A nice bit of Boz for you today...
4. Boz Scaggs - Alone, Alone
Boz Scaggs is a difficult artist to pin down. A founding member of the Steve Miller band, he went on to a successful career as a solo artist in the 70s, developing a smooth, soulful sound at times not a million miles away from the jazz-rock stylings of Steely Dan.
Dig a little further back into his catalogue though, before the hits started coming, and you find a more varied sound, case in point: today's offering, the alt-country vibes of Alone, Alone from his 1971 album, Moments. Shades of Gram Parsons on this track written by Santana bassist David Brown.
I can honestly say I've listened to this song over and over and even studied the lyrics online... and I really can't say what Boz's message is here. Is it that no matter how many friends we have, we're all inevitably alone? Or that everyone feels alone and doesn't appreciate the friends they've got? Or that no matter how well you know someone, you can never know how lonely they feel? It's certainly got me thinking... and the mournful steel guitar matches the tone of the lyrics well, as does the album cover.
Plus: Boz Scaggs. Great rock 'n' roll name or what? His real first name is William (so is mine: though I only ever use it at work, all my friends know me by my second name, the one you guys know me by), but I was pleased to discover that Scaggs is his actual surname. Suggestive of an old, worn out guitar case that's been on the road too long...
This is quite different to the Boz Scaggs material I'm familiar with - a nice country vibe. Mind you, when I saw the title of the post, I was convinced we were going to get a piece on massive mate of Moz and erstwhile Polecat Boz Boorer.
ReplyDeleteFortunately, I already have a successor lined up for Kenny Wednesdays... Boz Tuesdays would be a tough one to pull off, I think!
DeleteNot the Boz Scaggs I'm familiar with - Silk Degrees was one of our 6th Year Common Room albums during my last year of high school. Happy memories but what with The Bee Gees, Punk and Boz it was a very mixed up time!
ReplyDeleteAs for the lyrics best not to over-analyse as it often turns out that there is no implied meaning and anyway who wants to know that we're all destined to be alone - I do worry that I've spent too much time in this "virtual" place of late and neglected my friends in the "real" world but you are certainly never alone here whereas in the real world it can certainly sometimes feel that way.
Sorry - went off tangent somewhat.
I like the Silk Degrees era stuff, but I was surprised by the diversity of his earlier output. This is often the case that when an artist hits a successful formula, either they or the record company decide to stick to it and earlier experimentation goes out the window. I have other pleasantly surprising (to me, anyway) examples of this to share.
DeleteAs for the lyrics, sorry: that's just my thing. I have to know!
This is a great song, a sort of Neil Young quavery kind of vocal. I'll be looking for this album.
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked it, George. I can hear the Neil Young comparison now you mention it. I like the rest of the album, but be warned: the rest of the tracks don't really sound like this.
DeleteThanks, and maybe I won't be buying it after al......
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