We continue our look back at the music of 50 years ago….
As 1971 began Boz Scaggs was recording a new LP…his 3rd overall and first for Columbia. The blue-eyed soul crooner and underrated guitarist would, once again release a collection of eclectic tune ranging from soulful ballads, up tempo pop love songs and a couple of blues tunes just so he wouldn’t forget where he came from. Scaggs cut his teeth in the original Steve Miller Band with his ole college bud from UW-Madison and has some of his Wisconsin friends on this one including Wausau native James “Curley” Cooke on guitar and Ben Sidran on piano.
The one anomaly on the record, which I single out here is a song called Alone, Alone, written by David Brown. It has to be a gag…and it’s a pretty good one. Neil Young had released After the Goldrush a few months earlier and tell me this isn’t a sendup of a Neil Young song. I’m not sure he’s ever said why he did it but it should get you grinning.
Critics at the time liked the record… one calling it a “warm, funky spontaneous record somewhat reminiscent of Van Morrison”. I can hear that. I also hear where he’ll be going in just five short years. This isn’t “Silk Degrees”…but you can see it from here
