"More Than a Feeling" is a song by the American
rock band
Boston, released as the lead single from the band's 1976
debut album by
Epic Records in September 1976, with "
Smokin'" as the
B-side.
Tom Scholz wrote the whole song. The single entered the US
Billboard Hot 100 on September 18 and peaked at number five.[4] 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.[1] It was included in the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame list of the "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll" and is ranked number 212 on
Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time", updated from its previous position of number 500 on the 2004 version.[5]
Background and writing
"More than a Feeling" took Scholz five years to complete.[6][7] 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.[citation needed] Though not based on any specific event in Scholz's life, he did take the name Marianne from his cousin.[8] It is one of six songs (five of which eventually appeared on the Boston album[9]) that he worked on in his basement from 1968 to 1975, before Boston got its record contract.[10] The drum parts were originally developed by
Jim Masdea, although
Sib Hashian played the drums on the official release.[9] The song is in compound
AABA form.[11]
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.[12][13][14][15] 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".[16] Scholz credits "
Walk Away Renee" by
The Left Banke as the song's main inspiration.[17][18]
Boston's website says the song is about "the power an old song can have in your life",[19] with Scholz elaborating that "it was sort of a bittersweet ballad."[20]Ultimate Classic Rock critic Michael Gallucci points out that this is a common theme in Boston songs.[21]
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 whom he thought was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen and that he was "secretly in love" with her (laughs),[22] 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".[10]Maximum Guitar author Andy Aledort pointed out that the
guitar chord progression of G-D/F#-Em7-D that follows the line "I see my Marianne walking away" also comes from "Walk Away Renee."[10] 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.[10]
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."[23]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.[24]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."[25]Classic Rock critic Paul Elliott rated it as "Boston's all-time greatest song".[26]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.[2] 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."[3]
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."[27]Rolling Stone Album Guide critic Paul Evans states that "as slick as it sounds, 'More Than a Feeling' strikes an uncommonly resonant emotional note."[28] Gallucci rated it Boston's greatest song, as did Classic Rock History critic Brian Kachejian.[21][29]Ultimate Classic Rock critic Dave Swanson rated it the number-28 all-time classic rock song.[30]
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.[54]
The song was covered by the Zoo Animals from 2011 American fantasy comedy film Zookeeper.
The was sample in the song "Totally Hooked" by DJ Peter Presta in 2005.
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."[55] Huckabee complied with Scholz's request, and videos featuring Barry Goudreau and the song were subsequently removed by the Huckabee campaign.
The song appears in the 2008 Dreamworks film Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa where the penguins steal the cars of tourists in Africa and also appears on the plane near the end of the film.
The song appears in trailers and teasers from Pixar's Inside Out and Netflix's Leo.
^
abcdAledort, Andy (September 1997).
"The Rock Man". Maximum Guitar. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
^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,
ISBN0-19-517010-5 .