Boz Scaggs’ ‘Out of The Blues’ tour
Boz Scaggs calls the trio of albums he has most recently released — beginning with 2013’s “Memphis” — a trilogy.
These releases — “Memphis,” 2015’s “A Fool To Care” and his current album, “Out of the Blues” — have found him covering songs by artists that impacted him as he was growing up near Dallas and beginning his path to a music career, absorbing blues, soul, New Orleans music and early rock and roll.
That might sound like the kind of albums done by countless veteran artists who have recorded their versions of songs by musicians that have influenced them.
Scaggs, though, says his trilogy is not the typical “tribute-to-his-influences” album. Yes, he has recorded songs by artists that influenced and inspired him — such as Bobby “Blue” Bland, Jimmy Reed, Curtis Mayfield and Al Green. But he didn’t include a number of artists that he would consider essential if he made an album devoted to his influences.
Scaggs brings his Out of The Blues tour to Easton’s State Theatre 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 21.
“There are way too many influences, and important ones, that I would include in a tribute-style production,” Scaggs said in a recent phone interview. “To me, I’m thinking Ray Charles would have to be in there. But I can’t sing, I’ve never been able to take a Ray Charles song into my own realm. And there are a number of people — Smokey Robinson — there are any number of players that I would include in that compilation.”
In fact, if there’s one quality that unites the three albums of impeccably chosen covers (supplemented by several originals from Scaggs’ songwriting collaborator and friend, Jack Walroth), Scaggs said, it’s his voice, which has long been considered by others to be a strong point in his artistry.
Yet Scaggs said he feels he has only in recent years had