I Closed My Eyes, And It Slipped Away
By Mitch Berg
Did the seventies have a voice?
You could nominate quite a few voices for the title, of course; Stevie Nicks, Jackson Browne, Paul McCartney, Barry Gibb, Eddie Kendricks, Linda Ronstadt…
…but if you were a teenager in the rural midwest, huddled in your friends’ basements, listening to their older brothers’ records on their dads’ stereos, Brad Delp of Boston was probably on the short list.
Delp – with a bit of help from Tom Scholz’ extreme production style – was the high, clear, blazingly distinctive voice of a corporate rock band that still – at least on their incandescent first album – had a heart underneath all the pure technique.
Delp was found dead yesterday, at age 55.
March 10th, 2007 at 12:42 am
Howzabout “War Pigs”?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJlXTzSwLeY
March 10th, 2007 at 8:05 am
Shit!
55? That’s waaay too young.
As my 13-year-old son just said, “Delp was dope.”
March 10th, 2007 at 8:25 am
Very nice, Mitch.
March 10th, 2007 at 9:59 am
I remember there being looney charges that Boston was using occult practices and alien technology in their recordings because there was no way, NO WAY I tell you that they could have produced those qualities in standard recording techniques at the time.
Never mind the fact that one of their members was an audio engineering student at MIT.
R.I.P. Brad.
As for a vote for the voice of the 70’s, my vote would be Steve Perry. My daughter says Robert Plant and my wife says Dan Fogelberg.
March 10th, 2007 at 10:12 am
You guys heard of Bob Seger?
March 10th, 2007 at 10:14 am
Wasn’t he the guy on America’s Funniest Home Videos?
March 10th, 2007 at 11:10 am
I knew you would have something up, Mitch. I share my brush with fame, when I had beers in the green Room with Brad and the rest of the band during their State Fair gig in 2003.
http://centrisity.blogspot.com/2007/03/bostons-brad-delp-1951-2007.html
He was as regualr a guy as anyone you would meet at a Keagan’s Trivia night. He will be missed.
Flash
March 12th, 2007 at 9:55 am
Wasn’t he the guy on America’s Funniest Home Videos?
LOL!!
Actually, very few people know that Bob Saget is a rather adult oriented standup comic.
Danny Tanner is not gay: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PssBnDoexJA