Today's Over/Under is 8
So...did we start a DEI initiative for Page 3?
I suppose Kenny Loggins is a worthy choice. My first rock concert was Loggins & Messina, in 1974.
I saw them in '74 as well and Kenny last summer.
I've always been a fan of his, and his "Keep the Fire" and "High Adventure" albums are among my all-time favorite albums. After that he, like Dan Fogelberg, fell into the aging Boomer songwriter rut. It's a distinct phenomenon - they start writing songs about issues they care about enough to go to expensive fundraiser hob-knobs in Los Angeles, but not to actually participate in. I applaud them for the effort, but it produces really boring music. Music for wine-tasting.
There's nothing wrong with that either. I like to play at wine tasting events. Got one planned now. It just doesn't produce interesting music. When you've written something with the unashamed elation of "Don't Fight It," or the goofball funk of "Mr. Night", well, "Hope for the Runaway" is a real disappointment. And one children's album is a passion project. Two is maximizing commercial potential. Three means you have some secret wish to be Pee Wee Herman or Captain Kangaroo.
Lyrically, this might be the best Kenny Loggins ever wrote:
"I've always said that I believe anything can happen
But lately I've been wonderin' if that's really true
For a boy, time can be a lovely dance
Suddenly the music can fade
And leave the man alone and dreamless
Till he only sees that he's used up all his chances after all
Till now, only a miracle could do to save the man I'd turned into
Won't somebody let me know...where's my miracle?
Love, it always sang so easy
But just like a child who plays with imaginary friends
I could see the face of someone I believe only in the words of a song
Then she came along and got me dreamin'
That's when you began
And when I held you, I held a miracle in my hands
Till now, only a miracle could do
I found the boy I was, in you
You've come to let me know
There are miracles
And now, only a miracle could do
What I have finally found in you
And I've got to let you know
I believe miracles can happen in the end"
That's some killer songwriting right there.