The Essential Kenny Loggins [Limited] - Loggins, Kenny (CD 2002)

Want to see a magic trick? I've got a good one for you

I'll name a movie, you will think of a song , and then I'll tell you the song you thought of sound like fun? OK let's try an easy one first:

Footloose

Well, that's too easy of course, you're thinking of the title song, aren't you? Let's try something a little tougher

Top Gun

I'm sensing some confusion, you seem torn you seem to want to pick Berlin's Take My Breath Away, but there is another one Danger Zone is what you are thinking, isn't it? Now, let's try something harder I'm not sure you'll be able to name a song from this film, but we'll give it a try:

Caddyshack

Got a song? Think about it, it's starting to form, OK hold it in your mind, I'm getting something now

It has to be I'm All Right, you know, the song the groundhog dances to under the ending credits.

I'm sure I got the first one, and probably the second one, and the third is a good bet, but let me tell you something you may not know all three songs were performed by the same person, the king of the BIG movie soundtracks of the eighties, Kenny Loggins. Over the course of the last twenty years, Loggins has recorded many songs specifically for soundtracks, and The Essential Kenny Loggins contains ELEVEN songs that appeared on movie soundtracks, and if my memory serves me correctly, two others were used in independent films. Hollywood latched onto Loggins because he knows exactly how a pop song should be constructed, and he knows what makes them catchy and memorable. In fact, Loggins is so good at writing pop songs that he was tapped to write the forward for Songwriting for Dummies.

Loggins' early career was spent as one half of the popular duo, Loggins & Messina, a pairing that brought us such hits as Your Mama Don't Dance, Vahevala, Danny's Song, House at Pooh Corner, Watching the River Run, and Angry Eyes, a song that appeared on the soundtrack of The Main Event. All of these songs appear in this Essential collection, providing a good glimpse at the foundations of Loggins' fame as a singer/songwriter.

In the middle of the seventies, Loggins began to record solo albums and his fame began to increase rapidly when he hit it big with the ballad Celebrate Me Home. To take his fame to another level, Loggins invited Stevie Nicks, also at a career peak, to join him in the duet Whenever I Call You "Friend", and ratcheted his popularity in the music industry further when he and Michael McDonald co-wrote The Doobie Brothers' massive hit What A Fool Believes. (Loggins' own live version is presented here). And make no mistake about it, you can't even begin to discuss Loggins' career in the seventies without mentioning This Is It, a song that catapulted him to extreme levels of pop-ularity in 1979.

Before we go any further, let me tell you about the keys to Loggins' fame:

1. As I've pointed out, Kenny Loggins knows how to write pop songs of all different types, and for every single style he writes, he knows what appeals most and uses it. Sometimes he takes this to extremes

2. Kenny Loggins has a terrific tenor voice that he can adapt to all of his different writing styles, and he also has one of the best falsetto voices in the business. It is simply amazing what he can do in his higher register. Sometimes he takes this to extremes

3. Did I mention that Loggins does what he does best, and then takes it to the extreme?

This is what makes him so popular with the masses. He can write pop songs that use every clich sound and hook, with oh so cheesy lyrics to match. Loggins songs are the Kraft Macaroni and Cheese of the music industry easy to make, consistently tasty, and completely lacking any real substance.

Well, that's not entirely true sometimes Loggins will serve up something more interesting, though it usually still reeks of cheesiness. Unfortunately, some of the best songs of his career don't appear in this collection the Essential Collection focuses almost entirely on the mac and cheese songs.

The biggest cheese slices in this collection are the soundtrack songs and those from his more recent recordings. Sylvester Stallone's Over The Top was a strange mix of testosterone and melodrama; Meet Me Halfway captures the power and majesty of Stallone's strong sensitivity perfectly. George Clooney and Michelle Pfeiffer paired up for the modern romance chick flick One Fine Day and Loggins delivered the requisite Kleenex moment with For The First Time - a truly runny piece of brie - gooey, tasty, PUNGENT. Loggins has long been a supporter of environmental causes, and he wrote an anthemic ballad for eco-activism, Conviction Of The Heart - you know it has to be cheesy if the Secretary of the Interior decided to use it in conjunction with his presentations

But the thing about this Essential Collection is that no matter how cheesy these songs are, they are all solid songs, crafted by a skilled songwriter, and performed with a lot of vocal skill. Cheese can be wonderfully tasty, when presented in the right fashion, and if you're in the right mood for it. Not all of Loggins' best music is represented here (I will be discussing some of his VERY best songs in my upcoming reviews of his solo albums High Adventure and Vox Humana), but The Essential Collection contains the biggest hits of his long career, including nearly all of his movie soundtrack songs (for some odd reason, they did not include Frustrated from the movie Striptease - I wonder why )

Hey look! I found a quarter behind your ear

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Kenny Loggins - The Essential Collection
Originally released in 2002 by Sony Records
Track Listing
Disc 1
Your Mama Don't Dance / Vahevala / Danny's Song / House At Pooh Corner / A Love Song / Watching The River Run / Angry Eyes (from The Main Event) / Celebrate Me Home / I Believe In Love (from A Star Is Born) / Wait A Little While / Whenever I Call You "Friend" / This Is It / Keep The Fire / Now And Then / I'm Alright (Theme from Caddyshack) / Heartlight / Heart To Heart / I'm Free (from Footloose) / Don't Fight It

Disc 2
Footloose (from Footloose) / No Lookin' Back (from Thelma and Louise) / Forever / Danger Zone (from Top Gun) / Vox Humana / Meet Me Half Way (from Over The Top) / Nobody's Fool (theme from Caddyshack II) / All The Pretty Little Ponies / Leap Of Faith / The Real Thing / For The First Time (from One Fine Day) / Conviction Of The Heart / Your Heart Will Lead You Home (from The Tigger Movie) / Return To Pooh Corner / The Unimaginable Life / What A Fool Believes
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THE WISCONSIN DAIRY COUNCIL
CHEESE FACTOR ALERT SYSTEM

LIMBURGER: Severe
BLEU: High
BRIE: Elevated
MUENSTER: Guarded
GOUDA: Low

This recording contains many passages of cheesy pop lyrics and clich pop instrumentation. Citizens are warned to take appropriate precautionary measures to protect their homes and families from these potentially damaging sounds.
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Related Links
High Adventure
Vox Humana