# 496

Boz Scaggs/Self Titled

Release Date 1969
Previously Owned: No
First time listen? Yes

Impressions: I wasn’t expecting much. I don’t think I was quite aware of Boz Scaggs and his name was kind of a weird turnoff to me. Boz. Scaggs. (shudders) I mentally lumped him in with other ’60s/70s artists who were ostensibly tasteful, yet low-charisma blue-eyed soul/rock “regular guys” like John Hiatt, Dan Fogelberg, Randy Newman, George Thorogood. In other words, not really my cup of tea. Album starts off solidly with “I’m Easy”– a nice blend of Muscle Shoals soul backbone and tasty Duane Allman guitar licks. Most of the album follows this template, and it’s not unlikeable, in fact, the music itself is uniformly excellent. With the exception of the corn-pone “Now You’re Gone,” most of the tunes are a deft blend of r&b, country, blues, rock, folk, etc. The only thing that kept me at arms length was Scaggs’ only-pretty-good laid-back vocals. I kept thinking a stone-cold belter like Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding or Van Morrison or even someone with a more idiosyncratic voice like Mick Jagger or Elvis Costello could have pushed this material over the top. So, I was left sort of wanting more. And while that might seem unfair, this is a top 500 list, after all.
Second Impression: So, I listened to this album again to get some more details for my report, and while I enjoyed the music a little more, I’m sticking with my initial assessment of his mǎmǎ hǔhǔ voice. Duì bu qǐ, Boz

Should this album be on the list? Ehh, there’s nothing wrong with it, but it seems like it could easily be excluded without fear of reprisal from an army of Boz-heads. Also, maybe this album being on this list had something to do with the fact that Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner helped get Boz signed and get this album released. A close call, but I wouldn’t have put it on.
Replace With: Something with superior songwriting and singing like Van Morrison’s underrated “His Band And Street Choir” could have gone in this spot. In fact, I wish Van Morrison would have recorded a record with the top-shelf musicians on this album.
Starred Songs: I’m Easy, Loan Me a Dime
Sneaky Track: I’ll Be Long Gone
Will you listen to this again? Maybe, maybe not. Might be a grower. Wasn’t bad at all, just didn’t kick me in my Boz Scaggs’.
Rating: ★★ ½