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BOZ SCAGGS\u00a0<\/b><\/h1>\nBOZ SCAGGS\u00a0<\/b><\/h1>\nThe genre-blending genius takes on classic songs in a historic studio\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
By Jeff Tamarkin<\/b><\/p>\n
Play Boz Scaggs\u2019 44-year-old debut album, his 1976 multiplatinum megahit Silk Degrees<\/i>, or his pair of standards records from the past decade, and one constant emerges from his music: He remains true to his vision, finding that sweet spot where R&B, pop, jazz, blues and rock intersect and then customizing it. Scaggs\u2019 attention to detail, level of perfectionism, and endless exploratory zeal keep his music moving to new places.<\/p>\n
Memphis<\/i>, Scaggs\u2019 new release, isn\u2019t so much a departure as an expounding on favorite themes. A longtime devotee of vintage R&B, the Canton, Ohio, native recruited his favorite musicians\u2014including bassist Willie Weeks and guitarist Ray Parker Jr., along with producer-drummer Steve Jordan\u2014and headed to the titular city to record classics in one of the city\u2019s most storied facilities, Royal Studios. \u201cWe cut the album in three days,\u201d says Scaggs. \u201cThat wasn\u2019t necessary but it just felt great so we kept on going.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scaggs applies his distinctive vocal stamp, bolstered by his emotive, perfectly framed guitar parts, on such timeless tunes as the Brook Benton\u2019s \u201cRainy Night in Georgia,\u201d Tyrone Davis\u2019 \u201cCan I Change My Mind,\u201d the Moments\u2019 \u201cLove on a Two Way Street,\u201d and Steely Dan\u2019s \u201cPearl of the Quarter,\u201d as well as two Scaggs originals.<\/p>\n
From his earliest days as lead guitarist and sometime lead singer of the Steve Miller Band, to the heady, creatively teeming San Francisco scene of the late 1960s and on into the present\u2014taking off most of the \u201980s to catch his breath\u2014Boz Scaggs has pushed the creative envelope. Since 2010 he\u2019s also spent time collaborating on tour with two like-minded creative forces, Steely Dan\u2019s Donald Fagen and the Doobie Brothers\u2019 Michael McDonald, in the band they call Dukes of September. Slowing down is not on his itinerary, even at 68. \u201cI think my voice is better\u00a0than it\u2019s ever been,\u201d says Scaggs.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Why record at Royal Studios?<\/b><\/p>\n
Steve Jordan and I had both worked at the studio, and once we decided on the kind of material we wanted to work with, it was obvious. The idea was to put together a rhythm section that was really used to playing together in an intimate situation in a studio that had a particular sound we associated with a time and a place in rhythm and blues. It\u2019s the only one left like that that\u2019s still a working studio.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Is it filled with vintage gear?<\/b><\/p>\n
Yes, exactly. It\u2019s the same microphones, the same console. They\u2019ve pointedly kept everything the same, and we wanted to be there because of that sound. It\u2019s rich and it\u2019s got an intimacy, a closeness that\u2019s part of what we wanted to capture with my voice and these songs.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What\u2019s your connection to Memphis?<\/b><\/p>\n
My first love was the music that came out of the Delta, and that was filtered through Memphis. I\u2019ve been listening to that music as long as I\u2019ve been listening to music. I\u2019m still exploring Memphis; it\u2019s an enigma to me. My grandparents were from Memphis, and I married a woman from Memphis. There\u2019s something that calls me back there.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Why select Steve to produce?<\/b><\/p>\n
Steve is a very dynamic character. When he comes into the room you know it. He\u2019s very engaged with his music, and he\u2019s very respected by all musicians. He\u2019s clear about his ideas\u2014there\u2019s an aura of directness, confidence and competence with Steve. He\u2019s also one of the greatest drummers of all time.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Why did he mic your vocals so closely?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
We wanted an intimate quality\u2014the energy is calm and cool, rather than loud and frantic. When I can get that kind of intimacy, I go for it. We used ribbon microphones. It\u2019s all analog gear, and you can feel the resonance, the closeness and the emotion. It\u2019s part of why we chose these musicians, this studio, this microphone, this console. We wanted it to be close. That\u2019s what those records that came out of there were about.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
How did you choose the songs?<\/b><\/p>\n
