Customer Reviews

1971-84 Good Side of Tomorrow

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I first got into Dave Loggins in the late 70s, having bought 'Personal Belongings' and 'Apprentice in a Musical Workshop'. It was a time of fading singer-songwriters and rising Disco, so maybe this explains why he never made it to mainstream. This new CD is most welcome. Listening to his early songs, such as 'Good Side of Tomorrow' and 'Claudia', only makes you realise what an enormous talent he was. His second album containing some of his best work, with 'Please Come to Boston' (which made it into the US top 20), and the impressive 'Sunset Woman'. This song can still send shivers down my spine. His ability to look at different situations always impressed me, listen to 'Goodbye Eyes', and its so easy to relate to. Obviously 'Sister Mary Ryan', 'Girl from Knoxville Town' and 'Ship in a Bottle', are also very strong. I was lucky I recored all his albums onto Cassette, so I can listen to them easily. As for one of his strongest songs, 'Please Remember Me', well I for one, haven't forgotten him.

There are very few "perfect" albums that come out of Nashville, EVER!!! Kris Kristofferson's self-titled debut had a roster of songs that have all become standards in the country field. So why no one has ever had the decency to release Dave Loggins' "Apprentice In A Musical Workshop" from 1974 is beyond me. Every single one of the songs in that album is a classic piece of writing from one of Music Row's premier craftsmen. "Please Come To Boston" was the hit, and "Sunset Woman" and "Girl From Knoxville" are represented here as well. But why not "My Father's Fiddle"? This collection shows Loggins at his best. There isn't one bad tune in the bunch, and it's particularly nice that his duet with Anne Murray, "Nobody Loves Me Like You Do" (he didn't write that one, though) is here as well. However, it still doesn't excuse "Apprentice" from having never come out on its own. Maybe someone will correct this oversight soon. David is also a candidate in my book to do one of the "Live At The Bluebird Cafe" recordings that feature the writers of the hit songs doing the songs themselves. (You have got to hear what he does with "Morning Desire"!!!)

I have the instrumental theme to the Masters that CBS plays during coverage. Email me if you are interested.

Growing up in the 70's, my Mom always had albums playing by Gordon Lightfoot, John Denver, Fleetwood Mac, Linda Rodstandt, Paul Simon, Neil Diamond and many more. There is one artist who's songs still make me catch my breath. These same songs make my heart stop, beat, stop, beat. So many grand emotions.
I have always said I am a 70's girl when it comes to music and no doubt Dave Loggins was one of the best musicians of all time.

A friend introduced me to David Loggins and his hit song "Please Come to Boston" about 9 months ago. I must say, this one song made a very strong impression on me. But as we all have experienced, I almost feared the next step in getting to know this artist. Too many times I have ventured into personally uncharted music / artists on the strength of one song, only to find that that one song was the only song and the rest was fit for the trash bin.

Well let me tell you, this is one of those situations where the journey of discovery is truly magical! Many artists, (ie. Cat Stevens - John Denver - Gordon Lightfoot) have personal talents that stand out from the rest of the pack and almost everything they touch turns to gold by virtue of their personal stylings. Where David Loggins fell off the cart to stardom is beyond me, but every song on this album is an absolute gem. Truth be told, he must have hired a string of deaf agents! This guys talent easily matches and possibly surpasses the works of artists like James Taylor and John Denver.

What is additionally astounding is the fact that Dave Loggins is actually related to Kenny Loggins from the "House on Pooh Corner" fame. How Kenny achieved so much recognition and Dave went unnoticed is a testament to one thing - MARKETING - how to and how not to!!

Anyways, anyone who finds themselves attracted to an artists style will not be disappointed by this Greatist Hits compilation. He is very consistent throughout. I've often heard people refer to a vocalist as having an angelic voice, more often than not I tend to disagree - in the case of David Loggins, this description would not be an exageration. It is also obvious that he harbors very strong songwriting skills.

Along with the music of Greg Brown, this album stands out as a hidden gem and the best musical discovery in the past year. Sister Mary Ryan is one of the best songs I've heard in a long time. Overall HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!

Of all the singers in my collection from the 60s forward, Dave Loggins is the feast, the jewel, the treasure I simply never tire of. From the time of my first putting "Moving to the Country" on the turntable on the same day I had moved to the country myself, to emoting over "Claudia" when I was dating a woman by the same name, Dave Loggins always seems to hit home - if not always that literally - with every beautifully crafted and heartfelt song. This CD is a great glimpse at a great, vastly underappreciated artist, but as the reviews here indicate, there are many too many gems in his discography to do him justice with a single "greatest hits" album.

Thanks to all of Dave's fans in Austrailia, for putting this compilation together. As others have said, why more folks didn't buy his music back in the 70's has always been a mystery to me. The CD is arranged chronologically, so it's a good retrospective on his recording career. I never knew about the song from the movie soundtrack (The Winning Season), so that was a nice surprise. And yes, we could debate why certain songs were left off, like "One Way Ticket To Paradise", etc. "Please Come To Boston", has given Dave something of a "One Hit Wonder" status which, in my humble opinion, does not do justice to his body of work. Each song deserves to be listened to and enjoyed, for the stories they tell and the way they tell them, both musically and lyrically. A couple of years ago, I created a "fan" web site, if you're interested.

We all know that there is only so much space available on a CD. This compilation of Dave Loggins works is exactly what I would have chosen, WITH ONE ADDITION. On the original recording of the album One Way Ticket to Paradise, the song "Ship in a Bottle" was the prelude to the title song "One Way Ticket to Paradise". For "One Way Ticket to Paradise" to be excluded from this CD is, in my opinion, a serious flaw of the editors of the CD. It is about like cutting off a song in the middle.

I too would like to see all of Dave Loggins' recordings available on CD format.

How could My Father's fiddle get overlooked ? The best work of his career has to be the Apprentice album ! That needs to be released on it's own.

...of the reviewers. There's not one bad song on Apprentice in A Musical Workshop, and it should have been released in its entirety. Also, one of my favourite Dave Loggins song was One Way Ticket To Paradise, because the song just builds and builds until it reaches the climax in the final chorus "Do you wanna go..." For someone to painstakenly edit out that song from "Ship In A Bottle" is a crime.

Still, the 5-star stands for what it is: a long-awaited retrospective on a fine tunesmith, and a generous collection (despite the fact.)