Kenny Loggins Albums (16)
'Outside: From the Redwoods'
Release Date 2/1/2008
Tracks 13
Label Sbme Special MKTS.
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What The Critics Say
On his second live album, Kenny Loggins puts together a special show consisting of rearranged versions of old favorites like "What A Fool Believes" (complete with co-author Michael McDonald on vocals) and "Your Mama Don't Dance." It's Loggins' version of an "unplugged" performance (despite a substantial backup band), and as such, a turning away from the technology-happy days of albums like Back To Avalon (which, by the way, is forgotten in a catalog promotion in the CD booklet), without quite returning to the more homegrown quality of early albums like Celebrate Me Home. The real question in Loggins' career is what will happen with his next set of new material, but as a placeholder, this release should be welcomed by his fans, who may find even "Footloose" tolerable in a barrelhouse piano arrangement. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Disregard the self-styled epic title track, a seven-and-half-minute indulgence that may be a bid for artistic credibility yet leads nowhere and doesn't have much to do with what follows. Nightwatch is, by and large, a more focused affair than his first. Granted, his first holds a mood better, a slice of great late '70s soft rock, but this has more pep and hooks, from the sprightly "Easy Drive" to a cover of Billy Joe Royal's "Down in the Boondocks" or, especially, the warm Stevie Nicks duet "Whenever I Call You Friend," which brought Loggins his first solo hit. These signal that this rocks a bit harder than its predecessor, which is true -- while "Down 'N Dirty" may not be filthy, even with its harmonica, it does hit harder than anything on its predecessor (which, admittedly, is on a relative scale). This does wind up as one of his stronger records -- and it was his biggest hit -- but it also feels more like a collection of moments, moving from originals to covers and back again. Not necessarily a bad thing, since this is professional soft rock at its finest, but in comparison to the seductive Celebrate Me Home and the tour de force of High Adventure, Nightwatch pales slightly. (By the way, what led Loggins to credit himself as Ken Loggins throughout the album credits?) ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
It's About Time is about what you'd expect from a generic Kenny Loggins record: plenty of romantic and optimistic, feel-good songwriting; varied musical textures; and an almost determinedly mainstream adult contemporary rock sound. Some high-profile friends help out in the presence of Michael McDonald, Richard Marx, and Clint Black, all of whom co-write some of the tunes and also make occasional instrumental and vocal contributions. What this, his first studio record in about half a dozen years, lacks are memorable songs, or much of anything to distinguish it from much of what's played on the most commercial radio stations aiming for a middle-aged and middle-of-the-road demographic. Some of it's brassy and upbeat, as he pulls out the white-soul aspect of his vocals on numbers like "It's About Time" and "The Undeniable Groove," though the lyrics are sentimental in an "up with people" and "here's to life" sort of way. Soft rock and ballads are well-represented, however, in the likes of "The One That Got Away," "I Miss Us," and "No Other Voice," and country music asserts itself as an influence in the Loggins-Black collaboration "Alive 'N' Kickin'." ~ Jimmy James, All Music Guide
'Christmas Time Is Here'
Release Date 7/1/2001
Tracks 8
Label Sony Special Products
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'More Songs from Pooh Corner'
Release Date 2/8/2000
Tracks 11
Label Sony
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What The Critics Say
Kenny Loggins' More Songs From Pooh Corner builds on his success with Return to Pooh Corner, collecting a new batch of classic and contemporary children's songs. Loggins duets with Olivia Newton-John on "Flying Dreams" (from The Secret of NIMH) and performs Disney classics like "Beauty and the Beast," Dumbo's "Baby Mine," and "You'll Be in My Heart" from Tarzan. Babe: Pig in the City's "That'll Do," Hans Christian Andersen's "Inchworm," and "Hana Aluna," "Goodnight," and "Always, In All Ways" are among the other highlights of this charming collection of children's music, which will delight fans of Loggins' previous kids' albums and videos. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Kenny Loggins clearly has mixed feelings about Christmas. In his liner notes to December, his holiday album, he twice refers to it as "bitter-sweet," and that sense is carried over into his song choices and arrangements. He picks only three real standards, "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)," "White Christmas," and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," all ballads from the 1940s, adds a mixture of jazzy ("Christmas Time Is Here" from A Charlie Brown Christmas) and traditional ("Coventry Carol," sung with David Crosby and Graham Nash) material and some obscurities, and writes four new songs of his own. But in all cases, his approach is low-key and reflective, with slow tempos and restrained performances. While not specifically religious, he seems concerned with revealing "what Christmas really means," as he puts it in his own "The Bells of Christmas." The result is an unusually somber seasonal collection, perhaps more suited for the dead of winter than the run-up to the year's biggest celebration. Play this one just before you put the children to bed; it may calm them down. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
'The Unimaginable Life'
Release Date 7/8/1997
Tracks 14
Label Columbia
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What The Critics Say
Kenny Loggins, whose career began with "House at Pooh Corner," joins the flood of pop artists making children's albums and turns out to be a natural. At his best, Loggins always had a childlike quality, but his techno-pop albums of the late '80s buried that, along with his other virtues. On this gold-selling, Grammy-nominated record, Loggins mixes songs by Paul Simon, John Lennon, Rickie Lee Jones, and Jimmy Webb with more traditional children's fare. The result is probably most useful as lullaby material for children, but its secondary (perhaps primary) audience is those children's parents, disaffected Kenny Loggins fans likely to be won back by this winning album that may, in fact, be the best record Kenny Loggins has ever made. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Kenny Loggins seems to have thought long and hard during the three years between Back To Avalon and this album, during which he underwent a divorce. The results can be heard on what is undoubtedly his most mature and heartfelt effort. He embraces environmental issues here, and tells his side of the unhappy marriage. He still isn't a cerebral sort, so the subject matter clashes somewhat with his typically simple expressions, but the effort helped him reconnect with his fans, who made this album something of a sleeper hit: although it was his lowest charting effort ever, it stayed in the charts longer than any album he'd made since the heyday of Loggins And Messina, and went gold. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
