I saw them live and they put on a good show.
Jim Messina quit Poco to become an independent producer, and because he was tired of touring. That didn't last long when he was hired to produce Kenny Loggins' first solo record. To offset Loggins' penchant for soft folk, Messina wrote, arranged and sang so much of the record that it became Kenny Loggins with Jim Messina Sittin' In 1971. The follow-up was titled Loggins And Messina 1972, and included their biggest single the #4 hit Your Mama Don't Dance, and that was followed by Full Sail in 1973. I used to own all of their five original studio LPs, but those first three were purged from the stacks many moons ago. Loggins' syrupy ballads and Messina's light pop/rock just didn't hold up twenty or more years later.
Recently I realized that their last two studio records were still in my collection, and I got them out to listen to them and see if they were indeed still worth having.
The band included Messina on guitar and mandolin, Loggins on rhythm guitar, Larry Sims bass, Merle Brigante drums and percussion, Al Garth on violin and sax, and Jon Clarke on flute, saxes and horn. Their albums always included additional percussion and keyboards (Michael Omartin on the first three). If that doesn't sound like the line-up for a country band, you would be entirely correct. In fact, when they extended songs with lengthy instrumental breaks, they made some of their best moments.
Interestingly, Mother Lode 1974 was their highest charting album at #8. That seems right to me, as I feel it was their best record overall, even though the solid chart showing probably had more to do with the strong showing of their previous two releases. The record opens with Loggins' Growin', a snappy pop number that only got to #52 on the singles charts. Be Free is a strong pop number from Messina that features a lengthy instrumental section featuring flute, mandolin, violin and oboe. Changes is a syncopated rocker that shows off keys by David Paich (later of Toto fame). Brighter Days, a pretty Loggins ballad, and the jazzy rock of Time To Space round out side one.
Lately My Love is a mid-tempo rocker that features tasty lead guitar from Messina. Move On has another extended instrumental section that shows off some fine sax and more guitar. Get A Hold again features Messina's guitar, this time with chicken-pickin' wah wah style. Keep Me In Mind is a nice ballad sung by bass player Simms with another solid arrangement. Loggins' ballad Fever Dream rounds out the record with a good sax that almost saves it. With at least seven out of ten really strong tracks, it's a keeper.
Native Sons 1976, their swansong, comes sort of close to the quality of Mother Lode, but not quite. For this one, they added two more sax players, and Sanford and Townsend on back-up vocals and songwriting on two songs. But some of the songs are just not up to snuff. Both Loggins (My Lady, My Love) and Messina (Pretty Princess and When I Was A Child) toss out some too-sweet treacle, and Messina writes a good tune with insipid lyrics on It's Alright. Boogie Man is too lightweight, although the piano on the break is nice. The record is saved by Wasting Our Time, a solid pop tune from Loggins and John Townsend, Peacemaker, a political pop song with nice violin, sax and vibes, Fox Fire, the only song on the record featuring a sweet Messina lead guitar, and the opener Sweet Marie. So about half of it is good.
Messina went on to record quite a few mostly neglected solo albums, some of which featured his love of Latin music, and Loggins had a moderately successful solo career that benefited from a number of hits on movie soundtracks, including Footloose (the #1 title track, which he wrote) and Danger Zone (#2 on the singles charts) from Top Gun. They reformed for successful tours in 2005 and 2009, and hopefully they made a big wad of dough. Mother Lode might be a surprisingly fun find in a used record store.
