Customer Reviews

Vox Humana

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I grew up listening to Kenny Loggins and this was one of the tapes of his I completely wore out as a kid! It's positive, uplifting and cheerful music...makes you want to dance and sing along. Vox Humana (the song) has some great sounds. Let There Be Love is my all time favorite from this album, in fact this is why I bought the CD...the tape I had is completely shredded at that point in the tape. Forever is a classic and all the others are just as fun as the rest. If you're looking for something fun and classically eighties, give this a shot. You won't regret it.

I don't necessarily consider myself a "die-hard" Loggins fan, I like his music for the most part...This album has some real gems on it! My personal favorites are "Forever" and "Let there be love". I owned this album on cassette in the 80s and have worn it out...I'm moving on to the CD!

Just to let everyone know I took the plunge and bought this and can confirm that it is definitely remastered. Compared to the 1985 and 2008 Wounded Bird CDs, the difference is immediate and profoundly noticable.

'Vox' kicks a$$ for the first time in it's life!

It's an album that many Loggins fans have issues with and it does sound very synthy and 80's but has many good tunes, superb OTT production and thoughtful harmonies. The title track is one of my favourites though I remember a mate of mine saying it sounded like 'Footloose' played backwards!

So, if you have a bit of spare cash I'd recommend getting this updated CD. Japanese releases don't hang around long so be quick. There are 3 other KL titles in the series but I can't vouch for them as I only bought 'Vox'. The CD is nicely packaged too in an exact replica of the album's LP sleeve and it features lyrics and original artwork. It also includes the 2 bonus tracks form the Wounded Bird CD.

One of the musical styles that Kenny Loggins had rather skimmed over since after his debut album Celebrate Me Home was the styles of R&B/funk and pop-jazz,both of which that album contained in abundance. There had been scattered moments since but this album came out in 1985 and that was a critical year for just about every type of pop music and considering the very contemporary pop/rock sound Loggins had showcased with Footloose it was predictible that his new studio album after that soundtrack would follow in the same sound. In actuality only the title track of this album even remotely imitates that sound. And even for that there's a strong LINN drum/Minnneapolis style fusion kick that's from a very different source. This album,in actuallity serves as a mid 80's update of the soulful R&B sound of his first solo recording,although very mindful that music had changed. "No Lookin' Back" and "Let There Be Love" are two high spirited new wave/funk styled tunes that manage to mix a rock and R&B flavored sound of the day in a lively way. One the other hand "I'll Be There","I'm Gonna Do It Right" and the sensual "Loraine" are flat out 80's styled,mildly electronic soul/funk jams with some great popping basslines and Loggin's soulful vocal instrument working the tunes on every end of the spectrum. "Forever" is a pretty standard issue Michael Omartian/David Foster styled pop/rock ballad that,despite it's predictability is certainly not without it's charms. At last is a heavily gospel soaked midtempo 80's soul jam featuring the feathery falsetto singing of both Loggins and a very welcomed guest in Philip Bailey sometimes singing in eerily close harmony with eachother. My favorite cut on the album has to be the elongated closing tune "Love Will Follow",a flat out sensual Sade-like soulful funk romp with a mean rhythm section and it's 6+ lengh allows for some great sax solos and vocal harmonies. For this period of music this album is by and large extremely well produced,arranged and in very good taste. Makes me wonder why this album gets so much flack for some other Loggins fans.

