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During one of Boston's infamously long breaks between albums, the previous having been 1986's Third Stage, the next one to be 1994's Walk On, former guitarist Barry Goudreau was looking to do more than wait for Tom Sholz to be ready. He had done a lot of songwriting, and very little of it had worked it's way into Boston's albums, so he called Boston's lead singer Brad Delp, along with a few other performers associated with Boston and some session musicians, and they formed RTZ. They released this self-titled album before Delp left to rejoin the now-ready Boston.
Return To Zero sounds an awful lot like Boston, thanks mostly to Delp's distinctive vocals. Goudreau is an excellent guitarist, so the group sounds technically fine. But aside from Delp's vocals, there was nothing particularly distinctive about the group. They released a couple of singles that barely charted, and the band was largely forgotten about. This may partly be blamed on that fact that Delp left before they could tour behind the album, but looking at this objectively, the body of work just isn't all that interesting. Any track here could have passed for an album track on Boston's second or third album, but nothing would have been considered good enough to be a single. There is no guitar riff that stands out, no harmony that stays with you, no lyric that sticks in your head. It's serviceable rock, nothing more.
And that was not good enough at this time. Nirvana was changing what to expect from rock. This was far too clean, every note feeling very polished and calculated. Boston would experience the same problem shortly after with their fourth album Walk On, they were playing the same kind of music they started with twenty years earlier. The audience had changed, but they didn't change with it.
This was not the end of it, either. So much material was written and performed...eventually another four albums would come from the writing and performances from these sessions, most of which were quietly released on small labels, with even less fanfare than this one. They are evidences of the work of Brad Delp from before his tragic suicide in 2007. He really did have a fantastic voice, very distinctive and with a great ear for harmonies. But the RTZ project was nowhere near the best representative of his body of work.
A couple of tracks to try, if you were to sample the album would be "All You've Got", "Face The Music" and "Every Door Is Open". They most closely resemble Boston, which is likely the sound that leads most to this band. This is decent background music, something you might be playing while focusing on something else, but nothing you're likely to sing while driving down the road, or share with anyone else...it's not at that level. But it's not terrible either, it's saved somewhat by Delp, and by some competent guitar playing.
If you're looking for Boston, go with Boston's first four albums, this won't give you the same satisfaction. But if you've exhausted all of their work, and just want something more, this is "All You've Got" left. An album for collectors more than anything.
Return To Zero sounds an awful lot like Boston, thanks mostly to Delp's distinctive vocals. Goudreau is an excellent guitarist, so the group sounds technically fine. But aside from Delp's vocals, there was nothing particularly distinctive about the group. They released a couple of singles that barely charted, and the band was largely forgotten about. This may partly be blamed on that fact that Delp left before they could tour behind the album, but looking at this objectively, the body of work just isn't all that interesting. Any track here could have passed for an album track on Boston's second or third album, but nothing would have been considered good enough to be a single. There is no guitar riff that stands out, no harmony that stays with you, no lyric that sticks in your head. It's serviceable rock, nothing more.
And that was not good enough at this time. Nirvana was changing what to expect from rock. This was far too clean, every note feeling very polished and calculated. Boston would experience the same problem shortly after with their fourth album Walk On, they were playing the same kind of music they started with twenty years earlier. The audience had changed, but they didn't change with it.
This was not the end of it, either. So much material was written and performed...eventually another four albums would come from the writing and performances from these sessions, most of which were quietly released on small labels, with even less fanfare than this one. They are evidences of the work of Brad Delp from before his tragic suicide in 2007. He really did have a fantastic voice, very distinctive and with a great ear for harmonies. But the RTZ project was nowhere near the best representative of his body of work.
A couple of tracks to try, if you were to sample the album would be "All You've Got", "Face The Music" and "Every Door Is Open". They most closely resemble Boston, which is likely the sound that leads most to this band. This is decent background music, something you might be playing while focusing on something else, but nothing you're likely to sing while driving down the road, or share with anyone else...it's not at that level. But it's not terrible either, it's saved somewhat by Delp, and by some competent guitar playing.
If you're looking for Boston, go with Boston's first four albums, this won't give you the same satisfaction. But if you've exhausted all of their work, and just want something more, this is "All You've Got" left. An album for collectors more than anything.