A Bit John Hammond,Eric Burdon and Paul Butterfield (better solo work) is what Boz came out with his first lp. With help from the Muscle Shoals Musicians, plus barry Beckett, Duane Allman ,Boz put out an excellent lp/cd of blues and r&B . Some of the blues are jams like"Loan Me A Dime" (which alone is worth the price of the cd kinda like a Muddy Waters meets Paul Butterfield blues band .Think of the song East/West and you have an idea of what's happening here add Duane Allman on lead guitar and you get a fuller picture. Some of the songs are country blues Waiting for a Train, think of John Hammond here.The rest of the cd has more of an Eric Burdon post Animals post War sound. All in all not a lemon to be found. One great and highly overlooked cd by Boz. There is no Lido Shuffle or anything that comes close to that period of Boz which I also like ,I just would like to see what would have happened if he stuck with the blues. He has a great voice and is an underappreciated guitarist. He was Steve Miller's oringinal lead guitarist.

The rhythm section that propelled the great Atlantic soul singers like Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding...the legendary lead guitarist Duane Allman just as he was forming his great band...the keys to the kingdom were handed to the former Steve Miller Band guitarist and aspiring singer Boz Scaggs for his debut solo album in 1969...and boy oh boy did Boz ever deliver!

"Boz Scaggs" is another candidate for the greatest overlooked, unjustly forgotten album of the classic rock era. It wasn't overlooked in its own day. Back when FM radio was "free form" and could play 10 minute-long cuts, the amazing "Loan Me a Dime," a delicately soulful blues wail that evolves into a monstrous Allman guitar workout, was a staple, especially at night. But the whole album is as good as that climactic moment. "I'll Be Long Gone," which Tracey Nelson also memorably covered, is an emotional inspiration. There are many other highlights--"Look What I Got" has the emotional directness of the Band; "Sweet Release" is heavenly soul. The album is sequenced beautifully; it is almost flawless.

A lot of fans of this album like to bemoan the fact that Boz Scaggs seemed to "go commercial" in later years, especially with "Silk Degrees." I think this is the wrong way to look at his career. This album is so complete, so rich, and so thoroughly occupies the territory, what else could he have done with it? Scaggs obviously loves the whole wide expanse of soul, blues and R & B, and feels no need to settle into a single groove within that broad category. So, with each album, he explores a sound as thoroughly, creatively and thoughtfully as he can, and then, on his subsequent album, moves on to explore another aspect. "Silk Degrees" happened to be very successful, but it's just as fresh as this album, a classy, creative take on the dance music of its time. "Middle Man" went even further uptown; it is the only Steely Dan-influenced album that belongs on the same shelf with them.

Some day, a label like Rhino is going to do the kind of comprehensive job on Scaggs' career that they have done with other artists of this period, finally releasing the albums that have sunk out of sight like "Moments," unearthing some unreleased and obscure tracks that show his work with his consistently great array of sidemen, remastering (although this disk, old as it is, sounds just fine), maybe digging out some live performances (Scaggs has never released a full live album), and finally get this great artist the credit he is due.

You don't hear songs from this CD on the radio any more (even on the classic rock stations). As with some other "forgotten classics" from that era (examples would be "Forever Changes" by Love, "East-West" by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, and Rod Stewart's first album), this album received rave reviews and got a fair amount of airplay on the cutting-edge FM stations of the late 60s and early 70s. However, it didn't generate any "hits" and is now easily overlooked in the CD racks at the music stores.

That's a shame, because this is Boz at his best - soulful, expressive, at times joyous and playful, at other times blue to the point of tears. "Loan Me a Dime" is the centerpiece of the album. Boz' voice, the Muscle Shoals rhythm section, and Duane Allman's no-holds-barred guitar combine to make the song soar and cry. "Finding Her" is a quiet, romantic contrast to the mournful pyrotechnics of "Loan Me a Dime", it's a little gem that gives Duane a chance to swoop and soar (turn the volume up at the end to hear his trademark "twitter"). "Waiting for a Train" is a lovely tribute to Jimmy Rodgers, Boz sings it with a woeful, resigned tone while Duane inserts little dobro fills and echoes; Barry Beckett does a nice little saloon-piano break in the middle.

The rest of the songs are good to excellent. No "filler" and not a "clinker" in the bunch, they're all worth listening to.

Don't pass this CD up when browsing the racks or surfing thru this web site. If you were listening to FM radio during the era when this came out, you'll be nodding your head and flashing back as you hear each song. If you weren't, this CD will give you a sense of what was being played in those days.

P. S. If you have the Duane Allman Anthology Vol 1 CD, you HAVE to get this CD. The Anthology album has "Loan Me a Dime", but the mix of the song puts the volume of Duane's guitar so low that you have to strain to hear it. You really need Boz' CD to fully hear and appreciate Duane's performance.