Boston's debut album was one of the best of its time.  Their self-titled first album was their most popular to date and sold over seventeen million copies.  The writer and producer behind the band was Tom Scholz, who also played every instrument for the band except for the drums.  He was helped by the lead singer of the band, Brad Delp.  The band went on to sell seven million copies for their second studio album 'Don't Look Back' in 1978.  Altogether, the band sold more than seventy-five million copies worldwide and made a name for themselves in the classic rock world forever.  
     All of the songs on the album were written and produced by Tom Scholz, the mastermind who essentially started the band.  Along with lead singer Brad Delp's help on a few of the songs, the pair created a masterpiece that would come to sell millions of copies.  Each song was produced in Tom's basement, which he converted into a makeshift studio.  Tom preferred to take his time on each song and do things at his own pace, which was a leading factor as to why their self-titled album did so well.  Tom didn't have the record label timing him and pushing him to get songs out in a timely manner, he took all the time he needed.  This gave him the space and clarity to come up with arguably some of the band's most famous songs, such as "More Than A Feeling" and "Peace of Mind".  Later albums did not do as well, which could have been due to the record label pushing Tom to create music in a certain amount of time.  This situation later ended up leading to a lawsuit between Tom Scholz and CBS Records, because Tom Scholz and Boston failed to deliver a record album.
     Boston's music is considered classic rock and was influenced by earlier music of that genre.  Boston had many similar elements to other classic rock bands, such as their use of the electric guitar.  Unlike other bands, however, Boston had a unique way of creating their own sounds.  Tom Scholz went to college at the Massachusetts Institution of Technology to get a mechanical engineering degree and later got a job with Polaroid before the band took off.  His engineering background came in handy when making Boston's music because he was able to use his knowledge to create any sound he wanted.  With his prior knowledge, he came up with a bunch of unique sounds which can be heard in any of the songs on Boston's album.  Tom Scholz stated that Jeff Beck, Led Zeppelin, James Gang, The Kinks, and The Yardbirds all had a big musical influence on him.  However, his biggest influence was Iron Butterfly, specifically their 1968 album 'Heavy'.  There is a song in that album that stood out to Tom, called "Iron Butterfly Theme".  On the track, you can hear cool psychedelic guitar lines.  The sounds from their guitar and the power that came from their music real stood out to Tom and became and huge influence on him. 
     This album was released in the 70s and is a perfect reflection of that time period.  Smoking weed, finding love, and creating your own path in life are all referenced in this album and are strong topics of the decade.  This is around the time when more people were starting to go to college and pushing to become more than the average person. "Peace of Mind" is a perfect example of that mentality, as people were just trying to do their own thing at their own pace, much like Tom when he was writing the songs for the album.  The song highlighted the fact that people were trying to rush through life instead of taking a step back and enjoying it.  We only get to be here once for all we know, so we might as well make the most of it.  "Smokin'" is another song off of the album, which talks about exactly what the title says.  The song is about weed and getting high. Other songs off of the album, like "More Than A Feeling", "Something About You", and "Let Me Take You Home Tonight" are all about trying to find the right person. "Rock & Roll Band" is a song about the life of being in a band and the reality of it all.  This song is not specifically about Boston's upbringing, but it talks about sleeping in cars and barely making ends meet.  Toward the end of the song, the mentioned band is now famous, and everyone knows their name.  It is a feel-good song that many people know and can jam out to.  "Foreplay/Long Time" is a very unique song off of the album.  Like other songs from the album, this song references trying to find love.  This song, however, is rather unique because the first few minutes of the track is solely instrumental.  Guitar solos and cool riffs are common in this type of music, but I have not found many songs of this era that made a successful track that started out with a good two and a half minute run.  Boston specifically did a great job on this track of keeping the audience's attention by making the instruments louder, quieter, and bringing in a bunch of different sounds to peak interest.  Guitar solos and other instrumental segments are pretty commonly found further into classic rock songs.  Some examples could be Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven", Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird", and Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child O' Mine". 
     Many people believed that this album was something new and unique that has never been heard before.  Boston and Tom Scholz specifically did a great job at creating catchy music for the decade that was very unique and was still able to top the charts.  Their idea of making unique music paved the way for classic rock thereafter.  Audiences were obviously ecstatic to hear something different because the album did a great number in sales.  Critics raved that the album was a breath of fresh air and arguably one of the best records ever.  
     One of the songs off of the album is very closely tied with the band itself.  "Hitch A Ride" is the sixth song on the album and the song is about suicide.  This topic is closely related to the band because the lead singer, Brad Delp, ended up committing suicide in March of 2007 and left behind a series of notes and some letters.  The notes were found in many different places, and one talked about Brad being a "lonely soul".  Brad Delp is not the only singer who's committed suicide, as it has happened to many other well-known musicians.  This could be because of the pressure of being in the spotlight and always having to be at your best.  Many bands of the time were heavy into drugs and drinking.  Media and Brad's ex wife were implying that Tom might have been a cause of Brad's suicide, and Tom ending up taking them to court with no success.  The court ruled in favor of Brad's ex wife and the media outlets and Tom lost $132,000. Brad left this world years ago but still lives on through his voice, which can be heard on their debut album.  Brad was also the one who sang the vocals for "Hitch A Ride", which came to be closely related to him and his choices. 
     Boston's first album set the standard and groundwork for their later albums.  This first album cover features a bunch of guitar spaceships, each with a city (presumably Boston) sitting on the top, encapsulated in a glass dome.  The colors used on the cover are very vibrant and closely resemble the 70s.  The spaceships are seen leaving a planet which is seemingly blowing up.  This vibrant space world can still be seen at their concerts, as they use the spaceship control room as a backdrop for their concerts.  I went to see Boston in concert back in July of 2017.  The stage lighting was very vibrant, with deep purples and electric blues.  The backdrop was a journey of its own, as you can see the control room of what looks like a spaceship as it moves through outer space.  The backdrop also showed guitar spaceships from the outside view, and they can be seen traveling through space.  There were lots of views of planets, asteroids, and rocks blowing up as they got to certain parts in the songs.  This spaceship and outer space theme can be seen on their later album covers, such as 'Don't Look Back' (1978), 'Third Stage' (1986), 'Walk On' (1994), 'Corporate America' (2002), and 'Life, Love & Hope' (2013).
     Anybody even remotely interested in classic rock can name many songs off of this album, as it houses many of Boston's most popular songs.  Even people who don't listen to classic rock will still be able to recognize Boston's sound, because "More Than A Feeling" is a very popular song that has been used in many different Disney movies. This band did an amazing job on their first album which shot them into the spotlight.  Tom's visions for the background sound and Brad's stellar vocals really helped separate Boston from all the other bands of their time.