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Boz Scaggs (album)

Boz Scaggs is the second studio album by American musician Boz Scaggs, released in 1969 by Atlantic Records. A stylistically diverse album, Boz Scaggs incorporates several genres, including Americana, blue-eyed soul, country, and rhythm and blues. The lyrics are about typical themes found in blues songs, such as love, regret, guilt, and loss. Scaggs recorded the album at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio with producer Jann Wenner, the co-founder of Rolling Stone magazine. The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section heavily contributed to the album, which included a young Duane Allman, before his rise to fame with the Allman Brothers Band.

Background and recording
In 1967, Boz Scaggs joined the Steve Miller Band, a San Francisco-based rock group. He played guitar on the band's first two albums—Children of the Future and Sailor (both 1968)—before leaving the same year to pursue a solo career. At the time, Scaggs lived in Potrero Hill, and was next-door neighbors with Jann Wenner, the co-founder of Rolling Stone magazine. The two became good friends; Wenner provided feedback on material Scaggs had written, and encouraged him to make some demo tapes. Wenner was looking for more funding for the magazine, and talked with music executives along the East Coast of the United States. In one of the meetings, he talked with Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records, and gave Wexler a demo tape Scaggs had made. Wexler was impressed by the music, and asked Wenner to produce an album with Scaggs under the Atlantic label. After some initial discussions with Scaggs, Wenner suggested he record the album at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama, based on the style of music he had been making. Scaggs wanted to watch some of the recording sessions at Muscle Shoals anonymously, so Wenner gave him a Rolling Stone press badge to visit the studio and interact with the studio musicians. During this visit, Scaggs met several musicians that would appear on Boz Scaggs, including Duane Allman, Roger Hawkins, and David Hood. In addition to Allman, Boz Scaggs featured many backing musicians, including: Hawkins, Hood, Barry Beckett, Eddie Hinton, and Jimmy Johnson. When asked about the recording sessions with Wenner, Scaggs said: "He was as good of a producer as anyone could want, he was very encouraging." ==Composition==
Composition
Music and lyrics Boz Scaggs is an amalgamation of several genres, including Americana, blue-eyed soul, country, and rhythm and blues; tracks on the album often switch between these genres. Wenner wanted Boz Scaggs to serve as a musical showcase for both Scaggs and the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. Songs Side one of the album opens with two blue-eyed soul songs titled "I'm Easy" and "I'll Be Long Gone". It is a twelve and a half minutes and is widely considered by critics to be the centerpiece of the album. About halfway through the track, Scaggs stops singing, and Allman begins an extended guitar solo. The original version of "Loan Me a Dime" was a forty-minute jam session, which was shorted to the twelve minute version on Boz Scaggs. The lyrics on the final track, "Sweet Release" contrast the pessimistic themes found on the rest of the album. Scaggs sings about the necessity in the redemptive power of music. ==Reception==
Reception
Boz Scaggs was released on August 19, 1969, as Scagg's debut album with Atlantic Records. It was mostly ignored by listeners and critics, and only sold around 20,000 copies within its first few years of release. Billboard highlighted the tracks "I'll Be Long Gone", "Finding Her", and "Waiting for a Train", and wrote how the album would boost Scaggs into the public eye. Critics continue to praise Boz Scaggs in retrospective reviews. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic described the album as an early showcase for Scaggs' musical skills, and ultimately wrote: "[Boz Scaggs] is an enduring blue-eyed soul masterpiece". A 1976 reissue peaked at number 176 on the Billboard 200 in the United States. In October 1977, the album was remixed by Tom Perry at Sound City in Los Angeles. A 1990 reissue featured this different audio mix, and was at the time the only CD version of the album. The original mix was re-issued in 2013, on the Super Audio CD format by Audio Fidelity. This version came with a 24-karat gold disc. In 2015 a 2CD edition on Edsel & Rhino combined both the 1969 original version and the 1977 remixed version. ==Track listing==
Track listing
All tracks composed by Boz Scaggs, except where noted. ==Personnel==
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Boz Scaggs. ;Musicians • Boz Scaggs – guitar, vocals • Duane "Skydog" Allman – guitar, dobro, slide guitar on side one tracks 5 and 6 and side two tracks 1 and 2 • Eddie Hinton – guitar • Jimmy Johnson – guitar • David Hood – bass • Roger Hawkins – drums • Barry Beckett – keyboards • Al Lester – fiddle, violin • Joe Arnold – tenor saxophone • Charles Chalmers – tenor saxophone (1) • James Mitchell – baritone saxophone • Floyd Newman – baritone saxophone (1) • Ben Cauley – trumpet (1) • Gene "Bowlegs" Miller – trombone, trumpet • Jeanie Greene – backing vocals • Mary Holliday – backing vocals • Donna Thatcher – backing vocals • Joyce Dunn – backing vocals (2, 4) • Tracy Nelson – backing vocals (2, 4) • Irma Routen – backing vocals (2, 4) ;Production • Producers – Boz Scaggs, Marlin Greene and Jann Wenner. • Engineer – Marlin Greene • Mastered by Rob Grenell at Atlantic Studios • Design – Robert Kingsbury • Photography – Elaine Mayes • Inner Liner Photos – Stephen Paley ==Notes==
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