Customer Reviews

Loggins and Messina Live - Sittin' in Again at Santa Barbara Bowl

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

To see Loggins & Messina in the 70's and seeing the DVD of their
final leg of the tour ,brought back some fond memories. I was
hoping they would do this and what a great job they did! First,
of all, the musicians they used were impeckable! Each one played
multi instruments with finese and ease. The violin player ,which played about 5 other instruments sometimes stole the show. He was even playing some of the guitar parts on the tunes! As for what they looked liked,well lets just say its been some 30 years. Kenny is skinny as a rail,Messina has a big gut ,both looked to be very happy. They did some great songs that I was not expecting. Growin,from Mother Lode,Sailing in the Wind from Full Sail and of course our favs,Angry Eyes,Holiday Hotel,Your Mama dont Dance etc.. An over all excellent DVD. At the end, at the special "section" it gives you 4 excerpts of the 1970 show " The Midnight Special". They all looked good, but take note on how fast every tune was played. Yes, this is worth getting. They will not tour again, if you missed it,nor will they make another CD. They stated "we all have other projects to do". Get the CD also for the memories. It also pays fine tribute to the late great
sax man Jon Clarke who just passed away just recently. Go and buy it, you will smile listening to those great tunes of yesteryear..

I'm a big fan of the music. I first bought "Mother Lode" back in the 70's and it's still one of my favorite recordings. I missed this tour, but was happy to see it released on DVD. The concert itself was great. Band was good and Loggins & Messina were relaxed and playing comfortably. I was especially impressed that they didn't bring in a slew of extra musicians to sweeten their sound. Basically it's the same instrumentation that they toured with back in their hey-day. Great playing from all.

However, I have a BIG complaint about video production. The constant camera switching made the video almost unwatchable. There seemed to be no shot that lasted for more than 2-3 seconds before it switched to another camera. (It was especially bad during the song "Be Free".)

So, while the music was very good, the DVD suffered badly because of some overzealous producer who clearly didn't have an understanding of how to edit a concert video. I give it a three.

You normally don't expect much from reunions of long defunct bands. The performances are usually by the numbers, the vocalists have lost a lot of range, etc., etc. Prepare to be pleasantly surprised by this reunion, though. The backing band is entirely different from the original L & M band, but this group knows how to play these tunes, and adds some nice touches to the arrangements. Also, Kenny & Jim can still sing well.
A good selection of their catalog is played, no new material, but a well done cover of Buffalo Springfield's "Kind Woman" is performed. I've watched this dvd on 3 consecutive evenings, and enjoyed it more each time.

I haven't seen the DVD yet, but I will pre-order it.
We attended this concert at the Santa Barbara Bowl and it was just perfect. Their energy and both of their voices were as good as ever. The song selection, visual backgrounds, and all the musicians were excellent and most of the songs sounded pretty much as you remember them. I was thrilled that they played "Be Free"; it sounded different live, yet the vocal was the same. A very satisfying concert in a beautiful setting.

If you are a Loggins and Messina fan, I think you will be very happy with this performance.

Nothing like searching for holiday gifts and finding a great one for yourself! I hadn't even heard that Kenny & Jim had a reunion tour, guess they didn't come close to Vermont! Having played the grooves off my older sister's copy of the "The Best of Friends" LP when I was 13 back in 1976, I had high hopes when I played this DVD for the first time last night.

All I can say is "WOW!" ~ it's so great to see them back together and see their magic in a live setting. The DVD's sound and picture just draw you right in to the concert. I had watched an hour of it in what seemed like minutes.

If for no other reason, buy it so your kids will know that Kenny Loggins had a career BEFORE his days of movie soundtrack hits for Caddyshack, Footloose and Top Gun...yikes!

I'm bringing it over to share with my older sister tomorrow and I know it will bring tears of joy to her eyes to hear all those old tunes done so well. The version of "Be Free" is worth the $14 for this DVD alone.

To the film & music school drop-outs harping about overdubs, etc...I get so sick of these Amazon reviews where people pick the product apart on a technical level. The real question is ~ how much do you enjoy watching and listening to the product, and this one is 5 stars and will be more so with each additional viewing!

