The Launch / Cool The Engines

The Zoo Crew is spinning the cosmic vibes of The Launch / Cool The Engines by Boston from their 1986 album Third Stage, and the Zoo Freaks are surely feeling the rocket-powered energy! This track is a two-part masterpiece, with The Launch serving as an instrumental prelude divided into three segments—Countdown, Ignition, and Third Stage Separation—building anticipation like a spaceship prepping for orbit. It seamlessly transitions into Cool The Engines, a hard-hitting rock anthem that hit #4 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. According to the band’s official fan site, Gonna Hitch a Ride, the countdown in The Launch was designed to evoke the ignition of “the world’s largest organ-powered vehicle,” with Tom Scholz’s signature electric guitar mimicking ringing chime notes. The lyrics of Cool The Engines, penned by Scholz, Brad Delp, and Fran Sheehan, carry a sense of urgency, with Scholz describing it as “a rocket ride at red line,” possibly a metaphor for calming tensions or even a stance against nuclear proliferation, as suggested by Boston Phoenix critic Milo Miles.

Digging into the production, Third Stage was an all-analog labor of love, with Scholz obsessively hitting the record button over a million times, as noted on Gonna Hitch a Ride. The recording of Cool The Engines hit a snag when a one-of-a-kind mix tape from 1981-82 became sticky and glued itself to the playback head, nearly losing the track forever. To sync the music and vocal tracks, Scholz relied on a human engineer manually pressing reels with their thumbs after a high-tech synchronizer failed—a testament to the band’s DIY ethos. Classic Rock History’s Brian Kachejian called it the “last great original rock and roll Boston song,” while Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Scott Mervis hailed it as a “powerful rocker.” Fun fact: the song even blasted into a 1999 episode of Space Ghost Coast to Coast, where characters piloted a Boston spaceship, cementing its out-of-this-world legacy.

Boston’s journey began with Tom Scholz, a mechanical engineering graduate from MIT who traded Polaroid’s labs for basement studios. As detailed on Classic Rock Review, Scholz started tinkering with audio engineering in 1969, recording demos that would become the band’s 1976 debut album, a masterpiece that skyrocketed them to fame. Scholz, a natural inventor, played nearly every instrument and engineered the tracks himself, with vocalist Brad Delp joining to bring his soaring voice. A 2018 post on X by @jcdbizven noted Scholz’s singular role in writing and recording that debut, except for one Delp-penned track. After the success of 1978’s Don’t Look Back, Scholz’s perfectionism led to an eight-year gap before Third Stage, partly due to a legal battle with Epic Records, which they won before signing with MCA. The band’s meticulous approach, avoiding synthesizers and using Scholz’s Rockman guitar processor, defined their pristine sound.

Stay connected with Boston through their Facebook, Instagram, and X accounts, where they share tour updates and nostalgic throwbacks. Fans can dive deeper at Gonna Hitch a Ride, a dedicated fan site with lyrics, forums, and live chat rooms for Zoo Freaks and beyond. Join the community on the Boston Fan Club on Facebook, where diehards swap stories and celebrate the band’s enduring legacy. Whether you’re grooving to the interstellar riffs of The Launch / Cool The Engines or exploring Boston’s origins, the Zoo Crew knows this band’s music is a timeless trip through the cosmos.