Loggins & Messina - "On Stage"

Once again I must apologize for the long break between posts.  It has been a month since my last post about Gordon Lightfoot's "Gord's Gold" album (if you missed it check it out in my blog roll).  I shall not make statements that I am back on my weekly track because those haven't worked out on the previous four installments.  So let us just enjoy this post about Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina.

It may be hard to guess but Loggins & Messina are a pretty killer live act.  They were one of the most popular touring acts in the 1970s and have a massive range of musical abilities.  They can sit on stools with only an acoustic guitar and sing "Danny's Song" then pull out electric guitars and do a rocking ten minute "Angry Eyes," transition into a country hoedown with "Holiday Hotel" and then return to a band ballad "Another Road."

Released in 1974 Loggins & Messina are assisted by a crackling back up band made up of Jon Clarke on horns, Al Garth on fiddle/violin/horns, Merel Bregante on drums, and Larry Sims on bass.  All members of the group add immensely to the concerts and all get opportunities to show off their talents.  The album has a nice mix of country rock stylings and it feels like a big country jam sometimes.

The centerpiece of this double album is a spectacular 21 minute(!) version of "Vahevala" that opens disc 2.  It goes through several movements starting the way the studio version does then moving into a fiddle guitar battle, then slowing to a crawl in the center with barely audible notes, before revving back up for a rocking finish.  It's a spectacular version.

Compiled from five concerts two at Winterland San Francisco April 1972, two Carnegie Hall March 1973, and one at Boston's Orpheum Theater also March 1973. Released in a remastered Legacy "live from the vaults" edition in 1998 this CD version features a recreation of the inner artwork from the original fold out LP case.  It also features a brief paragraph essay about the album.  A must have for Loggins & Messina fans especially those interested in their live performances.  I had the opportunity to see them live in 2010 and I must say they are still quite excellent.

Gordon Lightfoot - "Gord's Gold"

A very strong greatest hits compilation of Lightfoot's most popular recordings. Released shortly after his commercial peak with the album "Sundown" and featuring songs like "Carefree Highway," "Sundown" and "If you Could Read my Mind."

Lightfoot was one of the most popular singer/songwriters of the 1960s and 1970s.  Hailing from Canada, some considered him the closest thing to a Canadian Bob Dylan. Lightfoot focuses on mellow acoustic based songs with strong lyrics that often tell stories. His deep, warm and husky voice carries his tunes well and he has more vocal ability than Leonard Cohen or Dylan.

This collection covers basically the first ten years of his career. This period actually turned out to be the best part of his career as well. He would continue to write good songs and have a very dedicated fan following but his commercial popularity and creative abilities are at their best here.

Picking at least one song from each one of his albums from his 1966's debut "Lightfoot" to his 1975 hit "Cold on the Shoulder." His earlier songs have been re-recorded like "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" and also turned into medleys like "I'm Not Sayin'/Ribbon of Darkness" (John Denver did the same thing with his early songs on his Greatest Hits album). The versions are not drastically different, but the new recordings do make a number of the songs sound similar since Lightfoot's voice and style on the old songs sounds similar to the "new" songs.

Upon first listen the songs may all blend together (it is a 21 track album!).  But repeated listens will reveal the great nuance and quality of Lightfoot's music. Originally released in 1975 as a two record set,  to fit the album on one CD they deleted the song "Affair on 8th Avenue" (die-hard fans will complain about this omission for years). The CD has a short but nice booklet with an overview essay of Lightfoot's career and photos of his longtime band members. This is a great compilation for those unfamiliar with Lightfoot.  A 2002, 20 track CD called "The Complete Greatest Hits" is another option for those looking to get Lightfoot all on one album. That disc covers a larger period of time 1966-the 1980s and features the original versions of the songs. In the end it is up to you dear listener to see which compilation fits your needs. I like this one.

Stephen Stills - "Stephen Stills 2"

For the 68th Birthday of one of my all time favorite musicians Stephen Stills, I am writing about his second solo album released in 1971, a mere seven months after his first. This also happens to be my first post of 2013. Happy New Year everyone.
[I previously posted about his debut album for his last birthday check it out.
http://loosenthekey.blogspot.com/2012/01/stephen-stills-stephen-stills.html]

Stills had been making great music with a streak of excellence that goes from Buffalo Springfield, Super Session, CSN, CSNY, to his solo debut. After all that success it was no surprise that Stills stumbles a bit here. He mostly falters when he goes into Chicago (the band) territory adding a horn section (The Memphis Horns) and creating his own version of the Wall of Sound. At the time of release the album went Gold but did not produce a big hit single like "Love the One You're With" and the critics ready to bash Stills found ample opportunity here.

