TOKYO — Boston seemed to come out of nowhere in the summer of America's bicentennial to reach instant superstardom.

With its dense, driving guitar work and soaring vocals, the single "More Than a Feeling," from their debut album "Boston," dominated the charts and airwaves. Album sales soon topped 6 million, a record for debut LPs.

"Our record had been out about three weeks and had gone gold before we'd played a gig," said lead guitarist Barry Goudreau, who is still a bit shocked by it all.

The group's launch to fame was boosted by a true story about how founder Tom Scholz, an M.I.T. engineering grad, put the music on tape with a 12-track machine in the basement of his Watertown, Mass., home.

Scholz says the details are true, but much of the Boston legend is myth. Like most success stories, theirs was hardly "instant."

"We all played for years in clubs and bars around Boston," he says. "And the tapes I made were turned down by 21 recording companies before Epic offered us a contract."

Still, Boston seems new to the sometimes jaded world of rock. At a Tokyo press conference, the five men seemed a little uncomfortable with all the attention that goes with rock stardom.

At 6-foot-5, Scholz towers over the rest of the group, friendly and clean-cut with creases in their Levis.

Their neat appearance reflects Scholz's attitude toward music. Commenting on their new album's title — "Don't Look Back" — he says the title is meant to suggest an "optimistic outlook."

"We want to make people feel good," says Scholz, with an easy smile. "That's what rock and roll is all about."

He said it is a waste of time looking for any profound statements or social comments in their lyrics. "Music is intended for people's enjoyment, not for espousing a political stance," he says.

"Party," a cut from their new album, fulfills Scholz's aim of trying to make people feel good. It's the best lets-get-down-and-party song since Grand Funk's "We're An American Band."

The song, like the rest of "Don't Look Back," may surprise Boston fans. Although the sound is unmistakably theirs, the thick Phil Spector-like walls of sound are gone. Boston's second album is more mature, more complex than its first, spiced with crisp guitars and distinct rhythm tracks. It should help to debunk the rumor that Boston depends on studio tricks to produce their sound. Using no synthesizers, only guitars, drums and keyboards, the new album is traditional, but fresh, rock and roll.

Boston is scheduled to play Monday in Fukuoka before closing their Japan tour with shows Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in Tokyo's Budokan Hall.

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