs...for the decent tunes. Or you can simply slap on their debut album BOSTON, because that's where all of the good stuff still is, even decades after the fact. Aside from the perfect pop power of MORE THAN A FEELING, the gradually climaxing LONG TIME, and ROCK & ROLL BAND's autobiographical hook, this career review rounds up note for note retreads from followup album DON'T LOOK BACK (advice Boston svengali Tom Scholz apparently did not heed), and semi-elevator rock from THIRD STAGE. Unfortunately, the band attempts abominable new stuff without key vocal slayer Brad Delp, including a version of THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER that's about as necessary as a greatest hits collection after the first Boston album. Spare me.

RATING: THREE SPACESHIPS

I visited the Boston website and it shows a track on this CD called "Tell Me". Instead it has " I Had A Good Time" on it. I'm not buying this CD until I can find the "tell Me " track, as the sample sounds good.