Other Roads

Other Roads
Studio album by Boz Scaggs
Released	August 30, 1988
Studio	Schnee Studio, Ocean Way Recording, Los Angeles, California; Conway Recording Studios, Hollywood, California
Genre	Rock, pop rock
Length	45:00
Label	Columbia
Producer	Bill Schnee, Stewart Levine, Patrick Leonard
Boz Scaggs chronology
Hits! (1980) Other Roads (1988) Some Change (1994)

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 produced and co-written by 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 and background vocals, guitar
• Robbie Buchanan – keyboards, synthesizer
• Lenny Castro – percussion
• Paulinho da Costa – percussion
• Michael Fischer – percussion
• Siedah Garrett – keyboards, background vocals
• Dann Huff – guitar
• Paul Jackson, Jr. – guitar
• Michael Landau – guitar
• Steve Lukather – guitar
• David Hungate – bass
• Buzz Feiten – guitar
• Carlos Rios – guitar
• David Williams – guitar
• Rhett Lawrence – drums, keyboards
• Patrick Leonard – keyboards
• Larry Williams – keyboards
• Peter Wolf – keyboards
• Aaron Zigman – keyboards, synthesizer
• Freddie "Ready Freddie" Washington – bass
• Marcus Miller – synthesizer, bass, clarinet, guitar, percussion, keyboards
• David Paich – synthesizer
• Alan Pasqua – keyboards, synthesizer bass
• Guy Allison Steiner – keyboards, bass, percussion, drums, synthesizer drums
• Jeff Porcaro – drums
• John "J.R." Robinson – drums
• Boz Schmit – background vocals
• Timothy B. Schmit – background vocals
• Phil Perry – background vocals
• Darryl Phinnessee – background vocals
• Kate Markowitz – background vocals
• Paulette McWilliams – background vocal
• Myrna Smith – background vocals
• Pam Hutchinson – background vocals
• James Ingram – background vocals
• Phillip Ingram – background vocals
• David Lasley – background vocals
• Edie Lehmann – background vocals
• Carl Carwell – background vocals
• Charlotte Crossley – background vocals
• Jeanette Hanes – background vocals
• Kevin Dorsey – background vocals

Production notes:

• Bill Schnee – producer, mixing
• Stewart Levine – producer
• Patrick Leonard – producer
• Julie Last – assistant engineer
• Dan Garcia – engineer, assistant engineer
• Daren Klein – engineer, mixing
• Shep Longsdale – engineer
• Steve Thompson – mixing
• Mick Guzauski – mixing
• Michael Barbiero – mixing
• Doug Sax – mastering
• Jerry Hey – arranger, horn arrangements
• Deborah Klein – production assistant

References

1. Boz Scaggs Chart History, Billboard.com. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
2. Other Roads at AllMusic