Customer Reviews

Best Of Friends

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Every song on this disc is memorable, such great songwriting. They also are great singers. If you would like an introduction to Loggins and Messina, here's the perfect place. "Peace of Mind" is a beautiful song and one of my favorites. P.S. Get the original album for "Angry Eyes" if you've never heard the entire song, you are really missing out. This is an unforgettable jam.

Loggins and Messina were one of the greatest pop duos of the early-mid seventies. These two guys knew how to rock and roll, so it's no surprise that the guys released a hits compilation before disbanding. This one, simply entitled Greatest Hits, came first. Read on for my review of it.

PROS:
-If you're a casual fan of the band, or you're just seeking an introduction to their music, this is a good place to start. Big hits like Your Mana Don't Dance, Danny's Song, and Thinking of You are all here for your listening pleasure.
-In addition to the hits, there are many underrated tunes present on this compilation. Like with any band, there is way more to these guys than just their hits.
-It's an affordable, single-disc compilation.
-Many stores carry this compilation, so you shouldn't have too difficult a time tracking down a copy.

CONS:
-ANGRY EYES HAS BEEN EDITED! The original version of the song was twice as long and featured a lengthy instrumental portion, bu some idiot at the record company was obviously more concerned with ripping people off.
-The compilation doesn't fill the compact disc to the maximum eighty minute limit. There are only ten tracks, and they could easily have fit another ten tracks on here.
-Record companies have this really bad habit of porting a band's old hits compilation to CD with no changes or bonus tracks whatsoever. When they transferred this compilation to CD, they should have added a hell of a lot of bonus tracks to make it worth buying - but no. They left it as it was, which was a very stupid move in my book.
-The songs aren't in original release order. Why do hits compilations due this to the consumers?

OVERALL:
Overall, I feel that Loggins and Messina were a great pop-rock duo, but this compilation just doesn't do them justice. The record company should release a set that has all of their albums together - THAT would be much better than a flawed retrospective such as this one. The guys didn't release a whole lot of albums, so whether you're a casual fan or die-hard, I recommend buying all of their albums.

...when they cut out the instrumental portion of "Angry Eyes"? I was furious when I discovered that fact after buying the CD ( I got it before reading the reviews here). Yeah, yeah, some of their other nuggets like "Vahevala" are here, but messing up "Angry Eyes" totally tripped me out. Save your money unless you have no use for "Angry Eyes" but if you ask me (well, you didn't, but I'll say it anyway), that's the magnum opus of this band.

The "Best of Friends" contains only ten tracks, and less than fourty minutes of music. That would be acceptable, except for the fact that "Angry Eyes", one of Loggins and Messina's biggest hits, has been chopped from six minutes, to 2:23. Initially, this collection may have been released on vinyl, which would explain the shortened version, but there's plenty of room on the CD for the complete version, with room to spare for more tunes! So,where's the rest of it? This is a "Greatest Hits" collection, isn't it?
My humble opinion? It's unfortunate that Columbia released this "short" CD, although some may think I'm nitpicking. If you never cared for the instrumental in "Angry Eyes", and you enjoy Loggins and Messina, you'll enjoy this CD. However, if you remember "Angry Eyes" in the spirit of which it was intended... Save your money!

At only ten tracks, this contains most, but not all, of Loggins & Messina's best work. "Angry Eyes" expresses how I felt when my friends rejected my activity ideas, and "Be Free" less harshly describes those same emotions for me. On the other hand, I always found "Your Mama Don't Dance" to be an insult to my intelligence.
And where's "Changes?"

For three generations their laughing faces on this cd have been looking out at us from the record store racks: Furball Kenny Loggins in that hideous velour sweater, and denim semi-clad Jim Messina looking like he just let off a terrific sneeze. They've been there for three generations because this very slender collection of L&M favorites is a good an early Seventies music milepost as there is. Male listeners of a certain age may have dismissed this as girly music from their big sister's record collection, but it's time to give another listen. It's enough to make you take the much-derided singer/songwriter era seriously again.

At only ten tracks, it's not quite right to talk about "highlights". But my favorites include the wonderful nautical fantasy "Vahevala", Messina's arts-&-crafts fair acoustic confection "Be Free", and Loggins' two childhood meditations, "Danny's Song" and "House at Pooh Corner." I never could stand "Your Mama Don't Dance", but it was a huge enough hit to demand inclusion.

An excellent bit of judgment here is to delete the long instrumental section of "Angry Eyes", and present a simple A-A-B-A version. It is a good tune, but it is at heart an AM radio pop song, and should never have been inflated to "Low Spark of High Heel Boys" dimensions in the first place.

Too short? Maybe, for many fans. But most fans will agree that there's not a wasted bar of music in this collection. See? Your big sister had good taste after all!

This is nice introduction to Loggins and Messina, but it is far too skimpy to purchase. I find no Loggins and Messina album truly excellent, but I do believe that the duo produced 15-18, even 20 songs that should be on a single disc Best of CD. 'Listen to a Country Song' from the first LP is but one song that should be added to this meagre 10 song CD. Certainly another song or two from Mother Lode belongs. In addition, the full length album cuts should be used rather than the shortened vinyl singles edits.

This is nice introduction to Loggins and Messina, but it is far too skimpy to purchase. I find no Loggins and Messina album truly excellent, but I do believe that the duo produced 15-18, even 20 songs that should be on a single disc Best of CD. 'Listen to a Country Song' from the first LP is but one song that should be added to this meagre 10 song CD. Certainly another song or two from Mother Lode belongs. In addition, the full length album cuts should be used rather than the shortened vinyl singles edits.

When I bought a vinyl copy of "Sittin' In" back in 1972, I did it mostly because of Messina's name being on the album. He was, after all, a founding member of one of my favorite bands of all time--Poco. I knew Kenny Loggins only as a songwriter from the Dirt Band's "Uncle Charlie Album," which included four of his songs. [One of them, "House at Pooh Corner," is included here from L&M's debut.] I was expecting a more country-rock sound considering their connection to that particular genre, but other than "Listen to a Country Song" from their debut, this is primarily a pop act. So once I accepted that, I recognized the duo for the excellent pop craftsmen they were.

I still enjoy their uptempo numbers best ("Your Mama Don't Dance," "My Music"), but Loggins wrote some lovely ballads also ("Danny's Song")as did Messina ("Be Free"). My only complaint is that with a running time of under 40 minutes, this 1976 release is long overdue for a CD update. The length could easily be doubled to include tracks from either of their live albums, something from "Native Sons," (which came out the same year as this "best of" and so as to not hurt sales, didn't get represented here), include minor hits like "Nobody But You" and also include album versions of songs rather than single edits. Until Columbia decides to expand this anthology, you should also consider their first two albums (which contains six of the 10 songs here). This is infectious music. RECOMMENDED

There are several great songs here. The flaws with this CD are (1) there are only 10 songs on the CD, (2) the total length is less than 39 minutes, and (3) most of the great song "Angry Eyes" is chopped out, cutting it down to only 2:23. With nearly 40 minutes of unused space on the CD, why not include the entire song (and some bonus tracks).