Canada’s Boulevard released their first single back in 1984 making an impression in Europe especially in Germany where it charted. Three years later they were signed to MCA and released their debut ‘BLVD’ garnering a handful of local hits and awards before follow-up ‘Into the Street’ came in 1990 after successful yours with Glass Tiger and Boston. By 1991 the band had dissolved and they remained a rather splendid footnote in Melodic Rock history before a flicker in 2014 when the band played Firefest in the UK which in turn led to the ‘Boulevard – Live from Gastown’ DVD the following year.
Now we have, after a 27 year wait, the band’s third studio outing ‘Boulevard IV – Luminescence’, and if you’re a fan of those two MCA albums then your only complaint will be the time you’ve been waiting for this release. Indeed after such a long break it’s testament to the band that they have managed to pick up where they left off and recapture the feel and melodies of those classic brace of albums. It’s wonderful too to hear the lyrics are as powerful as they ever were.
Lead track ‘Life is a Beautiful Thing’ tells you all you really need to know and it’s ably backed up by highlights like the lilting melodic AOR of ‘Out of the Blue’, the sumptuous ballad ‘What I’d Give’, the radio-friendly ‘Laugh or Cry’ and the rich and unmissable ‘What Are You Waiting For’ the best song here in my book.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about Boulevard though is how they have managed to take what we loved back in the day and gently ease it up to date rather than start from scratch or wash it with contemporary sound just for the sake of it. This my friend is quality.
