It’s Turntable Tuesday because life is too short not to listen to great music! This week on Turntable Tuesday I am playing a record that is new to me. I was in my local vinyl shop last week over in Greensboro, North Carolina and picked up this very nice Japanese import version of Boz Scaggs’ 1980 release titled “Middle Man.” As soon as I saw this cover I knew I was likely to buy it. The condition of the vinyl made the decision for me as this album is in great shape. I tucked this one under my arm without putting it down and thought yeah you are going home with me. More in a moment. What are YOU listening to right now? Buy music media and support your favorite musicians! Go see live shows and enjoy life!
Boz Scaggs. As I sit here thinking about all the times I have listened to his music I get so many flashbacks through time. I remember being in high school in the late 1970’s and even my college years listening to his hits come through the FM radio speakers all over the place. His hit “Lido Shuffle” was extremely popular and caught my ear as soon as I heard it. That song started me on a decades-long journey of listening to his music and watching him play live. As I write this a framed copy of “Silk Degrees” hangs just a few feet behind me. I can remember how I loved listening to his early records over and over during 1978. I have always liked Boz’s music from beginning to end and own most of it. His vocals have a very unique signature and his guitar playing lends itself to a blues influenced sound that can push it’s way into mainstream popular music. He has what I would call a romantic sound. He just makes you feel the music when you listen to it.
If you lived through the 1970’s listening to music you no doubt heard the music of Toto. When you look through the credits on this record you see that amazing band all over these tracks. Boz hired them as session musicians and shared some of the song-writing credits with them. The platinum album went way up the charts and if you were listening to the radio you heard two tracks from this record. “Breakdown Dead Ahead” and “Jojo” were all over the airwaves as they are great songs. They were both top 40 hits. The album had talent from Ray Parker Jr. to Carlos Santana on one track. The background singers were numerous with one of my favorites Rosemary Butler as one of the vocalists. The album is stacked with talent and you can hear it when you crank this vinyl up.
To sum this album up it is a great one. The production is first class, the vinyl pressing is very good, and the artists are all top-notch. This album is now 42 years old and it still sounds great. Would I buy this one again? Absolutely. In fact I am going to flip it over and start side one again.
Until next time I’ll see you , down the road.