Boulder

The “I-Own-Every-Record-You’d-Never-Buy” CD Consumer’s Guide has just located what might be the most unimaginative album cover ever. I don’t know if this supposed artistic statement was the band’s idea or maybe the label’s decision, but I could do better with a disposable camera and a piece of cardboard. First released in 1979 on Elektra Records, Boulder is probably best known as the launching pad for singer/guitarist Stan Bush, a renowned cult figure amongst melodic rock fans. Strangely, he’s more of a background figure on this album, an overly slick studio project of paint-by-the-numbers pop/rock. It’s rarely good when an album’s best moment comes in the form of a cover song—in this case Warren Zevon’s “Join Me in L.A.”—but Boulder’s self-penned moments are as bland as the artwork. “I want a heartbeat/to save my soul,” declares the band in “Heartbeat,” a song typical of the group’s lyrical clichés. “A drumbeat/to move my feet/let the good times roll.” The additional moments of rock and roll retread—“Turn Up the Radio,” “Winner Takes All” and “Travelin’ Man” certainly aren’t original concepts—all add up to an expertly played yet completely soulless record. I’m not sure what happened to the other members of Boulder, but Bush ultimately bolted for a solo career before forming a short-lived group called Barrage.

Notes: Warren Zevon’s “Join Me in L.A.” is the one must-hear moment on Boulder’s self-titled debut: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jy1N64Zl25c.