Kenny Loggins is often given a bad rap for being one of the
\nposter children for the cultural rock and roll revolution gone
\ncorporate. Having begun his career as a long-haired sensitive
\nfolkie and half of the duo with Poco’s Jim Messina, he discovered
\nin the mid-’80s that writing movie themes is really where the money
\nis at, and he’s never really been the same since.<\/p>\n
But the career of Kenny Loggins as an independent movie-less
\nsongwriter ended with a bang. Unlike his late ’70s solo releases
\n(which aren’t bad, don’t get me wrong, but can get awfully
\ndepressing at times),
\nHigh Adventure<\/i> is brimming with energy and vitality. From
\nthe opening heavy metal-like intro to “Don’t Fight It,” a duet with
\nJourney’s Steve Perry that was a minor hit, to the exotic new-wave
\ninfluenced synthesizers of “It Must Be Imagination,” this album has
\n1982 written all over it.<\/p>\n
And as can be expected from an early ’80s pop album, the hits
\nwere all classics. “Don’t Fight It” is an exciting romp featuring,
\nas previously mentioned, some blistering guitar work and both
\nLoggins and Perry screeching their hearts out like there was no
\ntomorrow. “Welcome To Heartlight” (not to be confused with Neil
\nDiamond’s theme from
\nE.T.<\/i> which was a hit around the same time) features a
\ncampfire-like verse leading unexpectedly into more blistering
\nguitar work in the chorus. A children’s choir rounds out the final
\nrefrain – campy, indeed.<\/p>\n
But the most classy of the classics was undoubtedly “Heart To
\nHeart,” one of the great singles of the ’80s that has mysteriously
\nbeen lost to time. The jazz-pop influences of Loggins’ many
\ncollaborations with the Doobie Brothers’ Michael McDonald (more on
\nthat later) are quite apparent here, in fact you can even hear
\nMcDonald singing backup, but unlike most of Loggins’ lame attempts
\nat a musical sequel to “What A Fool Believes” (a song he and
\nMcDonald co-wrote and both recorded, but McDonald ended up with the
\nversion that became a platinum-selling single, whereas Loggins’
\nversion most definitely did not), this one actually stands on its
\nown as a terrific song, pop perfectionism at its finest, not a note
\nwasted as it meanders through its seamless sections of
\nstructure.<\/p>\n
As for the rest of the album, it is the other McDonald
\ncollaboration, “I Gotta Try,” that stands out. Again, McDonald’s
\nversion was the hit, but in this case Loggins’ version is the
\nsuperior one, as he sings it with so much enthusiasm that you
\nalmost forget how stale the subject matter is (whoop-de-doo,
\nanother song about believing in yourself\u2026) And like “Heart
\nTo Heart,” this is a fun song to play on the piano, too. “If That’s
\nNot What You’re Looking For” is the other monster cut, fat ’80s
\nsynthesizers, dense, multi-tracked vocals, and yet more blistering
\nguitar work all rolled into one fun-filled package. Todd Rundgren
\nwould be proud.<\/p>\n
But as much as the upbeat songs had improved from their
\ncounterparts on Loggins’ late ’70s records like
\nNightwatch<\/i> and
\nKeep The Fire<\/i>, Loggins had simultaneously lost his ability
\nto write a good ballad. “It Must Be Imagination” is kind of Duran
\nDuran lite, if such a thing is possible, all effects, but very
\nrepetitive and little of lasting substance. “Only A Miracle,” an
\node to his newborn son, may have an applaudable subject for a song,
\nbut it doesn’t take from its extreme sappiness. And “The More We
\nTry,” on which Loggins apparently had forgotten how to sing above a
\nwhisper or write more than one verse, is also way, way too drenched
\nin synthesized strings for its own good. The sweeping, soulful
\ntextures of the slow songs on his earlier records like “Set Me
\nFree,” “Who’s Right, Who’s Wrong,” or even the duet with Stevie
\nNicks “Whenever I Call You Friend,” are nowhere to be seen on
\nHigh Adventure<\/i>, and they are sorely missed.<\/p>\n
All in all, it’s mostly a wash, and whether
\nHigh Adventure<\/i> is a better or worse record than other
\nLoggins records depends entirely on what mood you’re in. This is an
\neasy album to like, full of ear candy, and if you have the vinyl
\nversion, the slow songs are conveniently at the end of each side
\nfor easy skipping. And although much of it hasn’t aged as nicely as
\none might hope, as a period piece or simply something to play air
\nguitar or drums to, it’s hard to beat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":25841,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[6580],"rating":[5615],"class_list":["post-37047","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-kenny-loggins","rating-rating-b"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/37047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37047"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/37047\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37047"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=37047"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=37047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}