Dig [Audio CD] Scaggs, Boz

Amazon.com He didn't go so far as to call it Silk Degrees II, but Dig is as close as Boz Scaggs is likely to come to recording the sequel to his most commercially successful and, for many, best-loved record (unless you count 1977's underrated follow-up, Down Two Then Left). Reunited after all these years with Silk Degrees collaborator David Paich, Scaggs makes a successful return to the blue-eyed soul of his late-'70s works on tracks such as "Desire" and "Thanks to You," the latter featuring tastefully muted trumpet work from Roy Hargrove. Elsewhere, a tuneful "Call That Love" bounces along over a "Lowrider"-style groove, while "Get on the Natch" and "You're Not" are apparent attempts by Scaggs and Danny Kortchmar (who coproduced with Paich) to fuse blues and hip-hop. There's even something for fans of Paich's old band, Toto, whose pristine pop stylings circa "Africa" are echoed on "Vanishing Point," arguably one of this album's best cuts. True, nothing here may be quite as poppy as "Georgia" or as pretty as "Harbor Lights," but Scaggs deserves credit for trying to evoke the spirit of Silk Degrees without merely pandering to his past. --Bill Forman