Silk Degrees
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Silk Degrees is the seventh album by Boz Scaggs, released on Columbia Records in 1976. The album peaked at No. 2 and spent 115 weeks on the Billboard 200. It has been certified five times platinum by the RIAA and remains Scaggs's best selling album. Silk Degrees spawned four singles. "It's Over", "Lowdown", and "Lido Shuffle" made the Top 40, while "What Can I Say" peaked at No. 42.
Background
The album was recorded at Davlen Sound Studios and Hollywood Sound Studios in Los Angeles. Among the accompanying musicians, David Paich, Jeff Porcaro, and David Hungate became members of Toto, while Fred Tackett became a member of Little Feat. The album marked Scaggs's commercial zenith, a mix of pop rock ("Jump Street" and "Lido Shuffle"), soul ("What Can I Say" and "Lowdown"), and ballads ("Harbor Lights" and "We're All Alone", which became a hit for Rita Coolidge).
Release and reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [2] |
| Robert Christgau | A-[3] |
| Rolling Stone |  link |
"Lowdown" reached the top 5 on the club play, black, disco, and pop charts and also did respectably on the AC chart, with its peak at #3 on the pop chart. It earned a Grammy Award, as the Best R&B Song at the Grammy Awards of 1977, and the song is an airplay staple to this day, particularly on AC, oldies, and smooth jazz radio stations. "It's Over", "What Can I Say", and "Lido Shuffle" reached #38, #42 and #11, respectively, on the pop chart. Scaggs also received Grammy nominations for Album of the Year, Best LP Package, Best Pop Vocal by a Male, and Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Male for "Lowdown".
In a contemporary review for The Village Voice, music critic Robert Christgau praised the album as "white soul with a sense of humor that isn't consumed in self-parody."[3] Alex Henderson of music database website AllMusic noted that Scaggs "hit the R&B charts in a big way with the addictive, sly "Lowdown" [...] and expressed his love of smooth soul music almost as well on the appealing "What Can I Say."" However, Henderson stated that "Scaggs was essentially a pop/rocker, and in that area he has a considerable amount of fun." He concluded: "Though not remarkable, the ballads have more heart than most of the bland material dominating that format."[2]
On February 27, 2007, Silk Degrees was reissued by Legacy Records with three bonus tracks recorded live at the Greek Theatre on August 15, 1976.
Track listing
Side one
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "What Can I Say" | Boz Scaggs, David Paich | 3:01 |
| 2. | "Georgia" | Scaggs | 3:57 |
| 3. | "Jump Street" | Scaggs, Paich | 5:14 |
| 4. | "What Do You Want the Girl to Do" | Allen Toussaint | 3:53 |
| 5. | "Harbor Lights" | Scaggs | 5:58 |
Side two
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Lowdown" | Scaggs, Paich | 5:18 |
| 7. | "It's Over" | Scaggs, Paich | 2:52 |
| 8. | "Love Me Tomorrow" | Paich | 3:17 |
| 9. | "Lido Shuffle" | Scaggs, Paich | 3:44 |
| 10. | "We're All Alone" | Scaggs | 4:14 |
2007 bonus tracks
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "What Can I Say" (live) | Scaggs, Paich | 3:24 |
| 12. | "Jump Street" (live) | Scaggs, Paich | 5:06 |
| 13. | "It's Over" (live) | Scaggs, Paich | 3:37 |
Personnel
- Boz Scaggs – guitar, lead vocals, backing vocals (4, 7, 8)
- Fred Tackett – guitar
- Les Dudek – slide guitar (3)
- Louis Shelton – guitar, slide guitar (8), acoustic guitar (10)
- David Hungate – bass
- Jeff Porcaro – drums, percussion (4), timbales (8)
- Joe Porcaro – percussion (1, 3)
- David Paich – arrangements, acoustic piano (1-4, 7-10), Hohner clavinet (2), Fender Rhodes (5-8), Moog synthesizer (5, 6, 9), ARP synthesizer (6), Minimoog (6, 8, 9), Hammond organ (6, 9), Wurlitzer (7, 8), harpsichord (7)
- Plas Johnson – tenor saxophone solo (1), saxophone (8)
- Jim Horn – tenor saxophone (4)
- Bud Shank – saxophone (8)
- Chuck Findley – flugelhorn solo (5)
- Sid Sharp – string conductor and concertmaster
- Horns – Tony Terran, Vincent DeRosa, Jim Horn, Paul Hubinon, Dick Hyde, Plas Johnson, Tom Scott and Bud Shank
- Backing vocals – Jim Gilstrap (1, 6), Maxine Green (4, 7, 8), Augie Johnson (1, 6), Marty McCall (1, 6), Pepper Swenson (4), Carolyn Willis (1, 6)
Production personnel
- Joe Wissert – production
- Tom Perry – engineering
- Doug Sax – mastering at The Mastering Lab (Los Angeles, CA).
- Ron Caro – design
- Nancy Donald – design
- Moshe Brakha – photography
Charts
| Year | Album | Chart positions[4] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B | ||
| 1976 | Silk Degrees | 2 | 6 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart positions[5] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B |
US Dance | ||
| 1976 | "It's Over" | 38 | — | — |
| "Lowdown" | 3 | 5 | 5 | |
| "What Can I Say" | 42 | 68 (1977) | — | |
| 1977 | "Lido Shuffle" | 11 | — | — |
External links
References
- ^ "Images for Boz Scaggs - Silk Degrees". Discogs.com. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
- ^ a b Henderson, Alex. Silk Degrees - Boz Scaggs at AllMusic. Retrieved August 31, 2013.
- ^ a b Christgau, Robert (July 12, 1976). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved August 6, 2013.
- ^ "Boz Scaggs US albums chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2011-07-02.
- ^ "Boz Scaggs US singles chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2011-07-02.