RTZ (Return To Zero) was an early 90s band that reunited singer Brad Delp and guitarist Barry Goudreau, who were both key members of Boston (Goudreau has also released solo work and was a member of AOR outfit Orion The Hunter). The debut album saw the group off to a promising start with three charting singles, "Face The Music" (#49), the stellar ballad "Until Your Love Comes Back Around" (#26), and "All You've Got" (#56). Delp then left RTZ to rejoin Boston in tour, effectively breaking up the band. Enough music had been recorded during the initial sessions that they cobbled together a significantly less exciting sophomore effort called "Lost," which finally saw the light of day in 1998. "Don't Lead Me On" is one of the best tracks from that collection - listen to those harmonies! The band reunited after Delp's death in 2007 to record a tribute to this vocal legend. The epic 8 minute song is called "Set The Songbird Free."
Barry Goudreau is best known for having a difficult last name to spell. He also played guitar on the first two smash albums by a little band called Boston. Later on, he was a member of the AOR bands Orion the Hunter and RTZ. In 1980 Goudreau released his first solo record, which pretty much sealed his fate with Boston. However, several guys from Boston pitched in, making his self-titled record sound very much like a Boston LP. The album settled at #88 on the Billboard Top 200 and the lead single, "Dreams," just missed cracking into the Top 100. As a whole, the effort doesn't come close to the majesty of Boston, but there are several noteworthy cuts in the mix. Brad Delp, the trademark vocalist of Boston most of the time, sang on many of these tracks. "Leavin' Tonight" is one of the songs sung by Fran Cosmo, who would take the lead vocal position for Boston's 1994 "Walk On" album. It is a simple song, but I love the handclaps and catchy melody.
