Customer Reviews

Boz Scaggs & Band

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I've been a Boz Scaggs fan since he went solo, so how did I miss this one? I must have seen it in the record bins, but I have no idea how Boz Scaggs and Band escaped my attention when it was originally issued. But as the old saying goes, better late than never.
There is something here for all of Boz's fans. There is the kind of slow, horn-driven blues for which he was originally famous, and there is the kind of romantic balladry for which he is best known today. This CD catches him in his period of transition. While the entire CD is very listenable, I agree with the reviewer who found Runnin' Blue and Why, Why to be the two best cuts on the album. I especially like the latter.
If you missed this one like I did, then you are in for a treat. If you had heard this before and forgot about it, or you have it already in another format, pick up this recording on CD now to reacquaint yourself with just how good Scaggs and his blue-eyed soul can be. Boz Scaggs and Band has become one of my favorites, I line it up just behind Moments as a CD to remember.

I used to have this recording on vynal. I got rid of it when I converted to CD's only. Needless to say I did not hesitate to spend the $25.00 to have it again but on CD. VERY good listening. Some of my closest friends were skeptical, we're not big Boz Scaggs fans, however, once they heard it they quickly changed thier minds. This recording is not quite the same as a 1980/90's Boz recording. It's heavier on the blues side with nice horns and guitar. A real must have.

This album is Boz Scaggs at his best. I have been listening to this album for over 30 years and it is still fresh and exciting. The instrumentation on this album is one of the things that keeps it alive for all these years. Boz, who always has the finest horn arrrangements, goes from knocking your socks off horns on "Running Blue" to the subtlest of horns on "Why, Why." If you like great music, this is a must have album. It is one of my "desert island albums."

This was his second album following his leaving the Steve Miller Band. I have never seen it in a US release. This album is much more in tune with Boz as a blues/rock musician. A top notch band including a horn section. Not much like his later work, where he became more of a ballad/pop performer, but a better production than his first solo effort(also a must have for the "Loan Me A Dime" track with Duane Allman). This CD is simply great music which stands the test of time. Buy it now while it is still available. You will not regret.

Let me start by saying that I only have one Bozz Scaggs CD. If you've never heard this collection of rythym and blues, "Bozz Scaggs style", your in for a treat. It's like no other compilation I've ever heard him produce. And, as you listen to it repeatedly, it gets better like a fine wine! I first listened to this albumn in the early 70's (it belonged to my brother). After I moved to the midwest, I searched high and low to add this CD to my collection. I got lucky and found it, by chance, and it was as if a piece of me had been missing all that time! If you like soul born rythym and blues complemented by guitars, organs, saxaphones, horns, congos, kettles, drums, and excellent vocals, you'll love the raw explosive power that this big band delivers. Boz Scaggs & Band is defenitly front and center in my audio file!

This DSD-remastered title has been released twice in the last year, once in a jewel case and now in the mini-sleeve format. The following is a review I wrote when the title first appeared as a jewel-case CD. The DSD-master for the MS-CD version is the same, so everything applies:

In front of me are two copies of the "Boz Scaggs & Band CD", both manufactured in Japan. The older is the 2000 re-release (Sony SRCS 9292 with a red OBI) that (a buddy who speaks Japanese says) credits no remastering, and the newer one, the DSD remaster (Sony MHCP 502 with a white OBI) that is listed on this page.

I wish to take issue with the DSD version.

From an audio perspective, the DSD-CD sounds as if someone completely re-engineered the album. The overall gain of each channel has been max'd, negatively altering the balance of the mix of the original recording. This is not just a case of additional detail/clarity emerging in the remastering process. For instance, the rhythm guitar appears in the left channel and the lead in the right. Both guitars are now WAY, and I do mean WAAAAAAY, upfront.

The "...And Band" title is now a joke, because the horns are far down in the mix, and even Scagg's vocals are competing with the over-amp'd guitars and bass.

Even the symbols are often distorted, especially when the band is wrapping up an up-tempo number, like "Runnin' Blue". However, this could be the remastering process revealing flaws in the original recording.

There is more definition in the DSD disc. However, that benefit comes with the price of bastardizing the original work. A recording that I have been familiar with for thirty-five years has been dramatically altered. I'm used to hearing new things sonically emerge in remastered recordings, but this is a cat of an entirely different color.

If you're my age and have heard this album for as long as I have, prepare yourself for the DSD-CD. I have a feeling it is going to be a love-it-or-hate-it thing for many listeners & BS fans. If you prefer to hear the recording as you have always remembered it, you'd better hurry up and find the older CD before they disappear into private collections.

I rate this album right up with Silk Degrees and Slow Dancer as his best work. He's never been funkier than on tracks like Monkey Time, Why Why, and Flames of Love. There are four great ballads, including Love Anyway, one of the best ballads he's ever done. And he also mixes it up a little, throwing in a lot of big band sounding horns on Runnin' Blue and going a little country on Up to You. Of course, the musicianship on every song is incredible. I paid $40 a while ago to get a used copy of this with a mediocre mastering job! I was happy to find that copy, though, and I will gladly buy it again to get the sound upgraded by the new remastering--because it's that good. If you enjoy anything by Boz Scaggs, trust me, you need this.

In front of me are two copies of the "Boz Scaggs & Band CD", both manufactured in Japan.

The older is the 2000 re-release (Sony SRCS 9292 with a red OBI) that (a buddy who speaks Japanese says) credits no remastering, and the newer one, the DSD remaster (Sony MHCP 502 with a white OBI) that is listed on this page.

I wish to take issue with the DSD version.

From an audio perspective, the DSD-CD sounds as if someone completely re-engineered the album. The overall gain of each channel has been max'd, negatively altering the balance of the mix of the original recording.

This is not just a case of additional detail/clarity emerging in the remastering process. For instance, the rhythm guitar appears in the left channel and the lead in the right. Both guitars are now WAY, and I do mean WAAAAAAY, upfront.

The "...And Band" title is now a joke, because the horns are far down in the mix, and even Scagg's vocals are competing with the over-amp'd guitars and bass.

Even the cymbols are often distorted, especially when the band is wrapping up an up-tempo number, like "Runnin' Blue". However, this could be the remastering process revealing flaws in the original recording.

There is more definition in the DSD disc. However, that benefit comes with the price of bastardizing the original work.

A recording that I have been familiar with for thirty-five years has been dramatically altered. I'm used to hearing new things sonically emerge in remastered recordings, but this is a cat of an entirely different color.

If you're my age and have heard this album for as long as I have, prepare yourself for the DSD-CD. I have a feeling it is going to be a love-it-or-hate-it thing for many listeners & BS fans.

If you prefer to hear the recording as you have always remembered it, you'd better hurry up and find the older CD before they disappear into private collections completely forever.

I agree with some of the other reviews of this re-mastered album. The original vinyl album had a much richer sound. However, this remains my favorite BS album so I was glad to get it in the CD format.

I've been listening to Boz Scaggs since his first release, and this is hands down his best album. Why it has never been re-released in this country is a total mystery.