Music: Boston Redux
A second dip into the Boston well, a classic track that is a killer jam.
The year was 1978, I was 13 years old, and between delivering newspapers, and buying the shittiest weed that was available, I was building a small collection of music, that I played on an inherited (ok, not a true inheriting, but a hand-me-down) HiFi system that was hand built by my father from Heathkit projects.
One of my favorite discs was the original Boston album, and I wore that LP out. The song that got the most radio airplay was the ubiquitous “More than a Feeling”, a perennial favorite. However, my favorites on the album were Foreplay/Longtime, Smokin’, and the sleeper tune Hitch a Ride.
About 7 months ago I wrote about the anthem “Foreplay/Longtime”:
A killer jam all the way, but today’s jam is one of my other favorites, Smokin’.
It is hard driving jam, with a killer groove, and it just rocks from the opening riff to the very last sustained note. One can tell it was a crowd favorite when played live, it just slays.
Unlike the Foreplay/Longtime that has the long building organ intro, this tune has a long internecine organ jam. Here’s a live version. Alas, it was recorded after the original vocalist, Bradley Delp, passed away, so as somewhat of a tribute, I present Smokin’:
As if that wasn’t enough, the South Park show used Smokin’ as the soundtrack for when Gerald Broflovsky was doing his online trolling, and that is also worth a share:
Whenever I hear this song, I am transported back to my early teens, where we shared a spliff, and then retired to my room where I put my headphones on, and dropped the needle on the album Boston, and vegetated.
Good memories indeed!
8 track. It got to the point where I would push play and then expect to have to suffer through a bit of stretched ribbon. That is still a fantastic album.
I love listening to your picks in songs Geoff! Your tastes are very similar to my own!
As far as Boston’s debut album, I don’t recall how many copies I went thru on vinyl and cassette. I still a (digital) copy on my phone and listen to it whenever the mood hits me!