"Can'tcha Say (You Still Believe in Me)/Still in Love" by Boston

Song#:  3049
Date:  03/07/1987
Debut:  74
Peak:  20
Weeks:  13
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  Boston's Third Stage did something their previous two albums were unable to do - score two Pop Top 10 hits ("Amanda," #1 and "We're Ready," #9). They decided to try for a third one with this next single. At Rock, the song actually became the LP's fourth track to hit the Top 10 (#7). In addition to their two previous hits, another track, "Cool the Engines," which served as the b-side to "Can'tcha Say," had hit #4 at the end of '86. At Pop, the song couldn't quite reach the intended goal. It just made the Top 20 before petering out. It was still a good result and helped to sell a few more albums. Third Stage would end up selling over four million copies. This song would be the band's last one to chart in the 80s and their final one to reach the Pop Top 40. 

ReduxReview:  This song played more like a medley with its varying sections. A loud a cappella intro quickly turned into a quiet ballad that then changed to a mid-tempo rocker followed by a Led Zeppelin-ish bridge section that was nothing like the rest of the tune. It was a bit odd, especially for a pop single, but in the end it all kind of worked. As a whole, I didn't really care that much for the album, but its three singles were quite good and stood right alongside the band's best material.

ReduxRating:  7/10

Trivia:  Double Shot!  1) This song seems to switch gears a bit. It's not like a typical pop single that flows evenly. There is a reason for this. Apparently, the track was created from a couple of songs that were written between '81 and '83. The credits list Gerry Green, Tom Scholz, and Brad Delp as songwriters. Scholz was really the main guy in Boston writing, producing, and playing a good chunk of the instruments on all their material while Delp served as lead singer. Most likely, Scholz developed the initial songs and with the help of Delp and Green molded the tunes into one piece of work. However it came about, the band ended up with their fifth Pop Top 20 hit.  2) Like the previous break between their second and third albums, it would be eight years before another Boston effort would appear. Walk On would come out in 1994. Band leader Scholz was a notorious perfectionist and that played a part in the long absence. The other issue was that Scholz and singer Delp began to butt heads and that led to Delp departing the band in 1989. Scholz would find a new lead singer for the project in Fran Cosmo. While Cosmo would sing all the song on the album, Delp would later return to the band, help compose a couple of tracks and then share lead vocal duties with Cosmo on the associated tour. The album was far less successful than their previous three multi-platinum LPs, two of which hit #1. Walk On would reach #7 and just go platinum. Not a bad result, but nowhere near the 4x platinum of Third Stage. It also featured no Pop chart hits. "I Need Your Love" would only get to #51. It did better at Rock getting to #7. Over the years, the band would put out a couple more albums, but none sold very well or featured any charting tracks.

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