Looking at the album now Stills really scores on about half of the tracks. "Change Partners" feels like a ballroom country dance with a swinging tempo and great chorus that gets things off to a great start.
"Fishes and Scorpions" starts slow with acoustic guitar then turns into a rocker in the second half with some nice work by Eric Clapton. "Know you got to Run," a banjo led tune (reworking of John Hopkins song) is a brooding dark accusation (the first two lyrics were used on CSNY's "Everybody I Love You").  "Singin' Call" has a tight acoustic picking and quiet reflective vocals that show off Stills' abilities. "Sugar Babe," is a blues based mid-tempo song with a great feel and good organ work. "Marianne" is superb catchy rock featuring Stills singing in a high register.  "Word Game" is a fast acoustic number  with swirling wordy ranting lyrics about racism and prejudice.

On the rest of the tracks is where Stills stumbles. "Nothin' to do but Today" and "Open Secret" mix gospel and rock, but they are take them or leave them tracks, listenable with choruses that may stick in your head but are not so great. "Relaxing Town" and "Ecology Song" feel unfinished and rushed. The lyrics are also below par on both and the production can be overbearing.

The closer "Bluebird Revisited" is one of those 'why would you remake this?' questions. Seemingly intended as a epic finish that does not succeed. It seems like Stills had a portion of a new song and decided to mix in verses from his Buffalo Springfield classic. The music has been redone and is not bad I especially like the trumpet playing before the last verse.

Like his debut album there are some famous guest appearances by Eric Clapton, Nils Lofgren, Billy Preston and David Crosby. As well as Henry Diltz photography (the back of the cover photo shows what could be a bag of white powder on the table next to Stephen). The CD version I have sounds good, certain vocals seem really soft though. iTunes may help listeners with this album because they will pick their favorite songs and leave the rest.

All in all as many critics pointed out Stills seems to have rushed the album out before enough strong material was ready. His creative energy, however, would get a shot of adrenalin from Manassas a year later. In the end this album has some good moments that many critics chose to ignore and it is definitely worth a look.

Happy Birthday Stephen Stills, let's wish for the much anticipated and long overdue release of the Stephen Stills Box Set this year.

Kalapana - "Kalapana II"

My Dad used to have this cassette tape in the car when I was little. I bought the CD for myself when I was a junior in High School.

Kalapana's second album was another success coming just one year after their debut. This album plays up their Jazz Rock stylings with tracks like "Freedom" and "Black Sand."

There are the lovely acoustic ballads as well, "Dorothy Louise" and "Lost Again." The group expands their sound incorporating blues "Wandering Stranger" country "Way That I Want It To Be" and flawless pop "Moon and Stars."

The band shows immense growth in their lyrics and music compositions. If you are a fan of Kalapana this is another winner for your collection.

Kalapana - "The Best Of: Vol. 1"

Hello readers, if there are any of you left out there, sorry for the long absence.  It was unexpected and unintentional.  But now I am back for you dear readers.

This is the first "Hawaiian" music CD I ever bought. I put Hawaiian in quotes because technically this is not traditionally Hawaiian music. All the lyrics are in English and the music style is closer to 1970s American pop/rock. Kalapana is closer in style to The Eagles or Loggins & Messina than other Hawaiian musicians like Gabby Pahinui. The band is from Hawaii though and gained their fame and following in the Hawaiian islands before branching out to Japan and the rest of the pacific.

Kalapana were arguably the most successful group in Hawaiian music in the 1970s, possibly second only to Cecilio & Kapono.

This 1992 thirteen track compilation contains many of the biggest hits from Kalapana's mid 70s heyday. This disc relies heavily on their debut album with seven of that albums songs appearing here. Three tracks from their second release and two tracks from their third album round out the compilation. The two tracks from the third album are something of a rarity because the band's third release is not available on CD in the USA, it is only on CD in Japan and thus can be found only as a very expensive import.

"Best of Vol 1" focuses largely on the band's acoustic folk/pop/rock and not featuring their more Jazz based rockers. Nonetheless the album contains many of their best songs and is a great introduction to the band. Either pick this album up or if you would like a more complete overview check out their first two albums (Kalapana 1 and 2). Like I said earlier this is the only USA available CD to have the songs "Inarajan," and "Alisa Lovely."

This is the first Hawaiian music CD I ever bought and I have been a Kalapana fan ever since.

Stephen Stills - "Stephen Stills"

In honor of one of my all time favorite musicians' 67th birthday I am writing this post to a true musical genius named Stephen Stills and reviewing his solo debut album (this also happens to be my first post of 2012!).

By 1970 Stephen Stills was on something of a winning streak, from his excellence on the three Buffalo Springfield albums, to "Super Session," through Crosby, Stills & Nash's debut album and CSN & Young's "Deja Vu" as well as the CSNY single "Ohio/Find the Cost of Freedom." He had nothing left to prove, yet he decided to prove himself again anyway.

