Search - Boz Scaggs :: Down Two Then Left

Irresistible--another classy blend of R&B, soul, & pop-rock

Dave | United States | 03/07/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Boz Scaggs followed up his commercial blockbuster "Silk Degrees" with 1977's "Down Two Then Left". This album probably hasn't sold a fourth of what "Silk Degrees" has, but don't let that fool you. It's not hard at all to see why many of the listeners familiar with "Down Two Then Left" would claim it to be even better than "Silk Degrees". As the saying goes, variety is the spice of life, and as great of a song as "Lowdown" is, it's not hard to see why people would simply be sick of it since, even after 29+ years, it's such a hard song to escape just by going out to certain public places, as are many of the other songs from "Silk Degrees". I'm not aware of any of the songs from "Down Two Then Left" having 'suffered this fate', so if you're looking for something a bit fresher, so to speak, I think this should hit the spot. All that aside, "Down Two Then Left" is simply a superb album that puts Boz's super cool suaveness on full display, not to mention his highly unique and arrestingly passionate vocals. A big change with this album is that Boz's key songwriting collaborator on "Silk Degrees", keyboardist David Paich, is gone. However, "filling in" for Paich is Michael Omartian, a talented dude in his own right and he himself co-wrote 5 of the 10 tracks on here with Scaggs. However, as with "Silk Degrees", "Down Two Then Left" was produced by Joe Wissert, plus the late great Jeff Porcaro is still on drums, and in the end, if you love "Silk Degrees", you can't go wrong here. "Still Falling For You" and "Whatcha Gonna Tell Your Man" are splendidly catchy tunes with that good ol' irresistibly lush soft rock sound. The funky, infectious "Hollywood" is an absolute hook-fest with great female background vocals & cool orchestration, not to mention the vibraphone played by the late Victor Feldman. The stomping, tormented "Hard Times"; the rousing, very Steely Dan-ish "Gimme The Goods"; the breezy, splendidly tuneful "A Clue" with its great guitar solo from Steve Lukather that sounds uncannily like a Larry Carlton solo from Steely Dan's "The Royal Scam" (which is no coincidence--Lukather was and is a huge SD & Carlton fan); & the soulful ballad "Then She Walked Away"--these are all great songs. "1993", with its "Lido Shuffle" style rhythm, is a very strong track as well. There are some minor gripes such as the fairly dull, extended coda on "We're Waiting" with its annoying, excessive use of those syndrums that were state-of-the-art at the time. Overall though, "Down Two Then Left" is tasteful, excellently performed and produced, and has catchy hooks galore--it's definitely a must-have."

Kind as bigger since Silk Degrees

Henry Cooper | Atlanta, GA | 11/25/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is defintiely a good easy-listening album to help deepen your soul into. I luv this album since the day I purchased Silk Degrees on CD and then the greatest hits compilation Hits. If those that were into "Silk Degrees" which is a classic, you highly recommend getting into Steely Dan's album entitled "Aja" which I have on LP but not on CD yet.



Yeah, this is 'mos definitely a must-have classic since the beginning of his recent album which he put out a year before this one.



Go Boz, you're the "Lowdown" man. Check out DIG too. It's good though."

Great Follow-Up Album!

RunninBoyBlue | Minnesota | 05/01/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After the commercial success of "Silk Degrees", setting about to record again must have been a daunting task for Mr. Scaggs. Nonetheless, he and the assembled musicians found the answer to the question. The result was at times astounding in its clarity. With this collection, Boz zeroed in on the state of the culture in the late seventies. Songs like "Hollywood" and "Hard Times" spoke of the decadence and the sense of disappoinment that pervaded the American landscape. "We're Waiting" weaves a sonic tapestry with texture enough to still sound fresh almost 30 years hence. "Gimme The Goods" sounds like it was ripped from the night like a film noir.

This is one of the best "next" records ever produced, and never received its due."