Video Classics: ‘Peace of Mind’ – Boston

Boston (Columbia Records, 1977)

With band members departing, returning, passing on and getting in feuds with each other over politics (plus the occasional major lawsuit thrown in for good measure), it’s sometimes amazing to note that the band Boston has been more-or-less continuously in operation since their heyday in the ’70s, in one form or another. No doubt the band members, past and present, would all likely enjoy a little more peace of mind. Here’s their song of that title from back in that selfsame heyday (in this case, 1979) …

“Peace of Mind” originally appeared on Boston’s 1976 debut album, where it was the second track (losing out in the title of ‘first-ever Boston track’ to fellow Video Classics honoree “More Than a Feeling”. Two singles from the album (including “More Than a Feeling”) made the Top 10, though “Peace of Mind” was not one of them (coming in at a nevertheless quite respectable #38).

The song was, in many ways an ode to the generational gestalt of the ’70s. It lamented the fact that the then-still-young baby boomers were turning away from their idealism of the ’60s toward the allure of material things. Boston wasn’t the first band to decry this state of affairs, though perhaps the irony was lost on them that they were making millions, personally, from complaining about materialism. Or perhaps it wasn’t, which is why they were searching, within themselves, for just a little ‘peace of mind’.

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