Between late 1970 and early 1971 all four members of the recently disbanded CSNY released a solo album (in various formations at least two members worked on each other's  albums as back up) Stephen Stills' eponymous debut was the most successful of the four and in my mind the most enjoyable. Stills gathers a spectacular mix of great musicians of the era including, Jimi Hendrix (one of his last recordings, the album is also dedicated to him), Eric Clapton, Cass Elliot, Rita Coolidge, Booker T. Jones, John Sebastian, supposedly Ringo Starr is the drummer listed as Richie, and David Crosby and Graham Nash also lend their voices.

From Henry Diltz's excellent cover photo one might guess that this is a quiet singer/songwriter album, but in reality this album runs the gamut from pop to rock, folk, blues, and gospel. While it also has echos of his work with Buffalo Springfield and particularly CSN this album is completely different and fully Stills.

From the opening guitar strings along with the steel drum of the hit single "Love the One You're With" the album grabs you, the chorus of voices and a borrowing from the end of "Suite Judy Blue Eyes" are nods to CSN but then Stills moves into his own with the beautiful "Do for the Others" and superbly tackles gospel with "Church (Part of Someone)." "Old Times, Good Times" follows with some killer guitar by Hendrix and some great organ work by Stills on one of his best rock songs. "Go Back Home" is bluesy rock with Clapton and Stills trading guitar licks and Clapton turning in one of those great solos.

"Sit yourself Down" is one of Stills finest recordings with some great singing by all involved and I wish it was more talked about in terms of Stills' music, just such a great tune. "To a Flame" is a powerful piece of heavenly glory followed by the live acoustic blues of "Black Queen." The wall of sound of "Cherokee" would have fit well on his next solo album and the gospel style powerhouse closer "We Are Not Helpless" bring the proceedings to a epic close.

Throughout this album Stills gives one of his finest vocal performances ranging from bluesy to beautiful and etheral. His song writing is as usual flawless here. I can never pick which is my favorite Stills solo album this one or "Manassas" so I say it is a tie between the two.

Happy Birthday Mr. Stills and thank you for this wonderful album and all the wonderful music you make.

George Street - "Living On Daydreams" and other albums.

In 1983 the trio from Hawaii known as George Street - Gail Mack, Gordon Kim and Steve Min - released their first album "Living on Daydreams." They had already established themselves as a popular live act performing at Chuck's restaurant in Manoa Marketplace. They had been performing together since 1980 and this started a series of successful albums and even a tour of Japan.

Their music is firmly planted in the acoustic folk style of 1970s and 60s pop like James Taylor, Simon and Garfunkel, and Joni Mitchell mixed with the later 1980s easy listening pop of Christopher Cross, Stephen Bishop, and Chris DeBurgh.

Their style plays on Mack's strong singing voice, the fine three part harmony, and the acoustic guitars. Their first is probably my favorite album unified sound and just a strong set of songs "Strangers," "Estoril," "Maui," "Daydreams" and "White Rhythm and Blues" are the cream of the crop and also half the album.

They followed "Daydreams" with a Live recording in 1984 and then their second studio album "Magic lady" in 1985. Their second recording followed a similar pattern to the first, the focus was still the harmonies and acoustic guitars but they expanded their sound to add the Nueva Vida Rhythm Section which gives many of the songs a smooth Jazzy feel. My favorites from this album are "What's in this Name Called Love," "The Way that I Love You," "To Be with You" and the title track.

1986 came "Friends" an album of cover songs, which I happen to be on the cover of, left hand side, at the age of one. In 1987 they released album "Goodbye to the Memories" in Japan which featured some previously released tunes with some new recordings. Mack appeared on Jerry Santos' (of Olomana fame) lone solo album "Expecting Friends" in 1989.

George Street returned with 1991's studio album "Seasons" which featured a similar sound to "Magic Lady" but with a 1990s feel, again it featured the smooth jazzy tones of the Nueva Vida Rhythm Section. Favorite tracks include "Blueboy," "Times with You" and the excellent title track. As time went on this eventually became their final album.

In 1995 the compilation album "To Be with You Reminiscing with George Street" appeared collecting songs from "Daydreams" and "Magic Lady" for their first appearance on CD. 1996 found Mack releasing the popular christmas single "Christmas Once More in Hawaii Nei" which she originally sang ten years earlier, due to its popularity she released a Christmas album under that title in 2006, which featured a new song by George Street's Gordon Kim. Mack also released the solo album, "Pacific Snowbird" in 1998 featuring songs written by Kim as well as a George Street reunion of sorts with Kim and Steve Min singing back up on one track.

Largely out of sight for much of the 90s and early 2000s. George Street began appearing live in mid 2006 in downtown Honolulu to the delight of their fans. But in 2008 the group called it quits and split up permanently. Kim and Mack eventually reformed as a duo, named Sunset Street in 2010. They have come full circle performing live at Sweet Thai Basil in Manoa Marketplace in the same spot where Chuck's (their first live stage) was located.

