10 Classic Rock Bands Never Better Than Their First Album
3. Boston
When Boston emerged out of nowhere in the late '70s, their debut blew away the entire world. With a certain sonic cleanliness and stunning production, guitarist Tom Scholz had made an entire record in his basement and walked out with one of the most classic records of all time. From "Smokin" to "Foreplay/Long Time," this album was BIG... maybe too big in retrospect.
As the band tried to go into the studio, their mission to make an equally strong record proved to be futile. Their sophomore album Don't Look Back was far from a sophomore slump, but in the grand scheme of rock albums, it paled in comparison to their first steps. Even when speaking in interviews, the band said that they jokingly titled the album Don't Look Back because they didn't want fans to notice how much they were borrowing from their debut record.
The band may have never reached the sonic heights of their debut again, but their later singles like "Amanda" still showed that they could write a soul-stirring tune if the time called for it. There may have been some more experimentation on later records, but when the lowlights of your debut are better than the single cuts of your later releases, you know something is wrong.