More a stunt than a band, the short-lived Dr. Zoom and the Sonic Boom (a band that played all of three shows, and that’s only if you count one advertised under a different name) was part of Bruce Springsteen’s transition away from the heavy sound of Steel Mill to the brighter, brassier sound of the Bruce Springsteen Band.
But what a band that was: Future E Streeters Steve Van Zandt, Garry Tallent, David Sancious and Vini Lopez, plus Southside Johnny, Albee Tellone on tenor sax, Bobby Feigenbaum on alto sax, Bobby Williams on the drums (yes, there were two drummers), plus no less than eight backing vocalists.
Their sound would eventually gel in a jazzier vein when they morphed into the Bruce Springsteen Band, but at this early stage, their shows were loose and freewheeling, known more for their unusual props and on-stage antics. And their sound… let’s just say it could be a bit busy.
Take “Lady of Boston” for instance–a song that Bruce only performed at these Dr. Zoom shows. Listening to this remarkably clear fifty-year-old recording, it’s easy to understand why.
Once we get past the jarring freestyle wind-up, the band quickly settles into a familiar Steel Mill-ish groove. (Bruce hadn’t fully left that sound behind yet despite his efforts.) In fact, the body of “Lady of Boston” has such a strong Steel Mill sound to it that it’s almost startling when we hear Albee Tellone’s tenor sax decorating key lines.
Lyrically, “Lady of Boston” underwhelms. About the only thing worth noting from a historical perspective is its thematic similarity to Bruce’s later song, “Thundercrack.” Both songs are odes to seductive dancers, and the second verse of the former features a line with a striking similarity to one that would show up in the latter.
I got a lady in Boston, she’s outta sight
When I get up into Massachusetts, she keep me company every night
Well she’s mean and she hits you like a Kansas twister
She’s a solid gold, genuine, bona fide, super soul sister
Well I don’t want her money, ain’t no money that satisfies
All I want is your loving, Great god almighty she got the lord on her side
See her every Friday night down at the disco scene
When she gets out on the floor everybody moves, she’s so clean
You know she’s so heavenly, all a man wants to do is just hold her
And I tell you there ain’t no other woman on earth, there just ain’t nobody bolder
Now I don’t care about her bankbook ’cause Sally’s what satisfies
All I want is her loving Great god almighty she got the lord on her side
The instrumental break, however, does not underwhelm. It’s very, um, whelming. For the first two minutes, the Sonic Boom members just sort of do their own thing, at times in a painfully discordant fashion. That’s followed by a two-minute movement clearly designed to spotlight Bruce’s blisteringly fast guitar playing. (If anything impresses about “Lady of Boston,” it’s Bruce’s jaw-dropping guitar dexterity.)
A tempo change signals a shift to the song’s final movement, which sounds like Bruce just decided he needed to put words to the riff.
It’s a funny and a hurting ’cause things ain’t right
Try bake it, try to bomb, maybe start a fight
But your friends don’t wanna know you
They just pass you by
But they couldn’t be your friends
‘Cause they wouldn’t lie
So sit down shut up don’t you cry
‘Cause things will get better if you really try
So don’t you panic, don’t you panic give it one more try
Don’t you panic, don’t you panic give it one more try
Keep on trying!
It’s not clear to me that these lyrics have any connection to the ones that preceded them, unless it’s a clumsy fast-forward to a relationship on the rocks. Given the abrupt fade-out that ends the track, I sometimes wonder whether the band had actually segued into a different song by this point.
The fact that I still can’t tell if “Lady of Boston” is an incomplete song, an intact song, or a two-song mash-up speaks to the incoherence of the piece–a stylistic choice in keeping with the band’s on-stage presentation. Neither style lasted long, thankfully.
In the end both Dr. Zoom and the Sonic Boom and “Lady of Boston” are historical footnotes, transitional steps on Bruce’s journey toward his own musical sound.
Lady of Boston
Never recorded
Never released
First performed: May 15, 1971 (Union, NJ)
Last performed: May 15, 1971 (Union, NJ)
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