Boston is a five-man band that embodies the finest influences of English heavy-metal and progressive rock as no other American band has ever done. The group's affinity for heavy rock & roll provides a sense of dynamics that coheres magnetically with sophisticated progressive structures. "Fore-play/Long Time," for instance, is a perfect marriage of Led Zeppelin and Yes that plays musical chairs with electric and acoustic sounds. But that's merely a point of reference—Boston surfaces from the melting pot as a refreshingly original band.

Lead singer Bradley Delp's muscular vocals are powerful and graceful. He teams with guitarist Tom Scholz, who coproduced and wrote six of the album's eight songs, in a relationship that's the key to the group's striking personality. If Boston is as exciting to see as it is to hear, Aerosmith will soon have company at the top. (RS 223)

KRIS NICHOLSON