Vox Humana (Latin for "human voice") is Kenny Loggin's fifth solo album & it came out in 1985. Released just a year after he did the hugely successful soundtrack to the movie "Footloose" & one year before he did "Top Gun", Kenny was really on a roll during this time & also the undisputed king of movie soundtracks. Sadly, Kenny's studio albums were not only overshadowed by his movie work but often overlooked by the public at large. Despite it's superb production & big guest names like: DeBarge, The Pointer Sisters, Philip Bailey, Mr. Mister, Steve Lukather, David Sanborn & Greg Philinganes, Vox barely made an impact on the charts. It also didn't help that only one song - "Forever" got any notice by mainstream radio. It was a good song but IMHO there were other songs here that would've made much better hit singles. Songs like: "I'm Gonna Do It Right" which is a catchy & fast tempo R&B song, has some nice b/g vocals by the Pointer Sisters & it would've made a great hit. The mid-tempo tracks: "At last", "Lorraine" & the sexy "Love Will Follow" are also all terrific as well. One song that was released but criminally underplayed was "I'll be there". It featured b/g vocals by DeBarge, who were really hot at the time, and it is not only one of the best songs on the album but also one of best that Kenny has ever done as well.

So does the album sound dated? Sure. But that doesn't make this a bad album by any means. On the contrary, this is one of the most lush, energetic & soulful albums by any artist of any decade & definitely one of Kenny's all time best. If you haven't heard it yet, you're really missing out on some hidden gems so make sure to give it a listen. A definite must own for anyone who's a big Loggins fan or of 80's pop music.

This is a good CD but it tends to suffer from too much commercial 80s fluff.

Don't get me wrong I love 80s music but I think Kenny could have done better on here.

The great song on here is the fast and upbeat I,m gonna do it right. The true gem is the soulful atmospheric Love Will Follow. Love will Follow is a 7 minute song that beats out every other song on Vox Humana. It's one of Kennys best songs to date and should have been on his Greatest Hits CD. Oh Well. I guess they decided not to do so just to keep this album in print which I,m not complaining at all about.

Fans of 80s music will dig this album. I think it's a good album to dance and stomp around the room to.

The real artistic pinnacle for Mr. Loggins though would be his 1991 masterpiece Leap Of Faith which still holds the crown colely followed by 1997's Unimaginable Life.

I,m looking forward to his new album due out later this year.

Vox Humana marks a point where it appears as if he was being torn in two. One half of this CD is Five Star while the other half is one. "Forever" will go down as one of Kenny's top ten, but the title track is hardly note-worthy. This one is worth the cash, However there are better Loggins CD's out there.

... It's a shame that it was not REMASTERED. The whole CD is still at the same levels as the 1985 release.

That being said, it's nice to have the two previously unreleased tracks from the Caddyshack S/T on CD for the first time. The production on this album clearly reflects that it is a product from the eighties, but songs like "Loraine" "I'll Be There" "Forever" & "Love Will Follow" are really strong.

Guess I'll have to buy the album AGAIN when they finally get around to remastering Loggins' catalog.

I always return to this record. This is possibly a function of nostalgia, but keep in mind that there is some really beautiful synth work as well as the best session workers around. Commercial- yes. Fluffy- yes. But somehow scattered on the disc are little beautiful points of bright magic. Very very 80s and very lite rock. Love it.

Kenny Loggins has had a long and varied presence in rock annals. During those dancing eighties, Loggins amassed big hits with his energetic offerings like FOOTLOOSE, I'M ALRIGHT, DANGER ZONE, NOBODY'S FOOL etc.
This 1985 release is funky Loggins at his toe-tapping best. Only one power ballad, FOREVER, interrupts the frenzy--and it's a good one, worthy of Journey or Scorpions.
LOVE WILL FOLLOW is a soulful mid-tempo that received lots of airplay on R&B playlists, and it's one of my favorite Loggins performances.
The remaining 7 tunes are jump up and dance all night tunes. VOX HUMANA is an homage to I'M ALRIGHT replete with the bass counter-vocal. NO LOOKIN BACK, co-written with Michael McDonald, is blues-funk and rocking. McDonald added this song to one of his solo albums as well. LET THERE BE LOVE, I'M GONNA DO IT RIGHT, AT LAST and LORAINE round out this collection.
VOX HUMANA is great fun with Loggins' sometime falsetto vocals, great musical accompaniment, including the awesome sax on LOVE WILL FOLLOW.
Future albums would focus on Loggins' ballad side, which is okay--he does them very well. But I miss this playful side. VOX HUMANA is simply fun!!