Continuing my look at the albums of 1976…

If you want a debut album on which the artist emerged fully formed right out of the gate, look no further than Boston’s self-titled first release.

Consider that the first track on the band’s first album is ‘More Than a Feeling,’ a bona fide classic. And right on its heels comes ‘Peace of Mind,’ another all-timer. And closing out Side One of the nine-track album is ‘Foreplay/Long Time,’ a stellar instrumental followed by another classic rock song.

Side Two doesn’t let up, kicking off with ‘Rock & Roll Band’ and featuring ‘Smokin’,’ ‘Hitch a Ride,’ ‘Something About You,’ and ‘Let Me Take You Home Tonight’ — every one a banger.

This album understandably hit a nerve, becoming the second-highest selling debut (following Guns N’ Roses’ Appetite for Destruction) and one of the United States’ ten best-selling albums of all time.

The songs on Boston were written years earlier by Tom Scholz and recorded for a demo tape that was passed on by almost every major label. It finally got the green light by Epic Records, which had already passed on it once. They asked the Massachusetts-based Scholz to fly to Los Angeles and record the album with a proper producer.

Instead, Scholz polished up the demo in his own home studio, playing every instrument himself. Lead singer Brad Delp re-recorded his vocals in the California studio, but just about everything else on the album was captured in Scholz’s basement, a do-it-yourself ethos the band would carry over to their subsequent albums.