Martin
539 posts
Nov 28, 2013
12:48 PM
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Some of you share my enthusiasm for the great American soul music tradition from the 60´s (Stax, Motown, Muscle shoals) and 70´s (Al Green), I know that.
Boz Scaggs´"Memphis" is a really good effort in this tradtition and worthy of much more attention. (Can´t say that much about the US honestly, but here in Sweden -- where Boz lived for a while -- this kind of music is surrounded by a complete media silence; not enough Britney-, ass shaking-, techno- etc values.)
In another day and age this would have been considered a "classic". (It can´t actually be a classic before it´s tested by time, but you get my drift.)
There´s some harmonica, by Charlie Musselwhite. Great sound, but he messes it up a bit with some out of tune high octave wailing on one of them (no doubt deliberate -- he does it often but that hasn´t made me like it).
More precise on "You got me crying" w/ some 3d pos playing.
Check it out if you on my page regarding the genre.
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The Iceman
1303 posts
Nov 28, 2013
3:49 PM
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I second Martin's sentiments.
Have been a fan since the 70's. Used to see his "Boz Scaggs and Band" tour every chance I got. Soulful, funky and tight.
Lost interest when Boz went disco top 40.
This release gets me excited about him again.
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The Iceman
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cyclodan
40 posts
Nov 28, 2013
6:50 PM
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From "Memphis", a favorite Mink DeVille song (I prefer Willy DeVille's delivery on this one but this is interesting too).
Here's a Boz penned tune from the first Steve Miller album. Kinda cool psych-blooze.
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SteamrollinStan
93 posts
Nov 29, 2013
2:32 AM
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Turned out to be a junkie last time I read about him, about 20 yrs go, is he still around or what?
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SuperBee
1554 posts
Nov 29, 2013
2:47 AM
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His 2009? Album 'come on home' was pretty good and blues. Harry Duncan harmonica...
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The Iceman
1304 posts
Nov 29, 2013
6:27 AM
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Children of the Future...
drop mescaline, put on this album w/headphones and have a nice trip.
Used to love Steve Miller, too, before he went top 40.(Steve was pretty good harmonica player, too).
Boz is great blue eyed soul when he sticks to what he does best.
On Memphis, he does fantastic version of Rainy Night in Georgia, making it "his own".
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The Iceman
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Greg Heumann
2479 posts
Nov 29, 2013
9:03 AM
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+1 on his "Come on Home" album - that was a big influence on me.
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Martin
542 posts
Nov 29, 2013
9:30 AM
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@Steamrollin: "Turned out to be a junkie last time I read about him, about 20 yrs go, is he still around or what?"
Well, since this cd is from 2013 I believe we can assume that he´s still around. Could have been hit by a truck yesterday, what do I know, but my point was that he´s still around -- in a good way. I know nothing about his chemical habits but "Memphis" show sign of considerable prescence.
@"Come on home" is from -97. A worthy effort but I´d say this one tops it. Like some good stuff -- and some not so good -- it grows on you.
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Slimharp
53 posts
Nov 29, 2013
9:38 AM
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Great memories from Miller and Boz. Heres one for you from the Bay Area, Savoy Brown - Getting to the Point and Raw Sienna.
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LSC
545 posts
Nov 29, 2013
10:04 AM
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@Martin - As it happens my wife heard Loan Me a Dime on the radio a few days ago but she didn't catch the name of the song so she came home and looked it up on the net and found a live version. Brilliant.
One of the reasons she was so keen on finding it is because I'm working on putting together a record with
Matthew Robinson and have been looking for a couple of great covers to go with some of our original material. Soon as I heard this my wife and I agreed Matthew could slay this tune.
@SlimHarp - I was a big fan of Savoy Brown back in the 60s. In 1994 I saw Kim Simmons with the line up he was calling Savoy Brown at the time in a small blues bar in Florida, the Sebastion Beach Inn as I recall. I think they came out of NYC. Had a great harp player.
The band was excellent but on the night Poison was in the house and Bret Micheals was called up to play some harp. Michaels seemed a bit embarassed, rightly so since he's not a very good harp player but at least he knows it. Still, he was kind of stuck so he did his best.
Savoy Brown played one more and then exited the stage which entailed having to walk down a center aisle between the tables. They were practically knocked over by a gaggle of girls stampeding for Michaels. To his credit, Bret looked like he wanted to run but had nowhere to go. He kept pointing at the departing band saying quite loudly, "No. Not me. It's them. It's them." Say what you will about the man, I think he's a pretty genuine cat all in all.
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LSC
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LSC
Last Edited by LSC on Nov 29, 2013 12:31 PM
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The Iceman
1307 posts
Nov 29, 2013
11:06 AM
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Savoy Brown w/Chris Youlden on vocals was a great blues/boogie band.
Aren't they a British band, though?
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The Iceman
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Martin
544 posts
Nov 29, 2013
12:09 PM
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@LSC: "Matthew Robinson" -- you got me curious, but the link won´t open.
@Larry: Savoy Brown: certainly they were British. A bit too hard-hitting (in a bad European tradition) but maybe they had their moments?
