Boz Scaggs

Boz Scaggs - Boz Scaggs & Band - 1971 - Columbia

After the burnished, mellow Moments, Boz Scaggs put some grit back into his music with this third album, Boz Scaggs & Band. Not that he got down and dirty - his blue-eyed soul and funk is still sleek and stylish, music for uptown parties, not downtown juke joints. But Scaggs gave his band equal billing on the title here because they carry equal weight on Boz Scaggs & Band. It's a true band album, showcasing the group's tight interplay as much as it does Scaggs' vocals. Sometimes, the band almost dominates the proceedings too much, as they do on "Runnin' Blue," where they're as splashy as a Vegas big band. Such excesses are balanced by the nimble "Up to You," this album's irresistible foray into country - something that was a regular Boz feature at this point - and the brief, breezy "Here to Stay," which helps keep things light and casual. But the best thing about Boz & Band is hearing that band play, particularly on "Flames of Love" and "Why Why," where they get down low, playing funky rock and soul that holds its own with Little Feat's Meters-inspired grooves. © Stephen Thomas Erlewine © 2011 Answers Corporation http://www.answers.com/topic/boz-scaggs-band-1971-album-by-boz-scaggs

Although most listeners know Boz Scaggs primarily for his 1976 disco-era, multi-million seller Silk Degrees, he produced several excellent recordings in the years leading up to that breakthrough. Boz Scaggs & Band is the middle release of a three-disc spurt which Scaggs produced in a two-year period, between 1971 and 1972. Although it is weaker than Moments and My Time which bookend it, this album still has much to offer. Sounding at times like the original average white band, and at other times like a bunch of Nashville cats, Boz and his eight-piece group traverse a wide terrain with great facility and much soul. "Here to Stay" is particularly appealing, hinting at things to come, and "Flames of Love" is an extended piece of smoking funk. "Monkey Time" and "Why Why" also turn up the funk. This album is well worth checking out. © Jim Newsom, All Music Guide

Boz Scaggs’ second album, and his only one for Atlantic, "Boz Scaggs", is a minor classic. His version of Fenton Robinson’s "Loan Me a Dime" on that disc features some blistering guitar work from Duane Allman, and for that reason alone it should be in everyone’s collection. Boz Scaggs & Band was his fourth release, and his second for Columbia Records. His first Columbia disc, Moments, mixed enjoyable MOR rock with blues, country, and jazz, and this follow-up is similar. But it’s a tighter record, and avoids the sappiness that sometimes creeps into Moments. "Here to Stay" and "Nothing Will Ever Take Your Place" are romantic, mid-tempo rock tunes that Frank Sinatra or Tony Bennett could have covered without embarrassment. The two standouts are "Running Blue" and "Why Why." The first is a big-band blues track with a horn chart Neil Hefti would have been happy to present to Count Basie. Scaggs is smooth and urbane, more Jimmy Witherspoon than Muddy Waters, and Doug Simril’s guitar solo avoids clichés. "Why Why" is also blues-based, with a simple structure that fills in as the song develops. A subtle horn arrangement supports Scaggs’ understated vocals, and blends beautifully with Jymm Joachim Young’s swirling Hammond organ. Doug Simril turns in another beautifully constructed solo. Whatever happened to this guy? I Googled his name and couldn’t come up with anything. He plays everything from blues to jazz to country with ease. Although it’s these two tunes that still cause me to pull Boz Scaggs & Band from the shelf, I end up listening to and enjoying every track. Even in the ’70s, Scaggs was unusual in not forcing an emotion when he sang. In 2003 he recorded an album of standards, and he sounds more natural singing such songs as "What’s New?" or "Sophisticated Lady" than anyone of his generation. Listen to Boz Scaggs & Band and you’ll hear why. © Joseph Taylor

