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Tom Scholz<\/a> built Boston\u2019s<\/a> sound in his basement<\/a>, pioneering recording techniques that redefined arena rock. But by the early 1980s, his perfectionism and resentment of the industry brought the band to a standstill and put him on a collision course with CBS Records chief Walter Yetnikoff. <\/em><\/p>\n In this exclusive excerpt from <\/em>Power Soak: Invention, Obsession and the Price of the Perfect Sound<\/a>, journalist Brendan Borrell<\/a> tells the story of a remarkable meeting between Scholz and Yetnikoff about Scholz\u2019s long-delayed third album, <\/em>Third Stage. In order to tell this story, Borrell conducted new interviews and gathered thousands of pages of forgotten documents from federal archives, courthouses and personal collections of the participants.<\/em><\/p>\n Most working musicians aren\u2019t Bob Dylan<\/a> or Paul McCartney<\/a>. At best, they have only one great album in them, perhaps one unforgettable song. To make a living in this business, everyone knew you needed to milk that early success for all it was worth.<\/p>\n Boston\u2019s demanding contract with CBS Records required that they churn out one to two albums per year. Almost nobody ever met such absurd deadlines. But no one so flagrantly blew past them like Tom Scholz.<\/p>\n His third album was now three years late under the original contract, and it was still late under all the extensions he had been granted. In May 1981, Scholz sent a Western Union message to CBS Records chief Walter Yetnikoff, blaming the delays on everyone but himself:<\/p>\n MANY PROBLEM AREAS HAVE COME UP CONCERNING THE RELEASE OF THE<\/em> By the time Scholz walked into Black Rock a few months later, Yetnikoff was in a mood.<\/p>\n Whether or not a Screwdriver<\/a> helped him get there, as it often did, is hard to say. Sometimes a line of coke sufficed. Whatever the fuel, Yetnikoff sat Scholz down like a Mafia don ready to make a point.<\/p>\n He started with a story.<\/p>\n One of Epic’s other bands, Cheap Trick,<\/a> hadn’t delivered new material for almost a year. They were holding out, Yetnikoff said, hoping to renegotiate their contract. In return, CBS had slapped them with a $52 million lawsuite.<\/p>\n Yetnikoff made sure he had Scholz\u2019s attention. \u201cCBS can be a real prick when it wants to be,\u201d he said. Then, after a pause, he repeated the sentence word-for-word.<\/p>\n He then turned to the matter at hand. Scholz had promised him the next album this fall. Was it coming? Recording had been a grind, Scholz said, but with the dispute with his manager, Paul Ahern, resolved, he was making headway. He envisioned a theme album: a personal statement, not just a commercial product, something that echoed his own internal shift as he moved past early adulthood and imagined what kind of man he aspired to be.<\/p>\n He even had a tentative title: Third Stage<\/em>. One ballad, \u201cAmanda,\u201d was nearly finished.<\/p>\n Listen to Boston’s ‘Amanda’<\/strong><\/p>\n Could he deliver by year\u2019s end? Possibly, he said. He had been busy recording with his drummer Sib Hashian and bassist Fran Sheehan.<\/p>\n Yetnikoff knew that Scholz had lost his guitarist, Barry Goudreau, and he wanted to know whether Goudreau\u2019s brother-in-law, Brad Delp, would still be singing on it. Delp\u2019s voice and sensibility infused much-needed emotion into Scholz\u2019s overengineered compositions. When Scholz retreated to his hotel room after a show, it was Delp who stayed late after concerts to sign every T-shirt and album cover.<\/p>\n Scholz admitted to Yetnikoff that Delp\u2019s status was uncertain. Delp had done some studio work, but he wasn\u2019t sure if he would tour with the band again.<\/p>\n Human relations may not have been Scholz\u2019s strong suit, but problem-solving was. He presented Yetnikoff with a new tape of an old song.<\/p>\n The stereo whirred to life. \u201cA Man I\u2019ll Never Be\u201d emanated from the speakers, a track from the band\u2019s second album. Butter-smooth vocals rose above Scholz\u2019s moody piano and organ tracks along with those powerful guitars. Yetnikoff listened intensely. Then came the reveal.<\/p>\n Scholz explained it wasn\u2019t Delp\u2019s voice Yetnikoff was hearing. Or it wasn\u2019t just Delp\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n After the release of Goudreau\u2019s solo album, Scholz had mounted a \u201cone-man campaign to canvass the country\u201d to find a replica who had Delp\u2019s \u201cidentical vocal sound.\u201d He placed an anonymous ad in the back of Rolling Stone: \u201cWanted: Rock Singer $50,000 minimum guaranteed first year.\u201d Candidates were instructed to send a tape to a P.O. Box in White Plains, New York, demonstrating their ability to channel Chicago, Foreigner, Bad Company and, of course, Boston. \u201cAcceptable applicants will be auditioned live, expenses paid.\u201d<\/p>\n Thousands applied.<\/p>\n Scholz discovered the acoustic match in a man named Mark Dixon, who sang for a cover band in a converted bowling alley in Niagara Falls, New York. Scholz brought him to his basement to record. On the track Scholz played for Yetnikoff, every line alternated between Delp and Dixon.<\/p>\n Neither Yetnikoff nor Scholz could tell the difference.<\/p>\n Scholz said he hoped to use both vocalists on his album, but if Delp bailed, Dixon would tour. If Yetnikoff approved, Scholz would put Dixon on the band\u2019s payroll. Yetnikoff gave it his blessing but added: keep it quiet. No one else needed to know, inside CBS or out.<\/p>\n It was another one of their private understandings.<\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> How Boston Reached New Chart Heights With ‘Third Stage’<\/a><\/p>\nHow the Trouble With Boston’s Next Record Came to a Head<\/h3>\n
NEW RECORD. SOME HAVE BEEN UNSUCCESSFULLY PURSUED THROUGH THE<\/em>
EPIC STAFF. OTHERS REQUIRE YOUR DECISION AND AUTHORIZATION. IT\u2019S<\/em>
OBVIOUS YOU DON\u2019T HAVE TIME TO CONSIDER THESE PROBLEM AREAS AT<\/em>
THIS TIME \u2026 THE ALBUM DELIVERY WILL BE POSTPONED.<\/em><\/p>\nThe Showdown<\/h3>\n
How Did Scholz Respond?<\/h3>\n
The Mastermind Had a Surprise<\/h3>\n
How it Happened<\/h3>\n
What Were the Results?<\/h3>\n