Many people over here adore them -- but many people over here also think John Mayall originated the blues ... (No reflection of you in that.)
Last Edited by Martin on Nov 29, 2013 12:10 PM
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LSC
546 posts
Nov 29, 2013
12:27 PM
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@Martin - Don't know what I screwed up. Try copying and pasting www.matthewrobinson.us Were you already aware of Matt?
Hmmm, checked twice and still don't know why the link won't work.
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LSC
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LSC
Last Edited by LSC on Nov 29, 2013 12:32 PM
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Slimharp
57 posts
Nov 29, 2013
8:17 PM
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Isnt it interesting the Brits had to re-introduce the blues for most Americans in the mid 60's. Clapton said in his autobiography that Little Walter was his greatest influence. Most here in the U.S had no idea who Little Walter was in the mid 60's. Yes Savoy Brown was no BS hard hitting blues.
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Martin
547 posts
Nov 30, 2013
10:05 AM
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@LSc: Nope, he´s new for me, just natural curiosity. Thanks for the link -- he sounds good!
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LSC
547 posts
Nov 30, 2013
5:41 PM
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Matt is a real gem. Excellent guitar player, great singer, and one of the nicest guys you'd ever want to meet. It's a genuine honor to be associated with him. Now if I can just get the rest of the world hip to the man.
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LSC
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Rick Davis
2738 posts
Nov 30, 2013
5:59 PM
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jbone
1431 posts
Dec 01, 2013
5:58 AM
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I have yet to find his cover of Early i9n the Morning on youtube. Curious, since about every other song he's done is there.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa7La7yYYeE
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6SN7
400 posts
Dec 01, 2013
7:00 AM
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LIke a few who have posted already, I was always a fan of the first three Boz Scaggs album and his work with Steve Miller. I remember signing one of those online petitions demanding Boz do a tour consisting of only work he did prior to 1973 (My Time.) WPLR in New Haven use to play "Loan Me a Dime" at 7 AM every morning for about 6 months and that's what I woke up to. Personally, I think it is one of those great blues songs that has been done and need not be replicated again. It is the standard that all others will be compared to.
Once he hit the "Silk Degrees" period, I stopped listening to him as I foolishly thought the man had sold out or gone disco. My sister, who could sleep through any blues show, was completely energized by Boz's new offerings and became a huge fans, as many other millions had. Boz moved from cult status to a global phenom, good for him!
In more recent years, I have revisited the "disco period" and am amazed at the virtuousity of the music. Jeff Pacaro was the drummer on many of these somgs and is arguably one of the finest drummers who ever lived, with his own trademark "shuffle" (think Bernard Purdie) that is examplified on the somng "Lido Shuffle." Even if you can't dig the music, Boz has the good sense to surrounded himself at this time with the finest studio musicians who went on to be in bands like Toto and Asia.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Brlp57fZ6A
So in the more recent years, Boz has delivered some impressive records starting with 'Bring It Back Home" and more recently "Memphis." In between, "Live , Greatest Hits" is a great records, satisfying the blues fans with "Running Blue" and "Loan Me a Dime" and the masses with his late 1970's-80's offerings. As you know, many older rock stars delve into the jazz standards as they age and Boz was born to do that material. Frankly, he is a league above Rod Stewart and others who have tried this genre in an effort to boost their popularity. Boz
Bottom line, Boz's catalog of material has stood the test of time. After 40 odd years, the man is still at the top of his game, has a strong voice, and is not a burned out shell like many of his contemporaries that phone it in at his age. What I love about the latest record "Memphis", is it has the sounds I love and an extended dance cut for my sister in "Mary, Don't You Take Me on No Long Trip." An album to appeal to all his fans.
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The Iceman
1308 posts
Dec 01, 2013
7:57 AM
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Here is the band and album that I went to see every chance I could get...aside from blues, it is very funky (Monkey Time).
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The Iceman
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Martin
549 posts
Dec 01, 2013
11:45 AM
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Jbone: If you have Spotify the entire album is there. (Not sure about the prevalence of this service in the US?).
"Come on home" is one of those records where it´s obvious from bar 2 on the first song that it´s quality stuff (when the organ comes in on the back-beat). I haven´t followed Boz along all the turns in his career, but here, supposedly as the title indicates, is a slight return to more blues-oriented material; it shouldn´t be described as a "blues record" though.
Also some good guitar playing that´s consistently song-serving, not self-serving.
They even manage to do a Jimmy Reed tune and convincingly recreate that lazy swing. 2 400 056 blues bands all over the world (roughly) has at one point or another tried and failed to do justice to Jimmy Reed: it´s remarkably hard.
I just gave it a spin and it holds up real well.
@6SN7: "Frankly, he is a league above Rod Stewart and others who have tried this genre in an effort to boost their popularity."
You can say that again. Rod S´s albums of standards are rather dreadful. They payed his rent for a considerable time, but the wide-spread impression already from the mid 70´s that Rod is something of a spent force was seriously corroborated.
Bryan Ferry made a jazz cd, "As time goes by", that was refreshingly intelligent in its approach. It didn´t sell; not enough strings, probably.
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