Boz Scagg: Detour

In the summer of 1999, I interned at the Trump Marina. Yes, one of the casinos that Trump bankrupted. I was in the advertising department with nothing to do. My supervisor didn’t give me any work; therefore, I walked around the casino looking at the posters. I still remember a particular singer because he has a funny name. I must confess, however, I still don’t know why Boz Scagg sounded funny to me at the time. Somehow his name is always in the back of my mind, but I had not listened to his music until recently when I came across his new album, Detour, on Spotify.

Even in his early 80s, Scagg has such a charming voice and the years of experience come through in his phrasing. In the album opener, “It’s Raining,” he sings his heart out without breaking a sweat. Accompanied by pianist Seth Asarnow, he croons, “I’ve got the blues so bad / I could hardly catch my breath.” Then he went on, “The harder it rains, the worst it gets / This is the time I’d love to be holding you tight.” I just love the way he emphasizes “you.”

“The Very Thought of You” is a Johnny Fucking Hartman tune in my book, but Scagg brings a much different vibe to it. His interpretation is slower and he injects more emotions in his phrasing. Whereas Hartman’s version is so romantic, Scagg’s version brings some pain into it. I love how he stretches out the letter “o” in “The little o…rdinary things that everyone ought to do.”

With “Once I Loved,” the guitar holds down the bossa nova rhythm and the piano accompanies his voice. He sings with such tenderness with lines like, “Then one day from my infinite sadness / You came and brought me love again.” He means every word when he sings, “Because love is the saddest thing / When it goes away.”

I had to pour out some Aberlour A’bunadh to listen to his interpretation of the Great American Songbook. Boz Scagg is a hell of a blues singer and his attention to the lyrics makes him a master of interpretation. I will reach for Detour when it is too darn cold outside.