"Whenever I Call You 'Friend'", from his Nightwatch album, features Stevie Nicks on harmony vocals and was a US Top Ten hit. It starts slow, but from the refrain, the tempo bursts into a classic disco beat. There's also a nice sax solo in the middle. This song was co-written with Melissa Manchester.

The jaunty mid-tempo piano number "Heart To Heart" has a 70's R&B feel to it. This features Michael McDonald on the Rhodes piano, and on backing vocals, Richard Page and Steve George, who would later fly on their broken wings to form Mr. Mister.

Loggins made his heyday in the 1980's by being "Mr. Soundtrack," most of them which hit the Top Ten. That started with "I'm Alright" from Caddyshack, whose fun stomping tone set the pace for the movie and finally yielded a tune obviously bogus gophers could shake to. Then there's the thumping drums and surf guitar of "Footloose" which topped the US charts, and the sizzling and roaring rock guitar and a sound and lyrics that mirrored the aura of zipping in the sky at who-knows-how-many-miles-an-hour of Top Gun's "Danger Zone." Those latter two were two songs I associated with Kenny Loggins.

The next soundtrack song I remember well is his ballad "Meet Me Halfway" from the Over The Top soundtrack, also on his Avalon album. Like "Danger Zone," the music was written by Giorgio Moroder. Unfortunately, "Nobody's Fool" from Caddyshack II and also on Avalon, is not included here.

The most heartmelting tune here is "Return To Pooh Corner", the sequel to his song "House At Pooh Corner" which the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band covered. A nostalgic return to a childhood long gone, symbolized by the house on Pooh Corner, with "so much to be done/count all the bees in the hive/chase all the clouds from the sky" Amy Grant provides guest vocals and Mr. Mister's keyboardist Steve George is the backing vocalist.

The highly energetic "Don't Fight It," a duet with Steve Perry, like "Heart To Heart" is taken from 1982's High Adventure, and ushers in Loggins' rock era before "Danger Zone." It's a combination 70's rocker with a Journey sound in the choruses. That's Neil Gerardo, Pat Benatar's producer and husband on lead rhythm guitar.

The ballad "Forever" was another song I remember during my 80's days, from the Vox Humana album, and it has a characteristic guitar snarl that takes it to power ballad territory in the chorus, courtesy of Toto's Steve Lukather.

The introspection and deeper feelings Loggins began on "Return To Pooh Corner" continued on two songs from Leap Of Faith. One of them was the environmental movement anthem "Conviction Of The Heart" which he performed on Earth Day 95 at the Mall in D.C. The other is "The Real Thing" for his daughter's christening.

"For The First Time" saw Loggins returning to soundtrack music, providing a ballad laden with string arrangements for One Fine Day starring George Clooney and Michelle Pfeiffer.

The title track from his solo debut, "Celebrate Me Home" is a laid-back piano ballad that eventually became a Christmas song of sorts.

A worthy collection that takes all shades of Loggins, hit soundtrack songs, ballads, more personal and introspective songs, and that wished for return to Pooh Corner.


One of the best ever   May 16, 2000
 21 out of 22 found this review helpful

This is one of the best Greatest Hits albums ever, or so I thought at first. It has just about all of Kenny Loggins's best songs. It has everything from 80's pop sensations such as "This Is It" to some of the best soundtrack songs of all in "Footloose" and "Danger Zone." It covers his hits all the way up to the underrated and underplayed "Conviction of The Heart." It also has 2 great duos in "Whenever I Call You Friend" and "Don't Fight It." It's hard to believe that the duo with Steve Perry wasn't a bigger hit than it was. Even the new song is good. Not to mention that a good remake of "For The First Time" has been included.

For years this has been one of my most played compilations, and it's still played very frequently in my car and home. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately in another sense), I've since been reintroduced to two GREAT Kenny Loggins songs that for some impossible to understand reason, were not included on this otherwise excellent collection of hits. Those two songs are "Nobody's Fool" and "I'm Free." Why not!?? "Nobody's Fool" in particular is endlessly catchy and it was even a #8 hit. Granted, it gets next to no airplay these days and didn't 10 years ago when this album was released, but that's no excuse to leave it off. Oh, forgot one, "Danny's Song." It's a classic crossover hit that is still heard frequently on both classic rock and country stations all around the country.

