{"id":4948,"date":"2014-07-13T13:01:55","date_gmt":"2014-07-13T18:01:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/?p=4948"},"modified":"2014-07-13T13:01:56","modified_gmt":"2014-07-13T18:01:56","slug":"boz-scaggs-hercules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/?p=4948","title":{"rendered":"Boz Scaggs – Hercules"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Example\" <\/strong><\/p>\n

Boz Scaggs<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Example\" <\/strong><\/p>\n

Listen\/Download Boz Scaggs – Hercules<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Greetings all<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

When I was picking through tracks trying to decide on something to start the week, my natural inclination was to go back into the dark recesses of the archives, yet I was met time and time again by the siren song of something brand new.<\/p>\n

Not long ago, while searching for something else entirely (as is often the case)I happened upon a completely unexpected cover version of a familiar song.<\/p>\n

I first heard Aaron Neville\u2019s<\/strong> original version of \u2018Hercules\u2019 (written by Allen Toussaint<\/strong>) close to 15 years ago on an old Charly Records CD comp of New Orleans soul and funk.<\/p>\n

The song \u2013a very tasty groove indeed \u2013 lodged in my consciousness soon after when I realized that the original 45 \u2013 of which there are very few \u2013 had become a sought after disc among collectors of my ilk.<\/p>\n

While I have never encountered a copy myself, I remain on the lookout.<\/p>\n

That said, while seeking something else Toussaint-related, I came across a listing for a cover of \u2018Hercules\u2019, by none other than Boz Scaggs.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now, if you grew up in the 70s (like me, for instance) the sounds of Mr Scaggs were inescapable. He had a number of big hits in the decade, including groovers like \u2018Lowdown\u2019 and \u2018Lido Shuffle\u2019.<\/p>\n

It was only many years later that I discovered that he had a much deeper history, having recorded his first solo records in the 60s, and spent time as a sideman with the early Steve Miller Band.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I discovered that Scaggs had covered \u2018Hercules\u2019, I set out in search of a copy of the record, which proved both easy and cheap.<\/p>\n

Appearing on his 1974 LP \u2018Slow Dancer\u2019, Scaggs\u2019 version of \u2018Hercules\u2019 is very groovy indeed.<\/p>\n

Though it lacks some of the heat of the NOLA-based OG, it comes awfully close.<\/p>\n

Produced by Johnny Bristol<\/strong> with arrangements by HB Barnum<\/strong>, this version of \u2018Hercules\u2019 is a funky, slow burner.<\/p>\n

Scaggs takes the song at a slightly slower pace than Neville, but the groove here is deep indeed. The addition of strings gives this version a slightly smoother, nighttime vibe.<\/p>\n

As far as I can tell, Boz Scaggs\u2019 \u2018Hercules\u2019 has remained largely unnoticed for the last 40 years, instead of heating up dance floors, where it should have been. I suspect that this has something to do with Scaggs\u2019 (somewhat undeserved) reputation as a middle-of-the-road pop artist.<\/p>\n

Give this one a spin and then pass it on to someone who will dig it.<\/p>\n

Keep the faith<\/strong><\/p>\n

Larry<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Example\"<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong> \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

_________________________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived!<\/strong> The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock.<\/strong> They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US).<\/strong> Click here to go to the ordering page.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Example\"<\/strong><\/a> \"Example\"<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Boz Scaggs Listen\/Download Boz Scaggs – Hercules Greetings all When I was picking through tracks trying to decide on something to start the week, my natural inclination was to go back into the dark recesses of the archives, yet I was met time and time again by the siren song of something brand new. Not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[58,11,14,40,64,12],"tags":[163,166,41,164],"class_list":["post-4948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cover-songs","category-funk","category-funky16corners","category-new-orleans-funk","category-rb","category-soul","tag-funk","tag-funky16corners","tag-new-orleans","tag-soul"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pMKgo-1hO","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4948"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4948\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4954,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4948\/revisions\/4954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}