This year, Every Sunday Evening, Album Rock WXYG, The GOAT will be featuring a full album at 8:00 PM from the halcyon musical days of 1976. 1976 was one of the top Years in Album Rock history. Another year of tough choices every week. So many great ones to choose from. After 52 Weeks of featuring so many of the great albums that debuted in 1975, next Sunday we will be moving on to another amazing year of ALBUM ROCK EXCELLENCE, 1976.
We hope you’ll tune in at 8:00 PM, Next Sunday, April 26, 2026, for “Silk Degrees”, the seventh studio album by Boz Scaggs, released on February 18, 1976, by Columbia Records.
The album peaked at No. 2 and spent 115 weeks on the Billboard 200. It has been certified five times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and remains Scaggs's best selling album.
A better album was not made in 1976 than this one. This was Boz Scaggs at the top of his game. This is an amazing album. Nearly every song on this LP could have been a single -- and hey, four of them were.
In terms of integrating distinct musical styles, "Silk Degrees" is like a "how to" manual that other artists of the era should have studied. Two key tracks on the album need to be mentioned; they are two tracks different in tone, style and lyrical presentation, but key to understanding the vastness of the offerings of this album. "Lowdown" leads off the LP, and shows Boz' vocals at his bluesy best; clever instrumentation, irresistible yet quirky tempo, and yet it leaves us with no doubt that the advice he is peddling about what's "dirty, lowdown" comes from tough real experiences in life. This tune gave Scaggs, rightfully, a strong top-10 showing on the pop, R&B, and disco charts. "We're All Alone" (later covered by Rita Coolidge with some success, and by Franki Valli in abject failure), is a wistful, powerfully romantic tune with heartfelt vocal – its optimistic hopeful sense of romance stands in thematic juxtaposition to “Lowdown.” “It’s Over”, “Georgia” and “Harbor Lights” also stand out, but a fan favorite track on the album was its unexpected fourth single released in 1977 – “Lido Shuffle.” This song is a pure 1970s HIT, with synthesizers booming along as horns blare; it has the catchiest hook on the chorus of any song that year. Its chorus invites the listener to join in singing. The song tells the story of the drifter going from town to town, seeking that next big win. The lyrics in this song are nothing short of brilliant: “he'll be makin’ like a beeline /headin’ for the borderline / going for broke” and the clever opening line, “Lido missed the boat that day / he left the shack. / But that was all he missed / and he ain't comin' back.” Arguably,this could have been the lead single off the LP. Every artist has that one album that becomes his trademark, and becomes – fairly or unfairly – the album he is forever measured against; Frampton had “Frampton Comes Alive,” the Eagles had “Hotel California,” Fleetwood Mac had “Rumours,” and Boz Scaggs had “Silk Degrees.” This is one of the seminal rock albums of the 1970s; no serious music listener of that era should omit this from his collection.
Tune In and Turn On Sunday evening, April 26th, and every Sunday evening at 8:00 PM for The GOAT'S "The Long Play with Al Neff”.
