Boz Scaggs But Beautiful CD - Import

In keeping with the cool, sophisticated image he's cultivated going back to his SILK DEGREES days back in the '70s, Boz Scaggs takes a whack at the great American songbook with BUT BEAUTIFUL, STANDARDS: VOLUME 1. Showing young bucks like Michael Cincotti and Michael Buble a trick or two, Scaggs takes up with pianist/arranger Paul Nagle and company for time well spent with some of the greatest composers of standards.

When he's not offering a lightly phrased delivery of Duke Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady," the dashing vocalist is taking a delicate trip through the Gershwins' "How Long Has This Been Going On." Somewhere, Frank Sinatra is smiling as this Ohio native also takes a winning crack at numbers closely associated with the Chairman's oeuvre, including "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered," the title cut, and "I Should Care." Aided by the laid-back accompaniment of his accomplished sidemen, Scaggs sets the kind of mood you'll find in a dark, cozy cocktail lounge right around last call, complete with the hint of lingering smoke and clinking glasses.

Apparently, old rock singers who have exhausted their commercial appeal and have sung all the pop and soul standards have but one place to turn -- the American popular songbook. Linda Ronstadt pioneered this move in the '80s, Rod Stewart picked it up at the turn of the century, and, now no longer at Virgin, Boz Scaggs picks up the torch with 2003's But Beautiful, a ten-track trawl through standards like "What's New?," "How Long Has This Been Going On?," and "Sophisticated Lady." It should be no surprise that Scaggs is not deliberately following Stewart's footsteps -- in his liner notes, he says his old friend Jimmy Pierre initiated the project years ago with a list of songs he thought Boz should sing, and then pianist/arranger Paul Nagel later encouraged him to begin this project -- but it can't help but feel that way, given the number of old rockers turning to the music their parents loved. Scaggs, thankfully, doesn't take the lush, orchestrated route, choosing to record with a small quartet featuring Nagel, saxophonist Eric Crystal, bassist John Shifflett, and drummer Jason Lewis. They have a nice, late-night feel -- nothing adventurous, but well-done -- and Scaggs is appropriately laid-back, which doesn't necessarily mean that he's well-suited for this material. His off-hand phrasing sometimes is too casual and he delivers the tunes predictably, never finding a way to make these much-heard songs sound fresh. That doesn't mean this sounds bad, because it doesn't; it's an entirely pleasant listen. But even longtime Boz Scaggs fans may not find a reason to spin this more than once. [A Japanese version added a bonus track.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Japanese version featuring a bonu track

Japanese edition features a bonus track.

Personnel: Boz Scaggs (vocals); Eric Crystal (saxophone); Paul Nagel (piano); Jason Lewis (drums).

Audio Mixer: Joel Moss .

Recording information: MEAC Studio, San Francisco, CA.

Photographer: Phillip Andelman.

Arranger: Paul Nagel.

Personnel includes: Boz Scaggs (vocals); Eric Crystal (saxophone); Paul Nagel (piano).

Rolling Stone (5/29/03, p.60) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Small-jazz-group versions of some of the most romantic music ever....Scaggs makes some of the best R&B he has recorded since 1976's SILK DEGREES..."
Mojo (Publisher) (9/03, p.110) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...A vocal album of considerable warmth....A record that could give smooth jazz a good name..."