This is a CD I’ve been meaning to get around to for a long time, and finally checked off that box. It features two members of Boston, Brad Delp and Barry Goudreau. It was recorded in Goudreau’s home studio and released in 2003. The cover and reverse photos were taken on the beach near Goudreau’s home.

Delp was the clear, high, strong voice of Boston, and while Goudreau (on guitar) was sometimes overshadowed by Tom Scholz, he was part of the founding of Boston and, pun intended, instrumental in the sound of the first two Boston albums that together have sold over 30 million copies.

Delp and Goudreau first met when Goudreau auditioned for Delp’s high school band. Later they became brothers-in-law. After Boston, they were both part of a band called RTZ. The other members of RTZ play on this CD as well.

The pop music world has already said farewell to a number of people so far this year. Ronnie Spector, Meatloaf, Gary Brooker, Dick Halligan, Don Wilson, Ian McDonald and Taylor Hawkins just to name a few… Some musicians, like Hawkins, are lost to their inner demons. Whether those demons are the creative inspiration necessary for great art is an old debate, but one always wonders what music the world has missed out on.

Delp and Goudreau is a softer album, something like adult contemporary if a category must be chosen. It closes with a pretty little ballad, My One True Love. The first track on the CD is entitled What You Leave Behind. The lyrics are especially poignant when you realize Delp took his own life 4 years later, and 15 years ago this month.

And some call on intuition
Some call on the divine
No matter what the inspiration
There’s always something on the line
So don’t squander what you’re given
Make the most of precious time
Life’s not only for the living
It’s what you leave behind

It’s what you leave
It’s what you leave behind

The last song the pair wrote together was “Rockin’ Away,” written in 2006 on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the first Boston album. Goudreau released it in 2007 after Delp’s passing.