Boz Scaggs & Band is a clean, natural blend of blues, R&B, rock and country styles with some spicy Latin touches–a pulling together of Scaggs' experience with the Steve Miller Band, Mother Earth and others, but without a hint of false or forced eclecticism. Like Mother Earth, he grasps both country music and rhythm and blues with assurance and ease. Avoiding for the most part those careful but uninspired imitations of, say, R&B form and style that are little more than many performers' clumsy dues-paying, Scaggs prefers to dig to the root feeling of the music and reinterpret it in his own way. Consequently, his best songs are not framed in any particular style, but they evoke the richness of all his influences–especially the very real emotional qualities of country and R&B–giving his music an unexpected depth. In the same way, Scaggs doesn't affect a gritty snarl or lilting twang in his singing (although he seems naturally closer to the latter). Instead, his voice, slightly raw and wispy around the edges, full of aching, appealing qualities, carries the song unpretentiously and effortlessly. With no sense of pushing for effect or hard-driving intensity in the singing, the songs move in on you gradually, at a relaxed pace, and the total hold they have on you in the end is all the more surprising. Everything here is fine, but it's side two that I keep coming back to. "Here to Stay," a beautifully liquid love song, begins like a spring morning with vibes, light guitar and a thin curl of electronic sound and opens into a delicate wash of music with just the right touch of Latin percussion. Boz sings, "Lovin' you makes more sense/Than keepin' up/Or payin' rent/Anytime." Scaggs' lyrics are loose, often elusive, not from any failed attempt to be "poetic," but rather, I think, because he lets the ideas drift and flow with the music. A few lines in the second cut, another love song titled "Nothing Will Ever Take Your Place," seem to deal with this: "Thoughts and daydreams fill the air/They fly around like birds/And I can sing you melodies/–Not just sound like words." He can. "Nothing Will Ever Take Your Place" has a delicacy similar to that of the opening cut, with some fantastic organ work (by Jymm Joachim Young, whose work throughout the album is outstanding) and an especially lovely organ and flute break. But with Boz Scaggs, the impression of delicacy doesn't mean the song dissolves into a soft center of mush; there's more real strength here than on most Heavy Blues albums. The use of horns here and elsewhere is particularly sensitive, avoiding the blaring, sharp edges that stick jaggedly out of so many other bands' work. Production on these two cuts, my favorites, is by Boz Scaggs; Glyn Johns handles the rest with equal precision and flair. "Why Why" at 5:32 is the longest cut and one of the more blues oriented, chugging along with fine bass, guitar and organ out front, underlining Boz's pleading question, "Why why why must a good love go bad?" Although the vocal cuts out almost half way through, the Band is so tight and so firmly into the song–not slipping off into irrelevant riffs but sticking within a breaking and re-forming pattern–that the attention doesn't drift for a second. The eight-man band, with Scaggs on guitar, is joined by Chepito Areas (timbales) and Mike Carrabello (congas), formerly with Santana, on the side one closer–the hot, Latin-flavored "Flames of Love." Otherwise, they carry the album alone and in fine style; I can't think of a rock band with brass that I've enjoyed as much. A final note: the opening cut, "Monkey Time," is not the Major Lance original but a crazy Boz Scaggs dream/dance song that's almost as much fun. Try it. You'll like it. © Vince Aletti / Rolling Stone (RS 99) / Jan 6, 1972

1971's Boz Scaggs & Band was truly a showcase effort. Featuring not only the legendary artist, the album also included his extraordinary hand-picked band of notable musicians, who had been his touring and studio band for a number of his earlier Columbia Records albums. Painstakingly recording the excitement and delivery of this multi-faceted leader and band, Boz Scaggs once again collaborated with producer Glyn Johns. They put together nine incredible tracks which netted the artist another chart album and further acclaim from the music critics and fans. Not sticking with one type of sound or genre, this rock and jazz fused album was truly a definitive look into the soul and artistry of this legendary musician. Monkey Time kicks the album into full gear as this R&B fused old style rocker displays the interplay between the horns, the rhythm section and the voice and guitar of Boz Scaggs. This particular track was also featured on the highly successful The Music People 3 LP set on Columbia back in 1972, gaining a lot of new Boz Scaggs' fans. The single Runnin' Blue is still a staple in his concert repertoire and is one of his classic throw down blues numbers that made this the classic that it is today. His love of Texas blues and the music of folks like T-Bone Walker and B. B. King all get a nod of appreciation in this dynamic track. For a slight return to his Atlantic era, It's Up To You embraces the country blues feel and reprises some of those elements you might remember from his late sixties debut. Interestingly enough, he has most recently gone back to the roots and even plays bluegrass at various music festivals honoring the genre. For more of a San Franciscan flavor, Flames Of Love highlights the percussive expertise of Santana's Michael Carrabello and Jose Chepito Areas. This funk filled groover helps close out side one and made this one of the more memorable tracks of this album. Here To Stay is another definitive Boz Scaggs moment. This smooth R&B pop tune establishes his knack for crossing over into the adult pop mainstream while keeping his hip factor entrenched firmly in the blues. A precursor feel to his mega smash Lowdown, Here To Stay features a hook filled flute section, light percussion with solid ivories, and soul drenched vocals. More soul follows, as Nothing Will Take Your Place mirrors some of the vibe from his Moments album, while the classic FM radio burner Why Why co-penned with the late Tim Davis returns us right back to a danceable funk groove. All in all, nine tremendous chapters of the ever cool Boz Scaggs © http://www.fridaymusic.com/releases/scaggs.html © 2008 Warner Bros. Records, Inc

This issue is from vinyl, and there a few "snaps, crackles, and pops", but sound quality is fair to good. If you can find a better issue, please buy it. It's a great album and HR by A.O.O.F.C. Check this blog for more Boz releases

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1. Monkey Time - Scaggs, C. Arrowsmith
2. Runnin' Blue - Scaggs, Patrick O'Hara
3. Up to You - Scaggs, C. Arrowsmith
4. Love Anyway - Boz Scaggs
5. Flames of Love - Scaggs, C. Arrowsmith
6. Here to Stay - Boz Scaggs
7. Nothing Will Take Your Place - Boz Scaggs
8. Why Why - Boz Scaggs, T. Davis RIP
9. You're So Good - Boz Scaggs

MUSICIANS

Boz Scaggs - guitar, vocals
Doug Simril - guitar, piano
David Brown - bass
Joachim Jymm Young - organ, piano, keyboards, vibraphone
George Rains - drums, percussion
Eddie Lee Charlton - drums
Mike Carabello - percussion, conga, timbales on "Flames of Love"
Chepito Areas - conga, timbales on "Flames of Love"
Mel Martin - tenor alto & baritone saxophones, flute
Pat O'Hara - trombone
Tom Poole - trumpet, flugelhorn
Rita Coolidge, Dorothy Morrison - background vocals on "Flames of Love"
Lee Charleton - saw, harp on "Here to Stay"