Don't Look Back Arizona

Don't Look Back

Boston

Epic Records, 1978

REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 02/05/2001

When Tom Scholz was locked in his battle with Epic Records backin the '80s, he claimed he was being rushed into creating Bostonrecords by his former label, and he wasn't about to put outsomething substandard.

Too bad he didn't take such a stance with Don't Look Back, the 1978 follow-up to Boston's self-titledmega-smash. The formula sounds old (after just two years betweenalbums), the songwriting sounds forced, and the overall picture isthat the success Boston had might have been a fluke.

Have you ever wondered why "Feelin' Satisfied" and "Don't LookBack" are the only songs you ever hear from this disc on the radio,while almost all of Boston is played to death? Simple - these are the only twosongs worth their mettle on Don't Look Back. Even there, it sometimes feels like Scholzand company are re-treading on sacred ground; "Feelin' Satisfied"sounds similar to "Rock & Roll Band" in more than one way.

Yet there is something about these two songs that does make themstand out - namely, they are well-written and suggested that Boston might have beenon track to another smash album... that is, had they taken the timeto get it right. The rest of the disc runs from forgettable to crapyou won't be able to scrape off your shoes.