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**Boston - Walk On**
★★★☆☆

After a hiatus that lasted longer than some bands' entire careers, Boston's Tom Scholz emerged from his basement laboratory in 1994 with "Walk On," the band's third studio album and first new material in eight years. The gap between 1986's "Third Stage" and this release wasn't just about creative perfectionism – it was about legal warfare, label disputes, and Scholz's obsessive tinkering in his home studio, where he'd spent the better part of a decade crafting what he hoped would be another slice of arena rock perfection.

The origins of "Walk On" are rooted in the messy aftermath of Boston's previous success. Following bitter legal battles with MCA Records and the tragic suicide of original vocalist Brad Delp's temporary replacement, Fran Cosmo stepped up to the microphone full-time. Cosmo, who had contributed backing vocals to "Third Stage," found himself with the impossible task of filling Delp's soaring shoes while Scholz continued his meticulous approach to recording – an approach that had yielded diminishing returns since the band's explosive 1976 debut.

Musically, "Walk On" finds Boston attempting to modernise their signature sound without abandoning the elements that made them stadium-filling superstars. The album retains Scholz's trademark wall of harmonised guitars, those swooping lead lines that sound like they're transmitted from some cosmic radio station, and the kind of anthemic choruses designed to be bellowed by 50,000 voices. However, there's a noticeable attempt to incorporate more contemporary production techniques and a slightly harder edge that reflects the alternative rock landscape of the mid-'90s.

The album's strongest moment arrives with "I Need Your Love," a track that successfully bridges Boston's classic sound with modern sensibilities. Cosmo's vocals soar convincingly over Scholz's layered guitar orchestrations, while the song's structure builds with the kind of inevitable momentum that made tracks like "More Than a Feeling" so irresistible. It's followed closely by the title track "Walk On," which serves up a defiant anthem about perseverance that feels both personal and universal – perhaps reflecting Scholz's own journey through the music industry wilderness.

"Get Organ-ized" showcases the band's playful side, built around a Hammond organ riff that recalls Deep Purple more than Boston's usual cosmic Americana. It's a welcome change of pace that demonstrates the band's willingness to experiment within their established framework. Meanwhile, "Magdalene" offers one of the album's most emotionally resonant moments, with Cosmo delivering a performance that finally establishes his own identity rather than simply echoing Delp's approach.

The album's weaker moments come when Scholz's perfectionist tendencies work against the songs rather than serving them. Tracks like "What's Your Name" and "Walk On (Some More)" feel over-produced and sterile, lacking the organic energy that made Boston's early work so compelling. The guitar sounds, while technically immaculate, sometimes feel too polished, too removed from any sense of spontaneity or danger.

Fran Cosmo deserves considerable credit for his performance throughout "Walk On." Rather than attempting a direct imitation of Brad Delp's distinctive voice, Cosmo brings his own character to the material while respecting the Boston template. His range and power are impressive, and he handles both the soaring anthems and more intimate moments with equal skill.

In terms of legacy, "Walk On" occupies a curious position in Boston's catalogue. It's neither the commercial disaster that some predicted nor the triumphant return that fans hoped for. The album peaked at number 51 on the Billboard 200 – respectable but hardly earth-shaking for a band that had once dominated the charts. More significantly, it demonstrated that Boston could continue as a viable creative entity beyond their classic lineup, even if the results were more workmanlike than inspired.

Today, "Walk On" is appreciated by Boston devotees as a solid, if unspectacular, chapter in the band's story. It lacks the revolutionary impact of the debut or even the commercial appeal of "Don't Look Back," but it succeeds in proving that Tom Scholz's vision could adapt to changing times while maintaining its essential character. For a band that had seemingly painted themselves into a corner with their own perfectionism, "Walk On" represents a modest but meaningful step forward, even if it took them eight years to take it.