RTZ – Lost And Found

For all those readers out there who are too young to remember, here comes a little lesson in Rock history. Brad Delp (vocals) and Barry Goudreau (guitar) were two of the original members of the late 70s band Boston. Boston’s initial release in 1976 went on to sell 16 million copies, and was famous for its patented “wall of sound” guitars. Both musicians only recorded one more Boston album together, and needless to say it wasn’t nearly as successful as the first one. Through all the years since the mid-70s, the two have managed to sustain a working relationship by collaborating on several projects. One of those projects was the band RTZ, which stands for “Return To Zero”.

Lost And Found is another page in Brad and Barry’s history together, and is made up of never before released tracks that were recorded before the first RTZ album (1991). The songs were recorded in Barry’s home studio, and they serve to show the progression that led up to that first RTZ album. As a special bonus, Frontiers Records added a copy of the latest Delp/Goudreau project, simply entitled Delp & Goudreau, making this a two CD release. Caution, don’t get too excited just yet!

The Lost And Found CD is, for the most part, a nice slab of Melodic Rock with many songs that would have fit well on later Boston releases. The disc contains 11 tracks, of which the first 6 display pretty decent production that has a nice live recording presence. Then, for some reason, on the 7th track (“Rock The Night”) the recording level drops down in decibels requiring the listener to adjust the volume knob on their player. You can’t complain too much, though, as these are “lost” and now found tracks. Even so, there have been songs released by many labels that are much rawer than you’ll find on this release.

Highlights include “One Step Away,” which is a mid-tempo stomp with a catchy chorus, and “Social Disease” with its stabbing guitar line and a nice melodic Goudreau solo. The track “Winners And Losers” is slightly different and even “electronica” (in a sense) with its upfront synthesizers. It’s different, but has a catchy chorus that might not leave your short-term memory for a while. “Better And Better” deserves mention as well, being another catchy, foot-stomping mid-tempo rocker.

This is a release, however, that behaves like a double-edged blade. The first disc, Lost And Found, will be enjoyed by existing RTZ fans and Boston fans (who can live without the mass wall of sound guitars made famous by the first Boston album). Delp still manages to deliver a wonderful vocal set and Goudreau delivers plenty of sharp guitar solos and fills that made him famous. Consider this disc the “sharp” edge. The “bonus” disc, unfortunately, is a mellower collaboration of the two partners (gone, for the most part, is the guitar-laden, Melodic Rock that RTZ releases have offered). The second disc should be considered the “dull” edge that will only be accepted as a “bonus” to diehard Delp and/or Goudreau fans.

Lineup

Brad Delp: Vocals
Barry Goudreau: Guitars, Keyboards
Tim Archibald: Bass Guitars
David Stefanelli: Drums
Brain Maes: Keyboards
Patty Barkus: Choirs
Jack O-Soro: Congas