Knowing that L&M weren't making a stop in ABQ New Mexico during their 2005 tour, this DVD became the next best thing. And what an exceptional record of their recent tour this is. Sure, there's some post-production sweetening, but you can tell from the opening strains of "Watchin' the River Run" that the musicianship and performances are going to be first-rate. I'm a old baby boomer who has seen the demise of so many great vocal artists from the sixties, among them as CSN and Simon and Garfunkel. Then here come Loggins and Messina laying out impeccable performances of not just their hit singles, but their wonderfully evocative FM tracks. In these days of buzz-saw rhythm guitars and rambling stream of consciousness lyrics, I can't tell you how refreshing it is to hear real musicians playing real instruments applying tasty arrangements to first-rate material. And I'm not talking about "Your Mama Don't Dance," although dang-it, that's a catchy little number. Listen and watch them perform songs like "Be Free," "Angry Eyes," "Same Old Wine," "Sailing the Wind," "Changes," and other of their many great album cuts featuring styles as diverse as jazz, folk, bluegrass, pop, reggae, and even funk. The mood onstage is upbeat and the musical energy is intense. Jimmy's guitar and mondolin playing are simple and tasty, the vocals are very tight, and the sidemen are all extremely talented. The drummer, keyboard player, and fiddle player are especially good, while the woodwinds are not quite as polished as they were in L&M's original backup band. But Messina's arrangements are still very much in tact and it's a pleasure to hear the flute, sax, and oboe parts weaving in and out of each other. If you're tired of disposable pop and musical "product," pick up this DVD and it will restore you faith that there are still major musical players out there, even if they're not selling double platinum, and being chased around by the poparazzi.

Sometime within the last year or so, I decided to purchase all of my favorite L&M music on CD. I already had all the vinyl, but their music is so 'pure', that I had to hear the clarity of CD. When I first heard about this DVD concert about a month ago, I hesitated to buy the DVD. I mean, how much better than the CDs could it possibly be?? The answer is UNBELIEVABLY BETTER!!!

Everyone else's reviews pretty much say it all, so I won't go on and on about this DVD. Just suffice it to say that, for this 'old-timer' (57) it brought tears to my eyes! Take my word for it; BUY IT!!! NOW!!! You won't regret it.

My personal fave?? "BE FREE". Flawless! When my lady and I were watching the DVD last night, I said I wondered if they could 'pull this one off'. When they did, I simply looked at Carol and said "They nailed it!"

Enough said. Do yourself a big favor. BUY THIS DVD!! NOW!!

The best thing I can say about any recent DVD release from a concert tour/show is ....it makes me hate myself for missing the show when they played in my town...and this absolutely qualifies.

I'd heard rumours that the boys were looking old and sounding old and blew off the show....MY LOSS as this DVD clearly points out...it was a very democratic song selection and all classic L&M (no painful Kenny solo stuff)...and the band rocks.

This DVD is a beautifully produced item featuring a 2 hour show (not the typical 1 hour abbreviated show we often get)...and the bonus footage back from "the day" on the Midnight special is a GAS!!

This is a "No Brainer" if you are a fan ...and you must be or you wouldn't be reading this. Small investment..priceless return in fun music, wonderful picking...great harmonnies...good times!

I have followed L&M for many years. The first time I met Jimmy Messina was at Robarts Sports Arena in Sarasota, FL in April of 1968 with a little band called The Buffalo Springfield (they opened for The Beach Boys!). A few "good men" came out of that band-Richie Furay of Poco, Neil Young and Stephen Stills, making it one of the true super groups to come out of the 60's.

I next worked L&M several times in 1974 or 1975, can't remember that far back. They were great then.

We were out of the country and missed them when they came to Florida this summer. What a mistake that was.

When I saw this DVD I was very impressed-even blown away. With the advancements in technology of today combined with the wonderful legacy of music and musical maturity these guys gave us a truly memorable experience. I put it on the home studio system and cranked it to concert level. Holy mackerel!

Kenny and Jim, I know it's a pain to tour but please tour again next summer. Your DVD and CD have laid the groundwork for another successful tour.

Saw the concert at the Oakdale in Connecticut 7/20 with my daughter so I was eager to see the DVD... ordered two. Being a musician and a Jim Messina guitar nut, I couldn't wait to poor over every detail of the DVD. After viewing several times you start to notice some of the post production overdubs and polishing. Some being blatent. You'll hear a few buzz rolls from the drummer when the sticks aren't even hitting the drums, you'll see Jimmy's fingers playing notes on the guitar that were pulled out of the mix, other times notes are added that he isn't playing, the fiddle player mysteriously plays notes while his right hand is at his side etc. Other times the lips just don't match the sound. This DVD sounds so good that it makes me wonder what is live and what is Memorex. All that said, you just can't help but love this DVD. Great songs, great sound, great video production. One of the best vocal pairings the big guy ever put together. I hope there will be new music from them in the future.