No. 28: Boston, ‘More Than a Feeling’ – Top 100 Classic Rock Songs

In the fall of America's bicentennial celebration of 1976, Boston burst on to the airwaves with their debut LP. Its leadoff track, 'More Than A Feeling,' fits right at home on our list of the Top 100 Classic Rock Songs.

With a sound that was unique and yet somehow familiar, Boston were tailor-made for mid '70s FM radio. Guitarist / band leader Tom Sholtz wasn't your average poor struggling rocker, he was an M.I.T. graduate who invented his own effects pedal called 'The Rockman.' The distinctive tone of Sholtz' guitar coupled with the soaring vocals of Brad Delp became the trademark Boston sound, and fans ate it up.

In a typical tale of the times, the band was loved by fans and hated by the press. Often labeling the group "corporate rock," critics hated Boston with a passion.

And while its true, they were miles away from the burgeoning punk rock movement, in their defense, Boston had a lot more to offer than the day old-bread that was so prominent in the 1976 rock musical landscape.

'More Than A Feeling' was a rush of sunshine-laced guitars and vocals. An almost sickly sweet ear worm that to this day -- some 36 years later -- can still be heard daily on any given classic rock radio station. There are moments where Delp's voice blends so seamlessly with Sholtz' guitar, that they, you know...become one. (Not to sound like hippies or anything...)

Boston would issue an allegedly rushed follow-up two years later and a third album (presumably on a schedule more to their liking) some ten years after their debut, but things would never again gel as they did on album number one. Boston are still going in 2012, with Sholtz as the only original member, so odds are you can enjoy the magic of 'More Than a Feeling' at a concert somewhere near your home this summer.