The discography
Here is the Boz Scaggs discography before “A Fool to Care,” with comments by the artist on some of the albums that changed everything.
“Boz” (1965)
His first album was recorded under the name William R. Scaggs, released only in Sweden and went quickly out of print to never see the light of day again.
“Boz Scaggs” (1969)
That’s more like it. Produced in Muscle Shoals by Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner, Scaggs’ debut for Atlantic Records found him working alongside Southern soul and rock veterans and guitarist Duane Allman, who tore through an extended solo on “Loan Me a Dime.” The music blended R&B, country and blues influences, offering just a taste of things to come. “That was a stunning week,” Scaggs says. “It was a remarkable time for me with that rhythm section, particularly Duane’s impression lives strongly. He was a natural leader. He came back to play with the Muscle Shoals section — it was very special to them, and it turned out to be for me as well in the long run. He has a way of directing traffic in the most gentle way. He knew where I was coming from. He had been to the West Coast and traveled and was a little more worldly. He gave the material on that album a contemporary feel. We found a friendship and musical kinship.”
“Moments” (1971)
Moving over to Columbia, Scaggs starts flexing his blue-eyed soul muscles on this mostly mellow outing.
“Boz Scaggs and Band” (1971)
Scaggs lets his band step forth, and things get predictably funky.
“My Time” (1972)
Covers of Al Green and Allen Toussaint tunes sit nicely with originals, as Scaggs edges toward pop.
“Slow Dancer” (1974)
The predecessor to his big breakthrough, this one sees the singer’s wide-ranging influences coalescing beautifully.
“Silk Degrees” (1976)
The album that made Scaggs a household name sold five-times platinum. Recorded in Los Angeles with a group of musicians that would eventually form Toto, it features some of his biggest hits: “Lido Shuffle,” “Lowdown” and “We’re All Alone.” “After five or six records, it propelled me into another strata of my career,” Scaggs says. “It really gave me a platform to go forward. It was, of course, a turning point. I had a lot of fresh martial and ideas I had collected over time. The chemistry I found with that rhythm section had a great deal to do with the energy on there. It was just a great confluence. We came out of a rhythm and blues background and incorporated that with pop and rock. It was when I felt the power of using these great session musicians and working on another plane. It defined the way I made records to a great extent. We hit the lucky number.”
“Down Two Then Left” (1977)
An attempt to capitalize on the huge success of “Silk Degrees,” it falls short both creatively and commercially.
“Middle Man” (1980)
Synthesizers swoop in and the grooves deepen, as Scaggs embraces the new decade — only to spend most of it sitting on the sidelines.
“Other Roads” (1988)
Scaggs’ first album after an eight-year break, Scaggs stumbles as he attempts to regain his footing in the pop world. He did rope in worthwhile guests like the poet Jim Carroll and jazz bassist Marcus Miller, but the production marked it with a major time stamp. “It’s what happens when you sit around and think a lot about what would be an interesting thing to do,” Scaggs says. “It was a wild ride, but I don’t think it really succeeded. I consider a lot of what I do experiments — pulling together different ideas. I just go with it. You stack the cards in a certain way and play it out. I listen to it and think it’s strange stuff.”
“Some Change” (1994)
After another extended quiet period, Scaggs returns feeling more realized and more in control with one of his strongest collections to date.
“Come On Home” (1997)
Scaggs looks back, reconnecting with his earliest influences on a set of songs composed and performed by R&B greats like Jimmy Reed, Bobby “Blue” Bland and Sonny Boy Williamson.
“Fade Into Light” (1999)
This time, he returns to his own material, offering acoustic interpretations and remakes of classics like “Just Go” and “Harbor Lights.”
“Dig” (2001)
Scaggs swings back into the present, embracing contemporary production styles, drum loops and hip-hop beats.
“But Beautiful” (2003)
He may have pulled a Rod Stewart, diving into the American popular songbook. But he did it with a more refined approach, ditching the strings for a small quartet and understated singing.
“Speak Low” (2008)
One more trawl through the standards — this time the more obscure, personal corners with songs like Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Dindi” and Duke Ellington’s “Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me.”
“Memphis” (2013)
Recorded with a team of veteran musicians at the late Willie Mitchell’s famed Royal Studios, where Al Green made his string of classic 1970s recordings, “Memphis” finds Scaggs lending his rough and smooth voice to intimate covers of “Mixed Up Shook Up Girl,” “Corinna Corinna” and “Rainy Night in Georgia.” He made it in just five days. “We had initially booked 10 days in the studio,” he says. “By the end of the third day, we had all our tracks. We spent the fourth day overdubbing horns and strings. The fifth day, the engineers packed up stuff, we took some pictures and left.”