More Than a Feeling

"More Than a Feeling" is a song by the American rock band Boston, released as the lead single and the opening track from the band's 1976 debut album by Epic Records in September 1976, with "Smokin'Template:-" as the B-side. Tom Scholz wrote the entire song. The single entered the US Billboard Hot 100 on September 18 and peaked at number five.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The track is now a staple of classic rock radio, and in 2008, it was named the 39th-best hard rock song of all time by VH1.<ref name="spreadit1"/> It was included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame list of the "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll" and was ranked number 212 on Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list in 2021, updated from its previous position of number 500 on the 2004 version.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Background and writing

"More than a Feeling" took Scholz five years to complete.<ref>"More than a Feeling" profile, Rolling Stone, 2004.</ref><ref name="max2">Template:Cite news</ref> Scholz wrote the lyrics based on the idea of losing someone close, and on the way in which music can connect a person to memories of the past.Template:Citation needed Though not based on any specific event in Scholz's life, he did take the name Marianne from his cousin.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is one of six songs (five of which eventually appeared on the Boston album<ref name="satisfied">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>) that he worked on in his basement from 1968 to 1975, before Boston got its record contract.<ref name="max2"/> The drum parts were originally developed by Jim Masdea, although Sib Hashian played the drums on the official release.<ref name=satisfied/> The song is in compound AABA form.<ref>Covach, John (2005), "Form in Rock Music: A Primer", in Stein, Deborah, Engaging Music: Essays in Music Analysis, New York: Oxford University Press, p.74-75, Template:ISBN .</ref>

Content

{{#invoke:Listen|main}} The Book of Rock Lists suggests that the chorus riff may itself be a subtle homage to the Kingsmen's classic, "Louie Louie." Scholz has stated in multiple interviews his fondness for the James Gang, and in particular that band's 1970s album, James Gang Rides Again.<ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Accordingly, the signature riff for "More than a Feeling" bears a resemblance to that composed by Joe Walsh for the "Rides Again" track "Tend My Garden".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Scholz credits "Walk Away Renee" by The Left Banke as the song's main inspiration.<ref name="The Rock Man - Maximum Guitar, A Revealing interview with Tom Scholz, guitarist and mastermind behind BOSTON'S classic-rock brilliance">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Boston's website says the song is about "the power an old song can have in your life",<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> with Scholz elaborating that "it was sort of a bittersweet ballad."<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> Ultimate Classic Rock critic Michael Gallucci points out that this is a common theme in Boston songs.<ref name=ultimate>Template:Cite news</ref>

The lyrics express the author's discontent with the present and his yearning for a former love named Marianne, whose memory is strongly evoked by an old familiar song. In an interview Scholz was asked, "Who is Marianne?" He replied, "There actually is a Marianne. She wasn't my girlfriend." He explained that when he was 8 or 9 years old he had a much older cousin who he thought was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen and that he was "secretly in love" with her (laughs),<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> but he has also stated that the lyrics were inspired by his emotions after a school love affair ended, and were influenced by the lyrics of the Left Banke song "Walk Away Renee".<ref name="max2"/> Maximum Guitar author Andy Aledort pointed out that the guitar chord progression of G-D/FTemplate:Music-Em7-D that follows the line "I see my Marianne walking away" also comes from "Walk Away Renee."<ref name="max2"/> Aledort also explains that the guitar solo is unusual in that it incorporates mordents and inverted mordents, which are more typically used in baroque music.<ref name="max2"/>

Reception

Billboard described "More Than a Feeling" as an "electric guitar-dominated rocker...made commercial with an accessible beat and hand-clap backup and smooth, soaring vocals."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Cash Box said "it’s a hard-rock offering, but has a sophisticated melody that makes good use of minor chords" and has "attractive" unison guitar work and powerful vocals.<ref name=cb>Template:Cite news</ref> Record World said that with the song Boston "shows it is adept at rocking with a heavy metal fury, yet at the same time builds a dynamic tension around the melody of the tune."<ref name=rw>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Classic Rock critic Paul Elliott rated it as "Boston's all-time greatest song".<ref name=louder>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Los Angeles Times critic Robert Hilburn called it a "marvelously appealing pop-rock single" and said that it ranks with Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" as one of the best singles of 1976.<ref name="LAtimes" /> Hilburn also said that the song combines "the graceful splendor and rousing melodic hooks of the Moody Blues, the strident guitar impact of Queen's Brian May and some of the romantic pop-rock consciousness of Eric Carmen and the old Raspberries."<ref name="LAtimes2" />

Guitar World states that when the radio plays "More Than a Feeling", "few can resist indulging in fits of fleet-fingered air guitar and a spirited falsetto sing-along."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Rolling Stone Album Guide critic Paul Evans states that "as slick as it sounds, 'More Than a Feeling' strikes an uncommonly resonant emotional note."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Gallucci rated it Boston's greatest song, as did Classic Rock History critic Brian Kachejian.<ref name=ultimate/><ref name=crh>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Ultimate Classic Rock critic Dave Swanson rated it the number-28 all-time classic rock song.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Personnel

• Tom Scholz – electric and acoustic guitars, bass guitar
• Brad Delp – lead and backing vocals
• Sib Hashian – drums

Charts

Weekly charts

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Chart (1976–1977)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>	11
Belgium (VRT Top 30)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	14
Japan (Oricon)<ref name="JPN">Template:Cite book</ref>	68
US Cash Box Top 100<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	4

Year-end charts

Chart (1977)	Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	95
Canada Top Singles (RPM)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	58
US Cash Box Top 100<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	83
West Germany (GfK)<ref name="INFINITY CHARTS: German Top 20">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	76

Covers and use in politics and other media

• In 1992, when Nirvana performed their breakthrough single, "Smells Like Teen Spirit", at the Reading Festival, they incorporated part of "More Than a Feeling" at the beginning, a reference to the similarities between the two songs' main guitar riffs. This part is included on the DVD version of Nirvana's live album, Live at Reading.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
• In 2008 Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee used the song to promote his campaign. Former Boston band member Barry Goudreau made appearances with Huckabee both live and on YouTube. In February 2008, Scholz wrote to Huckabee requesting that he stop using the song, stating: "While I'm flattered that you are fond of my song, I'm shocked that you would use it and the name Boston to promote yourself without my consent. Your campaign's use of 'More Than a Feeling', coupled with the representation of one of your supporters as a member 'of Boston' clearly implies that the band Boston, and specifically one of its members, has endorsed your candidacy, neither of which is true."<ref>"'More Than a Feeling'" Writer Says Mike Huckabee Has Caused Him 'Damage'", Rolling Stone website, February 14, 2008.</ref> Huckabee complied with Scholz's request, and videos featuring Barry Goudreau and the song were subsequently removed by the Huckabee campaign.
• The song was covered on Glee, as part of the New Directions Nationals setlist in the season 5 episode 'City of Angels', the songs included said to be favourites of Finn Hudson, honoring actor Cory Monteith having died.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Downloadable content for music games

• The song was covered by WaveGroup Sound as part of the soundtrack for the original Guitar Hero released in 2005,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• The song was made available to download on March 25, 2008, for use in the Rock Band music video game series.

External links

• Template:YouTube