Saturday, May 22, 2021

"Heart of Mine" by Boz Scaggs

Song#:  3501
Date:  04/30/1988
Debut:  83
Peak:  35
Weeks:  14
Genre:  Adult Contemporary


Pop Bits:  The decade started out well for Boz Scaggs. From 1980 through to early '81, he put four songs in the Pop Top 20 and earned two platinum albums, one a studio effort, the other a compilation. He was on a roll, but then it all came to a halt. It seems that Scaggs wasn't all that happy with all the attention, fame, and demands that came along with having hits and it affected his inner need to do music. He was just over it all and so decided to take a break. Well, that break turned into a near eight-year hiatus. When he finally decided to record again, Scaggs was still signed with Columbia Records. He would complete his tenth album, Other Roads, and this first single would be issued out ahead of its release. The pop music world had changed so much since '81 and sensing that his soft rock sounds may not fit in with the day's hits, Scaggs geared his LP to the AC market and his previous fans. It seemed to work out well with this song reaching #3 on the AC chart. Surprisingly, the tune did fairly well at Pop cracking the Top 40. It would end up being his last single to reach the Pop chart. The album would do respectably well reaching #47, however it failed to go gold.

ReduxReview:  Although this song's production gives it a nice late-80s AC sound, the tune itself still sounds like something from earlier in the decade. It was like Scaggs simply just picked up where he left off as if it were 1982. While Scaggs co-wrote the majority of the LP's tracks, this one was written by Bobby Caldwell ("What You Won't Do for Love," 1978, #9), Jason Scheff (Chicago's lead singer after Peter Cetera left), and Dennis Matkosky. It was right up Scaggs' alley and it seemed to make his old fans and new AC listeners quite happy. For me, it kind of sounded like it should have been a song from a Disney animated flick or the theme from a rom-com. It was a pretty tune, but for the time period it did seem a little old-fashioned. That's not necessarily a bad thing. It's just that it wasn't going to be a big hit on pop radio, which wasn't Scaggs' target audience anyway. I'm actually surprised it made the Top 40. I was never a fan of Scaggs' music and this one didn't do anything to change my mind.

ReduxRating:  5/10

Trivia:  Double Shot!  1) After Other Roads, Scaggs wouldn't record another album for six years. Following the release of 1994's Some Change, Scaggs would regularly record albums every 2-3 years. All but one would reach the Album chart with his 2013 LP Memphis performing the best at #17.  2) While his Other Roads album was riding the chart, Scaggs ventured into another area of the music business. He along with his business partners would renovate a San Francisco restaurant into a night club called Slim's. It would open in September of '88. The music venue quickly became iconic in the city and many artists from various genres would perform there. After more than 30 years of business, Slim's would close down in March of 2020 when the COVID pandemic forced a lockdown. However, the forced shutdown didn't necessarily cause the closure of Slim's. While it certainly forced an abrupt end to the club, apparently plans had already been developed earlier in 2019 for closing Slim's. The pandemic just basically rushed the timeline. Although Slim's is gone, Scaggs still operates another SF venue. At some point in time, he and his partners took over the Great American Music Hall located in the city's Tenderloin district. The Hall is one of the oldest clubs in the city. It opened in 1907 after the great earthquake. At one point it was almost demolished, but was then completely refurbished in 1972 and it has been a popular music venue since. Reportedly after its closure, the staff from Slim's had the opportunity to switch over and work at the Hall.

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