Greatest Hits (Boston album)

Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits
Greatest hits album by Boston
Released	June 3, 1997
Recorded	1975–1997
Genre	Hard rock
Length	75:23
Label	Epic/Legacy
Producer	Tom Scholz
Boston chronology

Greatest Hits is the only compilation album by American rock band Boston. Released on June 3, 1997, the album features songs originally released on both the Epic and MCA record labels, as well as three previously unreleased recordings ("Tell Me", "Higher Power" and "The Star-Spangled Banner"). Tom Scholz, the band's leader, felt that the album's audio quality was not up to his standards, so a remastered version of the album was released in 2009 with a slightly different track listing. Boston embarked on a tour for this album both times it was released.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]

The album was certified double platinum by the RIAA on December 4, 2003, and it has sold 2,234,000 copies in the United States as of August 2014.^[2]

The cover features the guitar-shaped spaceship flying low over a planet with turquoise rocks and a turquoise tower in the distance. The backside shows a personification of New York City. It is unknown why the band chose New York City instead of Boston, the city the band is named after and which they usually show on their artwork.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Tom Scholz, unless otherwise noted

1997 original release
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Origin	Length
1.	"Tell Me"		Previously unreleased, 1997	4:04
2.	"Higher Power"	David Sikes	Previously unreleased, 1997	5:06
3.	"More Than a Feeling"		Boston, 1976	4:45
4.	"Peace of Mind"		Boston, 1976	5:05
5.	"Don't Look Back"		Don't Look Back, 1978	5:57
6.	"Cool the Engines"	Brad Delp, Fran Sheehan	Third Stage, 1986	4:35
7.	"Livin' for You"		Walk On, 1994	4:55
8.	"Feelin' Satisfied"		Don't Look Back, 1978	4:11
9.	"Party"	Delp	Don't Look Back, 1978	4:08
10.	"Foreplay/Long Time"		Boston, 1976	7:48
11.	"Amanda"		Third Stage, 1986	4:15
12.	"Rock and Roll Band"		Boston, 1976	3:00
13.	"Smokin'"	Scholz, Delp	Boston, 1976	4:20
14.	"A Man I'll Never Be"		Don't Look Back, 1978	6:32
15.	"The Star-Spangled Banner"/"4th of July Reprise"	John Stafford Smith¹	Previously unreleased, 1997	2:44
16.	"Higher Power (Kalodner Edit)"	Sikes	Previously unreleased, 1997	3:52

2009 reissue
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Origin	Length
1.	"I Had a Good Time"		Corporate America, 2002	4:16
2.	"Higher Power"	David Sikes	Greatest Hits, 1997	5:05
3.	"More Than a Feeling"		Boston, 1976	4:45
4.	"Peace of Mind"		Boston, 1976	5:01
5.	"Don't Look Back"		Don't Look Back, 1978	6:03
6.	"I Need Your Love"	Fred Sampson	Walk On, 1994	5:22
7.	"Cool the Engines"	Delp, Sheehan	Third Stage, 1986	4:36
8.	"Party"	Scholz, Delp	Don't Look Back, 1978	4:06
9.	"Feelin' Satisfied"		Don't Look Back, 1978	4:11
10.	"Foreplay"/"Long Time"		Boston, 1976	7:48
11.	"Amanda"		Third Stage, 1986	4:18
12.	"Rock and Roll Band"		Boston, 1976	3:00
13.	"Smokin'"	Scholz, Delp	Boston, 1976	4:23
14.	"A Man I'll Never Be"		Don't Look Back, 1978	6:40
15.	"The Star Spangled Banner"/"4th of July Reprise"	Smith¹	Greatest Hits, 1997	2:43

Notes

^ Boston credits this song to three composers, "F.S. Key", "J.S. Smith", and "T. Scholz". However, Key only wrote the lyrics to the song, and Boston's recording is an instrumental.

Personnel

Boston

Tom Scholz – guitar, bass, organ, drums, clavinet, keyboards, hand clapping
Brad Delp – vocals, guitar
Barry Goudreau – guitar
Fran Sheehan – bass
Sib Hashian – drums

Additional personnel

Jim Masdea – drums
Gary Pihl – guitar
Fran Cosmo – vocals
David Sikes – bass guitar, vocals
Doug Huffman – drums

Charts

Chart (1997)	Peak position
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)^[3]	61
Japanese Albums (Oricon)^[4]	21
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)^[5]	35
US Billboard 200^[6]	47

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ)^[7]	Gold	100,000^{^}
United Kingdom (BPI)^[8]	Gold	100,000^‡
United States (RIAA)^[9]	2× Platinum	2,000,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone. ^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Boston - Greatest Hits". AllMusic.
^ Paul Grein (August 13, 2014). "Chart Watch: Back to The '70s With 'Guardians' Soundtrack". Yahoo! Music.
^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 3237". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
^ "Boston Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
^ "Japanese album certifications – Boston – Boston Greates Hits" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved December 27, 2020. Select 2003年12月 on the drop-down menu
^ "British album certifications – Boston – Greatest Hits". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
^ "American album certifications – Boston – Greatest Hits". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 6, 2021.

[1] Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Boston - Greatest Hits". AllMusic.

[2] Paul Grein (August 13, 2014). "Chart Watch: Back to The '70s With 'Guardians' Soundtrack". Yahoo! Music.

[group=-3] "Top RPM Albums: Issue 3237". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 12, 2024.

[JPN-4] Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.

[ac_UKRock_-5] "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 12, 2024.

[Billboard_200-6] "Boston Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 12, 2024.

[JapanBostonBoston_Greates_HitsalbumCertRef-7] "Japanese album certifications – Boston – Boston Greates Hits" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved December 27, 2020. Select 2003年12月 on the drop-down menu

[United_KingdomBostonGreatest_HitsalbumCertRef-8] "British album certifications – Boston – Greatest Hits". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 6, 2021.

[United_StatesBostonGreatest_HitsalbumCertRef-9] "American album certifications – Boston – Greatest Hits". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 6, 2021.

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