Boz Scaggs – Silk Degrees

The 90’s were full of angst, drama and more. Tonic’s If You Could Only See has a slightly different angle and was unique to this period of music. Rising to a respectable numbers on many Billboard charts this song was the one that moved their career into high gear. Listen as Carey explains the reason the song was written and Tonic’s place in the 90’s zeitgeist.

Two of 1979’s best albums are the focus of this last episode on the Albums of the late 70’s series. Tom Petty’s Damn The Torpedoes and Pink Floyd’s The Wall continue to be sold and are still in heavy airplay on radio across the world. Damn The Torpedoes gave us Refugee, Here Comes My Girl and Even The Losers plus more gems that didn’t get as much airplay. Tom and Mike Campbell together gave us some of the most singable songs from that era. What can we say about Pink Floyd’s run on the charts including this album, The Wall. Another Brick in the Wall, Pt 2 was such an interesting composition with it’s child choir and spoken word. Comfortably Numb’s guitar solo is commonly referred to as one of the greatest. Give this episode a listen and relive your youth!

If you haven’t heard songs off of these two albums I really don’t know what to say. Off The Wall was on the charts in the top 10 for 8 months. 8 months, that’s not a typo. Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough was in very heavy rotation on both the radio station and in the clubs. Cheap Trick’s Live At Budokan catapulted them into the radio stratosphere. I Want You To Want Me was a staple on FM radio and a concert favorite.

Two of 1978’s best albums are our focus for this episode. The Cars debut album, The Cars, and Gerry Rafferty’s City to City each made their mark on the radio and our turntables. The Cars brought a semi-new wave feel coupled with rock/pop sensibilities to their radio friendly singles. Ric Ocasek was the face but all of the members made huge contributions. Gerry Rafferty was a very successful Scottish singer songwriter and ex-Stealers Wheel member. City to City was his second solo album and really where he reached his most prolific songwriting. Both albums are classics and we thoroughly enjoyed reliving this little part of 1978.

Two of 1977’s best albums are the focus of this episode, Billy Joel’s The Stranger and Styx’s Grand Illusion. Billy Joel’s career wasn’t in the best shape in 1977 and his record label was just about to pull the plug and boy did he deliver. Some of his most notable songs, Moving Out, Just The Way You Are, and Scenes from an Italian Restaurant, were just cuts from the first side. Styx was just about to become an even bigger band than they already were with their 77 release, Grand Illusion. Fooling Yourself, Come Sail Away, Miss America and more. Take a listen and reminisce along with us for these amazing albums.

In our next episode we discuss Steve Miller’s Book of Dreams and Steely Dan’s Aja, two of the year’s best albums. Steve Miller’s career has lasted for decades and his guitar mastery is evident in his live shows. Some of the tracks from this album are on his greatest hits album. And what can we say about Steely Dan’s Aja. An “island” album for Mark and one of Carey’s favorite albums as well. If you like great production, give this album a listen. You will know many of these songs and to listen is a singular treat. Bring your headphones!

In the first of a multi-episode stretch this episode is all about the albums released in the very prolific year of 1976. The first of four albums we chose are: Peter Frampton – Frampton Comes Alive Boston – Boston (debut album) It was very difficult to narrow down to just 4 albums for a year that saw some of the most successful albums released. We start with one of Mark’s favorite all-time albums, Peter Frampton’s release Frampton Comes Alive. The best selling album for 1976 it still sells thousands of albums each year. Next comes Carey’s entry, Boston’s debut album Boston. Chock full of radio ready singles and for the time mind blowing guitar work. Tom Scholz’s work on this album was a high water mark for guitar oriented music in the late 70’s.

The British Invasion didn’t stop with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Bush hit the scene in 1994 with Sixteen Stone, their debut album which spawned Comedown and Glycerine which had good airplay. Little Things was also on the album but enjoyed less exposure but is nonetheless worthy of a listen. Led by Gavin Rossdale, the band enjoyed their heyday until around 2000 and then split up. They reunited later that same decade and are still going strong. Listen as Carey and Mark talk through the song and how songs are released these days.

Not every artist has a Silk Degrees in their discography but Boz Scaggs most successful album was one of the top albums of 1976. With 4 amazing singles including this one, Georgia, the album stayed on the charts for more than 2 years. His studio musicians were the cream of the crop and their talent shows up in each and every song.