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47 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bargain collection of classy soul and R&B, 31 Jul 2000
By A Customer
Boz Scaggs may be remembered most in Britain for the disco / R&B styled hits 'Lowdown', 'What can I say' and 'Lido shuffle' in 1977, but there was far more to the man, as this excellent and comprehensive collection amply demonstrates. Boz was certainly not jumping on a disco bandwagon, as he had already spent a number of years honing his skills as an R&B/soul singer and band leader, resulting in several creditable albums leading up to his well deserved commercial breakthrough with the 'Silk Degrees' album from which came the above mentioned hits. All his albums are adequately represented in this collection, although 'Silk Degrees' is particularly emphasised, with over half of the album included. This is justified, given the quality of the material, including the often-covered ballad 'We're all alone' and the jazzy, laid-back 'Harbor lights'. The follow-up albums, which like 'Silk Degrees' feature the superb rhythm section of Toto, are less well represented, but some of their best tracks are included, although there are a couple of surprising omissions - such as the ballad 'You can have me anytime', with its memorable guitar solo by Carlos Santana, and the Motown-styled 'Hollywood'. There are also a number of interesting tracks from the last two decades, when Boz has kept a relatively low profile but has still made occasional albums, all to his usual high standard. This is an excellent album, without a dud track on it, and I would not wish to pick out favorites as the standard throughout is so high. With crystal clear remastered sound, a total of 33 songs (not the incorrect list given above) giving a total length over 2.5 hours, an attractively designed booklet with an essay and full details of all tracks and musicians, this is an excellent overview of Boz's career. It should also persuade many listeners to obtain some of his other albums, some of which are now also available in remastered form. Boz was and is a master of this genre, and most of today's young male singers with soulful pretensions should listen to this to find how it should really be done.
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