Well that was my Reminiscing with George Street :)

Crosby & Nash - "Graham Nash David Crosby"

There have been so many variations and permutations of Crosby, Stills & Nash that include CSN& Young, Stills-Young Band, Crosby-Nash-Young, Stills & Nash and yet the most successful variation would be Crosby & Nash.

After CSNY disbanded in late 1970 all four members released solo albums but in 1971 Crosby & Nash set out on a series of duo acoustic shows, which consisted of only the pair and two acoustic guitars performing songs from CSN as well as their solo work. The concerts were so successful that the pair went into the recording studio and released this album. It was a big hit and the start of several successful duo albums by the pair.

This is actually a recent purchase of mine and as I have said in previous posts I am big fan of CSN(Y) as well as their solo work, I had to get it. The pair divide the song writing credits equally and for the most part the songs are quite good. The sound is more folk and acoustic based than "Deja Vu" and is closer to the sounds of Nash's "Songs for Beginners."

"Southbound Train" and "Immigration Man" were the big hits off the album and retain that feel of CSN's first album. My favorite songs though are "Frozen Smiles," "Girl to be on My Mind" and "The Wall Song" all wonderful recordings that can only be found on this album. "Blacknotes" is a waste of one minute, basically Nash seemingly improvising lines for one minute. There are also the Crosby gems "Where Will I Be?" and "Page 43."

Overall this is probably best for fans of Crosby and Nash's solo work as well as big fans of CSN (like myself). Supposedly C&N are going to be re-release their duo catalog during 2011 maybe they will throw in some liner notes and such. Here's hoping.

John Denver - "Rocky Mountain Christmas"

Since this will probably be my last post before Christmas I wanted to break my alphabetical rhythm and write about one of my favorite Christmas Albums.

John Denver's "Rocky Mountain Christmas" was originally released in 1975 in conjunction with a TV special of the same name, sadly the TV film has yet to be released on DVD. The majority of the album consists of familiar Christmas Classics rearranged by Denver, including "The Christmas Song" and "Silver Bells." There are also some unfamiliar picks like the wonderful "Aspenglow" and "Christmas for Cowboys" as well as the true oddity on the disc "Please Daddy Don't Get Drunk this Christmas."

Denver's acoustic arrangements add warmth to the songs and the whole album brings out the feel of snowy mountains and sitting around the fireplace with a Christmas Tree. The CD reissue, part of Legacy Records Essential Holiday Classics series, includes excellent liner notes about the recording of the album. If you download the album (which is more expensive than buying the physical CD) you get three more tracks "The Music is You," "Perhaps Love (shortened version, I believe without Placido Domingo)" and "Dreamland Express." This is a wonderful Christmas album that will bring out the spirit of the season, even if you are not a fan of Denver's music this is a fine addition to anyone's Christmas Collection. Merry Christmas Everyone.

Tracy Chapman - "Crossroads"

Tracy Chapman's second album is very similar in tone and style to her first. The album is made up of confessional and observational singer/songwriter type songs. Much of the music again focuses on acoustic guitars and Chapman's excellent voice. The major difference is that the songs here are far less open and they don't draw the listener in like the first album did.

There are a number of excellent songs here but they are not as catchy as the songs on the first album were. The excellent songs include the powerhouse "Freedom Now," about Nelson Mandela and is definitely the best song here. Also wonderful tunes are "Bridges," "Be Careful of My Heart" and "All that you have is your Soul." The rest of the album is a little too closed off to really connect to. It is a strong album that gains from multiple listens as you can examine Chapman's lyrics, but it is a difficult album to get into. I often find myself only playing the five best songs on the album. But this is still a decent companion to Chapman's debut album.

Tracy Chapman - "Tracy Chapman"

I bought this album from Tower Records somewhere around the year 2001. I kept hearing the song "Fast Car" on the radio and thought it was awesome and in reading glowing reviews of this album I decided to buy it.

Tracy Chapman's eponymous debut did not disappoint. A true singer/songwriter album and it was definitely a throwback to the 1960s and 70s style of music when it was released. In 1988 the era of dance music, hair metal, and lots of effects and big sounds this was an oddity but it caught the ear of many listeners making it an unexpected big hit. There is the hit single "Fast Car" a quiet heartbreaking tale of someone who just can't get out from under the mud of life. But every song is a winner on this album produced very simply with Chapman on acoustic guitar and vocals. Some songs feature piano and drums but overall the only instruments are an acoustic guitar and Chapman's deep textured strong and beautiful voice. Other notable tracks include the excellent "Talkin' Bout a Revolution" and "Baby Can I Hold you," but like I said earlier every track is strong. The songs focus on often dark subjects but the album is consistently appealing and the honesty of the whole enterprise keeps me coming back to this album. A great debut.