Boston, Mass. (album)

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Boston, Mass.
Boston, Mass. (album).jpg
Studio album by
the Del Fuegos
Released1985
Recorded1985
Genre Rock
Label Slash
Producer Mitchell Froom
The Del Fuegos chronology
The Longest Day
(1984)		Boston, Mass.
(1985)		Spin Radio Concert
(1985)

Boston, Mass. is the second album by the American band the Del Fuegos, released in 1985. [1] [2] Its release coincided with the band's participation in Miller Brewing Company's "Made the American Way" television commercials; the band in part named the album after their hometown because the text appeared at the beginning of the commercials. [3] [4] "I Still Want You" was released as a single. [5] The Del Fuegos supported the album with North American and European tours. [6] [4] Boston, Mass. peaked at No. 132 on the Billboard 200. [7]

Contents

Production

Recorded during the summer of 1985, the album was produced by Mitchell Froom. [8] [9] The band was chiefly influenced by 1950s rhythm and blues and 1960s soul, claiming that they did not listen to the art rock of their 1970s childhoods. [10] They invited James Ralston, of Tina Turner's band, to play guitar on some of the tracks. [11] Many of the songs, most of which were written by Dan Zanes, are about worrying over faithless lovers. [8]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [12]
Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s B− [13]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [14]
Lincoln Journal Star Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [15]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [16]
Omaha World-Herald Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [17]
Orlando Sentinel Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [18]

The Orlando Sentinel opined that the music is "blues-based rock, plain and simple... The playing is punchy and energetic... In spite of these pluses, the impact of this band's honest efforts on this record is diminished by the absence of the street-smart lyrical eloquence". [18] The Boston Globe called Boston, Mass. "one of the finest Boston albums since the Cars' debut." [1] The Gazette noted that the band "could have been the new Standells but settled for national beverage commercials on TV, instead." [19]

The Philadelphia Inquirer praised the "clean-cut guitar riffs and the affably scratchy voice of lead singer Dan Zanes." [20] The Los Angeles Times stated that the band "are aiming for a populist panorama of blue-collar America". [9] The Morning Call admired the "Springteen-ish tales of teen defiance and heartache". [21] The Columbia Daily Tribune panned the "genial mediocrity" and "filler" of much of the album. [22]

In hindsight, AllMusic wrote that, while "the band didn't have quite as many good songs at their disposal as they did on the debut," Boston, Mass. still comes in as the Del Fuegos' close second best album "and time has been kind to it." [12]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Don't Run Wild" 
2."Hand in Hand" 
3."I Still Want You" 
4."Sound of Our Town" 
5."Fade to Blue" 
6."It's Alright" 
7."Hold Us Down" 
8."Night on the Town" 
9."Shame" 
10."Coupe DeVille" 

References

  1. 1 2 Morse, Steve (October 27, 1985). "New Albums by Boston Bands Rock Back to the '60s". Arts and Film. The Boston Globe. p. 79.
  2. ↑ Dawson, Walter (October 11, 1985). "New records". Playbook. The Commercial Appeal. p. 23.
  3. ↑ Racine, Marty (November 17, 1985). "The Del Fuegos: Made the American Way". Zest. Houston Chronicle. p. 10.
  4. 1 2 Brown, Deborah (January 9, 1986). "The Del Fuegos, who just might be the quintessential American bar band, are taking their breed of 'roots' rock and roll to foreign soil". Tempo. Chicago Tribune. p. 9.
  5. ↑ MacDonald, Patrick (March 28, 1986). "Del Fuegos Are On Their Way Up". Tempo. The Seattle Times. p. 4.
  6. ↑ Wenner, Cheryl (December 13, 1985). "Those Rock 'n' Roll Dreams Coming True for Del Fuegos". The Morning Call. p. D1.
  7. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2001). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Albums, 1955–2001. Record Research. p. 224.
  8. 1 2 Arnold, Gina (October 20, 1985). "Del Fuegos' second LP is nothing but a letdown". Calendar. Peninsula Times Tribune. p. 5.
  9. 1 2 Lee, Craig (October 13, 1985). "Record Rack". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 72.
  10. ↑ McTavish, Brian (November 13, 1985). "Beer spot gives boost to rockers". The Kansas City Star. p. 8C.
  11. ↑ Healey, Jon (September 14, 1985). "Del Fuegos search for 'The Truth' in Rock 'n' Roll". Entertainment Week. Winston-Salem Journal. p. 6.
  12. 1 2 Deming, Mark. "Boston, Mass. Review". AllMusic.
  13. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1990). Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. p. 117.
  14. ↑ Larkin, Colin (1998). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 2. MUZE. p. 1467.
  15. ↑ Wolgamott, L. Kent (October 22, 1985). "Records". Lifestyle. Lincoln Journal Star. p. 3.
  16. ↑ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1996. p. 195.
  17. ↑ Catlin, Roger (October 13, 1985). "New Sounds". Entertainment. Omaha World-Herald. p. 14.
  18. 1 2 Defendorf, Richard (October 20, 1985). "The Del Fuegos". Calendar. Orlando Sentinel. p. 12.
  19. ↑ Griffin, John (November 7, 1985). "Garage gone slick". The Gazette. p. F3.
  20. ↑ Tucker, Ken (May 23, 1986). "The Del Fuegos, appearing tomorrow...". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. E22.
  21. ↑ Valois, Dana (November 2, 1985). "Records". The Morning Call. p. A69.
  22. ↑ DiCrescenzo, Deke (November 3, 1985). "Del Fuegos LP lacks the flair of first effort". Columbia Daily Tribune. p. 46.
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