No matter what, though, Kenny Loggins was and is one of the best artists of the 80's and 90's and this is a great starting point for anyone looking to collect his best stuff. If you like 80's rock or Kenny Loggins's music, you got to have this album, this is a fully recommended purchase.

Amazon still hasn't made it where when you update your reviews you can change your rating, so I'll put it here: 4 stars out of 5.


Loggins' Versatility Shows "Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow."   January 5, 2001
 16 out of 16 found this review helpful

Kenny Loggins hardly seemed a logical choice to retain, let alone grow, his success as the 70s ended. Like Phil Collins, another superstar of the new decade, Loggins was best known for work with a group (Loggins and Messina) with a clearly identifiable, well-regarded image and sound hard to break from.

What impresses you most, then, about "Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow" is Loggins' versatility. He wrote elegant jazz-flavored pop like "Whenever I Call You Friend" (with Melissa Manchester) and the gorgeous holiday ballad "Celebrate Me Home" (his first solo hits, produced by smooth jazzman Bob James). He wrote sweeping pop-gospel ballads like "This Is It," (with Michael McDonald), "Heart To Heart," and the ecological anthem, "Conviction Of The Heart." He could write intimate children's songs like the update of "House On Pooh Corner," or New Age-flavored love songs like "The Rest Of Your Life."

But then, again like Collins, Loggins was every bit the mercernary with his successful 80s movie songs, many produced with disco's Georgio Moroder. "I'm Alright," 1984's #1 "Footloose," 1986's "Danger Zone" and "Meet Me Half Way" epitomise an 80s rock style with slamming, near-rockabilly drums (from Tris Imboden, who later joined another 70s-into-80s hitmaker, Chicago), synthesized bass and steely guitars far from Loggins & Messina's laid-back sound. (Loggins, eloquent in his liner notes for each song, offers none for these.) Loggins' duet with Journey's Steve Perry, "Don't Fight It," ironically sounds loosest and most fun among the rockers here yet charted lowest.

A Loggins renaissance seems well-timed. Not only has he reached to longtime fans with children's and holiday albums and a book about his marriage (not to mention his support of solar power), but has had his movie songs revived on stage and in the new 80s music formats. (Again, Collins took a similar path to the AC audience with the "Tarzan" soundtrack). Thus, "Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow," despite omitting some hits ("Nobody's Fool," "I'm Free," "What A Fool Believes," "Vox Humana" )remains the first and best stop for casual fans of Loggins 25-year solo career and/or 80s pop generally. Recommended.


A homecoming worthy of celebration   March 7, 1999
 8 out of 9 found this review helpful

Five star reviews come fast and furious in this venue for earnest music lovers who want to tout their favorite artists, but here's a release that has spent over 20 years earning its high marks. Most artists would be happy to have any three of the blockbusters that appear on this collection to define their music career. But Kenny Loggins just keeps pouring them on one after another. Appropriately, he floods the front end of this venture with his best selling and most recognizable hits, jumping from classic vocal pairings with the likes of Michael McDonald (This Is It) and Stevie Nicks (Whenever I Call You "Friend") to full-throttle movie soundtrack cuts that defined and carried the films for which they were recorded (Danger Zone for Top Gun and Footloose for the film of the same name). We are gradually weaned from the adrenaline rush of these familiar heart pumpers with tunes that are more personal and reflective in nature. Though I don't often go for remakes of old standards, the updated version of House At Pooh Corner with additional lyrics turns into quite a remarkable revelation. And I've been looking for years to find that goofy Caddyshack theme of I'm Alright on SOMETHING. Thanks for everything, Kenny, including the promise of tomorrow.


Greatest Hits of Kenny Loggins   August 30, 2000
 5 out of 6 found this review helpful

Few best-hits albums are worth the long wait. Kenny Loggins is perhaps one exception. This greatest hit album witnesses some of the best songs of Loggins since the 1980s. Featuring "Heart to Heart", "Danger Zone", "Footloose", "This Is It", "Whenever I Call You Friend" and more, talents of this contemporary easy-listening artist are thoroughly showcased and honored. The CD also includes the theme from motion picture "One Fine Day" - "For the First Time", which will sure melt your heart. A must-have!