Loggins & Messina | LOGGINS & MESSINA | CD

Also available in a 3-pack with SITTIN' IN and FULL SAIL.
The formal debut album of Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina as a full-blown partnership is a delightful romp through the studio, bolder than its predecessor and covering a wide array of territory and sounds. Opening with the surprisingly muscular, angry, regret-filled "Good Friend" -- featuring crackling electric guitar and soaring harmonies and horns that ultimately sweep all before them -- the duo jump from there into the low-key acoustic territory of "Whiskey," the country-blues of "Long Tail Cat," the country-rock of "Golden Ribbons" (which sounds like something Messina could have recorded with Poco), and the reflective "Till the Ends Meet" to the epic-length closer, "Angry Eyes," which carries the album to its close. The record seemed at the time like a pop/rock cornucopia, perfectly sculpted around the two hits, "Your Mama Don't Dance" and the single edit of "Angry Eyes," even the odd throwaway number like "Holiday Hotel" serving a purpose in setting up the songs around it. The two hits drove the album's sales, but it was the diversity of the sounds here -- helped by the presence of multi-instrumentalist Al Garth and keyboard-player Michael Omartian (plus Poco's Rusty Young on various guitars) -- that showed Loggins & Messina as a duo with depth and range. And their accompanying tour, immortalized by the On Stage album, showed that they could achieve all of this and more in concert. ~ Bruce Eder & William Ruhlmann

• Format: CD
• Genre: Pop
• Released: 02/01/2008