Other Roads

Other Roads
Studio album by Boz Scaggs
Released	August 30, 1988
Studio	Schnee Studio & Ocean Way Recording (Los Angeles, California).
Genre	Rock, pop rock
Length	45:00
Label	Columbia
Producer	Bill Schnee, Stewart Levine, David Williams, Boz Scaggs
Boz Scaggs chronology
Hits! (1980)Hits!1980 Other Roads (1988) Some Change (1994)Some Change1994

Other Roads is an album by Boz Scaggs, released in 1988. After an eight-year hiatus from recording, Boz Scaggs returned in 1988 with the album Other Roads, a record aimed primarily at the adult contemporary market. The album reached #47 on the Billboard pop album chart, while the lead single “Heart of Mine” was a big Adult Contemporary success, peaking at #3 on that chart. The single also reached #35 on the Billboard pop singles chart.^[1] This single was produced by Stewart Levine (who also produced Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes' "Up Where We Belong" and Simply Red's two #1 hits, "Holding Back the Years" and "If You Don't Know Me By Now"). Another adult contemporary radio hit from the album, "Cool Running" was co-written by producer Patrick Leonard.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]

In their retrospective review, Allmusic praised both Scaggs's vocal performance and the unusual stylistic mix and tones of the songs. They concluded, "Scaggs tried hard to walk a line between the decade's obsession with more processed studio sounds that utilized electronic keyboards and drum machines up front, while relying more heavily on electric guitars and kit drums. He doesn't always succeed in keeping the balance, but the attempt sets him apart from most mainstream acts at that time."^[2]

Track listing

1. "What's Number One?" (Boz Scaggs, J. C. Carroll, Marcus Miller) – 3:58
2. "Claudia" (Scaggs, Larry Williams) – 4:07
3. "Heart of Mine" (Bobby Caldwell, Dennis Matkosky, Jason Scheff) – 4:12
4. "Right Out of My Head" (Scaggs, D. Tyler Huff) – 5:24
5. "I Don't Hear You" (J.C. Carroll, D. Tyler Huff) – 4:41
6. "Mental Shakedown" (Scaggs, Guy Allison Steiner, David Williams) – 4:10
7. "Crimes of Passion" (J.C. Carroll, D. Tyler Huff) – 4:00
8. "Funny" (Scaggs, Marcus Miller) – 5:49
9. "Cool Running" (Scaggs, Patrick Leonard, David Williams) – 4:14
10. "The Night of Van Gogh" (Scaggs, Bobby Caldwell, Peter Wolf) – 4:20

Personnel

• Boz Scaggs – lead vocals, background vocals (4)
• Dann Huff – guitar (1, 5, 10), guitar solo (1, 4), rhythm arrangement (4, 5, 7), lead guitar (7)
• Michael Landau – guitar (1), guitar solo (8)
• Buzz Feiten – guitar solo (2)
• Paul Jackson, Jr. – guitar (3)
• Carlos Rios – guitar (3)
• Steve Lukather – guitar (4), lead guitar (6)
• David Williams – guitar (6, 9), rhythm arrangement (6)
• Marcus Miller – bass (1, 7-10), keyboard programming (1), rhythm arrangement (1), clarinet (8), synthesizer drums (8), percussion (8)
• Freddie "Ready Freddie" Washington – bass (2, 3)
• David Hungate – bass (4)
• Guy Allison Steiner – bass (6), synthesizer drums (6), percussion (6), keyboards (6)
• Jeff Porcaro – drums (1, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10)
• Rhett Lawrence – drums (1), keyboards (1), programming (5), keyboard programming (8)
• John Robinson – drums (2, 3, 6)
• Lenny Castro – percussion (1, 4, 9)
• Paulinho da Costa – additional percussion (6, 9)
• Peter Wolf – keyboards (1)
• Larry Williams – keyboards (2), rhythm arrangement (2)
• Aaron Zigman – keyboards (3), rhythm arrangement (3), synth horns (6)
• Robbie Buchanan – keyboards (4, 5, 10), rhythm arrangement (10)
• Alan Pasqua – additional keyboards (4, 5)
• Patrick Leonard – keyboards (9), rhythm arrangement (9)
• David Paich – piano (10), synth strings (10), rhythm and string arrangements (10)
• Marty Paich – string arrangements (10)
• Horns and Horn arrangements on "Cool Running" – Brandon Fields, Gary Grant, Jerry Hey and Larry Williams
• Charlotte Crossley – background vocals (1, 5)
• David Lasley – background vocals (1, 5)
• Paulette McWilliams – background vocals (1, 5)
• Myrna Smith Schilling – background vocals (1, 5)
• James Ingram – background vocals (3)
• Phillip Ingram – background vocals (3, 9)
• Phil Perry – background vocals (3, 9)
• Siedah Garrett – background vocals (4, 7, 10)
• Timothy B. Schmit – background vocals (4)
• Kevin Dorsey – background vocals (4, 5)
• Carl Carwell – background vocals (6)
• Jeanette Hanes – background vocals (6)
• Pam Hutchinson – background vocals (6)
• Darryl Phinnessee – background vocals (9)
• Kate Markowitz – background vocals (10)
• Edie Lehmann – background vocals (10)

Production

• Producers – Bill Schnee (Tracks 1, 4, 5, 7-10); Stewart Levine (Tracks 2 & 3); Boz Scaggs & David Williams (Track 6).
• Recorded by Bill Schnee (Tracks 1, 4, 5, 7-10); Darren Klein (Tracks 2 & 3); Dan Garcia & Shep Longsdale (Track 6).
• Assistant Engineers – Dan Garcia (Tracks 1, 4-10); Julie Last (Tracks 2 & 3).
• Recorded at Bill Schnee Studios & Ocean Way Recording (Hollywood, CA).
• Mixed by Steve Thompson & Michael Barbiero (Tracks 1, 4, 5, 7); Daren Klein (Tracks 2 & 3); Mick Guzauski (Track 6); Bill Schnee (Tracks 8, 9, 10).
• Mixed at Bill Schnee Studios, Ocean Way Recording, Bearsville Studios (Bearsville, NY) & Media Sound (New York City, NY).
• Mastered by Doug Sax at The Mastering Lab (Hollywood, CA).
• Production Assistant – Deborah Klein
• Design – John Casado
• Photography – Annie Leibowitz
• Management – The Front Line Management Company, Inc.

References