Boz Scaggs (album)

Boz Scaggs
Studio album by Boz Scaggs
Released August 1969
Studio Muscle Shoals Sound Recorders, Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Genre Americana, blue-eyed soul[1]
Length 44:13
Label Atlantic
Producer Jann Wenner
Boz Scaggs chronology
Boz
(1965)		 Boz Scaggs
(1969)		 Moments
(1971)

Boz Scaggs is the second album by Boz Scaggs; it was released in 1969. After two years with the Steve Miller Band, Scaggs set out on his own, recording at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama.

Backing musicians on the album include Duane Allman, Eddie Hinton, Jimmy Johnson, Barry Beckett, David Hood, Roger Hawkins, and Al Lester. It was produced by Rolling Stone founder and editor Jann Wenner, Scaggs, and Marlin Greene. Mixed by Terry Manning of Stax Records, it was deleted from the catalog around 1974.

In 1977 the album was remixed in Los Angeles by Tom Perry. This version was released by Atlantic in 1978 to spotlight Duane Allman's guitar playing, with the same cover art. As well as the guitar, the remix brings several things forward in the mix, such as horns and keyboards, while burying the background vocals; there is also a 30-second volume drop at the end of "Finding Her".

In 2008, the album was reissued by Friday Music on a 180 gram LP using Manning's original mix for the first time since the original release.[2]

The remix was the only version of the album available in digital form until December 2013 when Audio Fidelity reissued the album on Super Audio CD with Manning's 1969 mix.[3]

In 2015, UK Edsel Records reissued the album with both mixes in a 2-CD set, however Edsel mislabeled the discs ("1977 remix" plays "1969 original version").

In 2012 the album was No. 496 on Rolling Stone magazine's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Village VoiceB+[4]

In a contemporary review for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau called the album "a nice tribute to American music" and said, "Duane Allman's guitar offsets the fact that Jann Wenner was associated with the production, and Scaggs himself comes through as a solid, pleasant, soulful white boy."[4] Rolling Stone critic Ed Leimbacher credited Scaggs for exploring rock, gospel, soul, and the blues "effortlessly" and with "panache".[5]

In a retrospective review, AllMusic commented that "The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section [...] gives this music genuine grit, but this isn't necessarily a straight-up blue-eyed soul record". They asserted that the album's forays into country and blues created "a kind of Americana fantasia", particularly praising "Waiting for a Train", "Look What I Got!", and "Loan Me a Dime." They concluded "Boz Scaggs' musical vision [...] would grow smoother and more assured over the years, but the slight bit of raggedness suits the funky, down-home performances and helps make this not only a great debut, but also an enduring blue-eyed soul masterpiece."[1]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Boz Scaggs; except where noted.

Side One

  1. "I'm Easy" (Scaggs, Barry Beckett) - 3:05
  2. "I'll Be Long Gone" - 4:13
  3. "Another Day (Another Letter)" - 2:53
  4. "Now You're Gone" - 3:47
  5. "Finding Her" - 3:56
  6. "Look What I Got" (Charles Chalmers, Donna Rhodes) - 4:10

Side Two

  1. "Waiting for a Train" (Jimmie Rodgers) - 2:40
  2. "Loan Me a Dime" (Fenton Robinson) - 12:30
  3. "Sweet Release (aka Desolation Avenue)" (Scaggs, Barry Beckett) - 6:13

Personnel

Production

  • Producers – Boz Scaggs, Marlin Greene and Jann Wenner.
  • Engineer – Marlin Greene
  • Mastered by Rob Grenell at Atlantic Studios (New York, NY).
  • Design – Robert Kingsbury
  • Photography – Elaine Mayes
  • Inner Liner Photos – Stephen Paley

References

  1. 1 2 3 Allmusic review
  2. ↑ Friday Music. "Boz Scaggs on Friday Music". Retrieved January 18, 2011.
  3. ↑ No Depression. Long Overdue Boz Scaggs Re-Master Brings Sweet Release. December 12, 2013. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  4. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (December 11, 1969). "Consumer Guide (5)". The Village Voice. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
  5. ↑ Leimbacher, Ed (15 November 1969). "Boz Scaggs". Rolling Stone. San Francisco: Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc. (46): 33–34. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
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