Customer Reviews

Loggins & Messina

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While this talented duo created many fine albums together this one stands out as most representative of their impact. When I hear what passes for "country music" these days I can't help but think back to what L&M pioneered in the early 70s. Along with Poco (an earlier creation of Mr. Messina) they created true country/rock and showcased it with style and near-flawless performances. They dared to knock down the walls with "Good Friend" and "Angry Eyes" while soothing us with "Golden Ribbons" and "Long Tail Cat" on the same lp. There's a whole industry sector out there that owes their very existence to these two.

The first reviewer hit it right on the head. This Loggins and Messina has many varied textures and arrangements. A little bit of Country(Long Tail Cat, Holiday Hotel), some good ballads(Till The Ends Meet, Golden Ribbons), and some good old rock n roll(Your Mama Don't Dance, Good Friend). Even throw in the corny but fun instrumental Just Before The News. Heck you can even appreciate the long jam Angry Eyes with the different instrumental solos. Loggins and Messina sure compliment each other nicely with their vocal styles. And the guys sound like their having some fun doing it. Certainly worth an investment.

This CD has an wide range of style and composition. It caught my attention way back in the early seventies. The local FM station in Pittsburgh, PA played "Angry Eyes" and I couldn't believe it came from the same soundtrack the spun off the pop hit "Your Mama Dont Dance". That song has an incredible lead guiter solo that can only be appreciated with quality headphones...check it out. Another class cut is "Good Friend". This also had minimal FM air time but is truly an outstanding song with a great message. I highly recommend this CD...you wont be disappointed!

I bought this album when it was first released and played the CD for a friend quite recently. She was amazed to discover how long ago it was recorded. It sounds as fresh today and as exciting as when it was first released. So much great music is packed into this surprising CD.

Kenny Loggins usually gets the big press but like Art Garfunkle did for Paul Simon, Jimmy Messina produced and arranged the Loggins & Messina sound and is himself the author of some very find music here. This is one of Messina's better efforts as a producer and arranger and a gem.

This album, Sittin' In and and On Stage are probably the best of their work together but this LP too often gets a short shrift. Three really wonderful tunes here are Good Friend, Angry Eyes, and Golden Ribbons. Golden Ribbons in particular is a hauntingly beautiful anti war song that is exceptionally notable for it's pasion and lack of hate or vitriol. It's really a prayer. Long Tail Cat is here and so is Just Before The News.

There are a couple of schmaltzy Loggins ballads but don't let them stop you from enjoying a truly fine recording that stands the test of time. You may very well find yourself thinking, "How did I miss this!? Wow!"

I hadn't ever seen this recording in CD format as I amassed a new collection over the years replacing vinyl, so I probably went a good quarter century without a listen. It was sweet to hear this fine recording once again. The sound quality is excellent. Looking at the titles I wasn't sure I'd still be familiar with the songs but it all comes back in a flood. Strong songwriting & quality playing, these guys know their craft! As it was the only Loggins & Messina record I ever heard I can't compare it to others but it occupies a space in my collection in the rare gems department.

Glad to see others remember the upbeat version of "Thinking Of You" that was played on the radio in the early 70's. I loved that version and would love to be informed in the case anyone ever discovers it.

Some might make note that during final half of Golden Ribbons, the glorious anti-war protest song, that a voice like that of Stephen Stills is heard softly singing "what does it avail a man to make a fortune and lose his soul?" and one might be surprised (or not) to find out that the singer is indeed Stephen! Uncredited on the album cover (and in the CD) it is published in articles that Jim's associations with Buffalo Springfield connected him to many related artists and they often mysteriously appeared on these and other records. I open with these comments because during the years '72-'73 when Loggins and Messina were producing their most respected and prominent output, "super-groups" were abounding, cross influencing and touching each other across music labels silently. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Loggins & Messina, Poco, Eagles, The Souther Hillman Furay Band, The Hollies, these were only a few of the new gravitational pulls in evolving classic rock. During this period there really was less than 6 degrees of separation.

Eponymously titled, LOGGINS & MESSINA was the second album by this duo/super-group. This one built further on the extraordinary strengths of the debut SITTIN IN, and stylistically, the melding together of these two talents further hardened beyond two singles playing together, into a proper introduction of a dedicated team with a terrific band assembled behind them. The album reached #16 on the billboard charts and the single Your Mama Don't Dance charted its way to #4. The epic Angry Eyes became an instant FM staple, a college radio and AOR charts #1 hit, despite or in due to its long instrumental interplay and near-8 minute length. The same mix of short catchy country-folk-pop gems with longer intricately layered and meaningful ballads bordering jazz and edgy rock, pushed this album out into the forefront of audiophiles looking for pure unadulterated genius in music. There is humor, heartbreak, earnest, and longing aplenty here with political punches, dire reminiscences, and slogging relaxation on the porch step. You really can't help but love this album. It is also, like SITTIN IN, an album which has defied dating. This one does not age, is pertinent today as yesterday, and is fully enjoyable by anyone who loves any kind of music at all. You can slide this one in between Leon Redbone and Maria Muldaur, or you can stack it in a pile with Joe Walsh, Jackson Browne, and Elton John, or you can toss it on when you just finished a stint with Queen or Pink Floyd, you can blend it in seamlessly with The Travelling Wilbury's, or Dylan, or Tom Petty, or Bruce Springsteen, or Emmylou Harris, or Roger Miller, or Depeche Mode, or Jason Mraz, you get the idea... Just give it a listen.

Loggins & Messina's second, self-titled, CD is also their second great one in a row. As on the first one, they sound at times like a softer-edged Poco and at other times, such as on the jam-rocker "Angry Eyes", like a softer, folk-based version of the Allman Brothers Band's EAT A PEACH or BROTHERS AND SISTERS. Either way, there are numerous great songs here, and very few, if any, low points. The duo would never, with the exception of the live ON STAGE album and THE BEST OF: SITTIN' IN AGAIN, be this consistent again.

I'm old enough to remember this album (yes kiddies, album!) when it was released. It just re-entered my heavy rotation and I was amazed at how well this music holds up. Back in the day I bought it for 'Your Mama Don't Dance' but I fell in love with the collection as a whole. Other reviewers have told the tale eloquently but I wanted to add that after hearing 'Golden Ribbons' for the first time in over 20 years this week I was amazed at how tragically appropriate this song has become in recent years. Listen to the lyrics, put aside your politics and you'll get the message. If you're here looking for advice go no further. Buy this music!

Jim Messina's soulful solo on a Fender Telecaster, through a compression pedal (on the absolute gem, "Angry Eyes") is worth the price of the album alone!