Silk Degrees

Untitled

Silk Degrees is the seventh album by Boz Scaggs, released on Columbia Records in 1976. The album peaked at #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, of which "It's Over", "Lowdown", and "Lido Shuffle" all made the Top 40, while the fourth, What Can I Say, peaked just outside the top 40, at #42.

Background

The album was recorded at Davlen Sound Studios and Hollywood Sound Studios, Los Angeles. Among the accompanying musicians, David Paich, Jeff Porcaro, and David Hungate would go on to become band members in Toto. The album marked Scaggs's commercial zenith, a mix of straight pop rock songs ("Jump Street" and "Lido Shuffle"), smooth soul compositions ("What Can I Say" and "Lowdown"), and appealing ballads ("Harbor Lights" and "We're All Alone"). The latter was later a hit for Rita Coolidge.

Release and reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Robert Christgau	A-
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 1976, 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." 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."

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 – vocals, guitar
• Louis Shelton, Fred Tackett – guitars
• David Paich – keyboards
• David Hungate – bass
• Jeff Porcaro – drums, percussion
• Vincent DeRosa, Jim Horn, Paul Hubinon, Dick Hyde, Tom Scott – horns
• Chuck Findley – flugelhorn
• Tony Terran – trumpet
• Bud Shank, Plas Johnson – saxophones
• Jim Gilstrap, Maxine Green, Augie Johnson, Marty McCall, Pepper Swenson, Carolyn Willis – backing vocals
• Joe Porcaro – percussion on "What Can I Say"
• Les Dudek – slide guitar on "Jump Street"

Production personnel

• Joe Wissert – producer
• Tom Perry – engineer
• Doug Sax – mastering
• Sid Sharp – arrangements

Charts

Year	Album	Chart positions
		US	US R&B
1976	Silk Degrees	2	6

Singles

Year	Single	Chart positions
		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

• "Silk Degrees" at discogs