Songs were chosen over the last few years. I\u2019ve been looking at a lot of rhythm and blues, and a lot of diverse material. Part of what I do as a singer is make demos for myself to fit my voice\u2014I put them in my key and play with the arrangement some and find songs that fit. I showed Steve some of the things I\u2019d been working on\u2014I had 30 or 40 of them\u2014and we talked about an approach. I played him some songs, and we chose them. There was no particular criterion other than songs we wanted to do that fit with the kind of section we wanted to put together.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
You did two original songs.<\/b><\/p>\n
They\u2019re songs that I had sitting around for some time. I\u2019d played Steve some demos of songs I\u2019d written, and he gravitated toward those to encourage me to finish them. They seemed to go with the rest of this material, so we bookended the album with them.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
How do you decide when to record a new album?<\/b><\/p>\n
In the \u201970s it was pretty common for most of us to go on the road, go back in the studio, go back on the road, and go back in the studio. There was an 18- or 24-month turnaround to make a record. We were young and the record industry was entirely different. Since I rejoined music after taking the \u201980s off, I\u2019ve been able to explore different aspects of my voice and the music I\u2019m writing. I\u2019ve been very busy since I put out the jazz vocal album Speak Low<\/i> about five years ago. I\u2019ve toured more than at any time in my career, and there really wasn\u2019t much time to record. However, it has been on my mind, and I\u2019ve been collecting songs and putting things together. I have some blues and a group of standards that I want to do. I have an album inspired by growing up in Texas that I want to do when I find the time.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
How do you keep up your vocal chops?<\/b><\/p>\n
I feel I have more facility than I\u2019ve ever had. The couple of jazz albums I made were the hardest things I\u2019ve ever done as a singer. I learned a lot and gained more control over my voice. Aging may affect the physical instrument a bit, but I\u2019m feeling stronger than ever. There\u2019s a point when a voice can radically change but otherwise it\u2019s an instrument that goes on and on.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Favorite memories of playing your first big shows?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
The Fillmore and playing in Golden Gate Park\u2014playing all over America for the first time when I had my first couple of records. Those were my first big shows. Nothing\u2019s as vivid in one\u2019s life as when you\u2019re 22, and you\u2019re making records, and on\u00a0TV and in magazines.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
How did Silk Degrees<\/i> change your life?<\/b><\/p>\n
Well, when you sell 5 or 6 million records you feel it. But that was my sixth or seventh record. It didn\u2019t come out of the blue, it had been a progression. The musicians I made the record with became good friends, and they went on to become Toto and had their own success. It was finding those musicians and collaborating with them that was the most important thing\u00a0about Silk Degrees<\/i>.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What\u2019s your perspective on it now?<\/b><\/p>\n
I don\u2019t think my voice was so hot in those days. But some of the songs have stood the test of time. I still get a lot of requests to do \u201cLido Shuffle,\u201d \u201cWhat Can I Say,\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHarbor Lights\u201d and \u201cLowdown.\u201d Rita Coolidge had a big hit with a song on that record, \u201cWe\u2019re All Alone,\u201d and I still get a lot of requests for that, too. I have great fondness for the music and what happened, and I wish all artists could have\u00a0that kind of success.<\/p>\n
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BOZ SCAGGS\u00a0 The genre-blending genius takes on classic songs in a historic studio\u00a0 By Jeff Tamarkin Play Boz Scaggs\u2019 44-year-old debut album, his 1976 multiplatinum megahit Silk Degrees, or his pair of standards records from the past decade, and one constant emerges from his music: He remains true to his vision, finding that sweet spot […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3805],"tags":[6625,3884,6628,6372,6629,6630,970,3882,6626,999,1999,6627],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9930"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9930"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9930\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9936,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9930\/revisions\/9936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}