Boz Scaggs, “Some Change” from Some Change (1994): One Track Mind

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The title track from Some Change, released on April 5, 1994, reestablishes everything that made Boz Scaggs both the master of the 1970s lover-man ballad and a completely underrated roots rocker.

Scaggs actually started out digging that stuff, too. The story goes that Boz Scaggs, growing up in Plano, Texas, heard T-Bone Walker’s “Blues for Mary Lee” on the radio — and he was hooked. Jimmy Reed and the big-band rhythm groups led by Ray Charles were key influences, it’s clear.

His first, rarely heard solo album even featured a 12-minute meltdown groover called “Loan Me a Dime” featuring Duane Allman. Over time, Boz Scaggs slowly drifted into a listenable hybrid — something aptly described by Rolling Stone back then as “Southern blues sensibilities mixed with city soul.”

Some Change animates both impulses again, combining the best of both worlds to become the strongest recording Boz Scaggs had issued since Silk Degrees. So we get a rocking, rib-sticking roux of blues, R&B and soul like “Some Change,” as well as “Sierra” and “Lost It,” which more directly recall the silky-smooth joys of his disco-era work.

Nick DeRiso