But Beautiful, Standards: Volume 1

Boz Scaggs | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 6, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Gray Cat Records
• ASIN: B000089HC7
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #66,743 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Match Made In Music Heaven!, May 14, 2003

By 

Mike King "Mike Vegas King" (Taunton, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: But Beautiful, Standards: Volume 1 (Audio CD)

Many rock singers have released albums of standards with varying degrees of success. Where Nelson Riddle's big band arrangement perfectly suited Linda Ronstadt, who belted out the song "What's New?" for all she's worth, the small jazz combo backing Boz Scaggs perfectly suits his laid back vocals on that song. He sings the classic "Sophisticated Lady" as though Duke Ellington had written it for him to perform. Boz sings "For All We Know" with a world weariness that perfectly matches the mood of the lyrics. "So love me tonight; tomorrow was made for some. Tomorrow may never come, for all we know." No singer's voice is better suited to singing standards than Boz Scaggs. The musicians backing him are superb and the production is perfect. The subtitle of this album is Standards, Volume One. Personally, I can't wait to hear Volume Two!

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Classy crooning, May 6, 2003

By 

William Merrill "eclecticist" (San Antonio, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: But Beautiful, Standards: Volume 1 (Audio CD)

This is Boz Scaggs' first album of standards and he handles them well. He's backed by a straight-ahead jazz quartet led by pianist Paul Nagel. They perform skillfully enough, but the proper center of attention is Boz, whose lithe and graceful singing glides over the notes. The arrangements feel relatively conventional, but are actually daring in subtle ways, such as the hint of bossa nova on "Never Let Me Go" and the soft yet fast and steady percussion that carries through "But Beautiful." The sound quality is superb on this recording -- Boz sounds like he's singing right in the room with you.

As far as pop singers doing the jazz standard thing, Boz performs naturally and convincingly. His phrasing is deluxe, and the song selection is well suited to his talents. I especially like the versions of "Sophisticated Lady" and "I Should Care." There are many others I can name who completed the crossing much less successfully. I will be glad when his next rock/pop CD comes out, but this is an entirely pleasing collection in the interim. Hard core jazz vocal fans should give it a try too. If a Volume 2 ever comes out, I'll buy it too.

36 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Title Says It All, June 4, 2003

By 

Lars "Lars" (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: But Beautiful, Standards: Volume 1 (Audio CD)

Jennifer Simpson, a big Boz Scaggs fan, wants to know what I think of his latest CD, But Beautiful. Here, Boz breaks away from his rock and blues menu and gets into jazz and American standards. Wait a minute - he's copying Larry Ching (the artist whose CD I just produced)! Thing is, Boz has always traversed the great American musical landscape, from blues and soul to country and rock to jazz and pop. On Fade Into Light, a 1996 CD released in Japan, he did a gorgeous version of "Harbor Lights." And in recent years, he's captivated audiences with a silky reading of "My Funny Valentine." Unfortunately, that chestnut is not in this collection, but "What's New," "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered," "Sophisticated Lady," and a lucky seven others, are filtered through the singular Scaggs voice. If you've dug Boz through the years, and understand that, in a sense, he's always been a jazzer-improvisational, eclectic, spare, and capable of making the voice a musical instrument, part of the ensemble-you'll find the new recording a little different. But beautiful. --from my column at asianconnections.com