A reinvented
Kenny Loggins
cuts close
to the bone
Artists like Madonna seek to create trends. Others spend much of their time chasing trends -- all those pop artists who went "disco" in the '70s, for example. Kenny Loggins is none of the above, nor does he worry about speaking to "the kids" or any other commercial demographic.
"I have no desire to keep anyone in particular in tune with what I'm doing," Loggins said as he finally got to enjoy a hot steak smothered in onions at Longhi's last Monday. "I think the nature of the business is that it's evolved to a get-rich-quick business, and so you see a lot of formula writing. You see a lot of stuff where whatever sold last week is what we're going to hear for the next year. (But) I have to write for me."
"Emme's Island Moments"with Kenny Loggins
airs at 7 p.m. Wednesday on KGMB/CBS,
repeating at 3:30 p.m. Sunday
He'd just finished posing for photos and signing autographs for the sponsors and invited guests who attended the taping of "Emme's Island Moments" at the airy restaurant. The highlight of his miniconcert had been an impromptu rendition of "Your Mama Don't Dance," the biggest hit from his Loggins & Messina days, which he performed with musical support from the Makaha Sons and Nathan Aweau, Emme Tomimbang and John Browning.
"What I want to do is touch as many hearts as possible. I want to make people feel something for a moment and to have a song that matters to them. What applies to me in my life might apply to you. I have to trust that it will. Otherwise, I won't sell any records."
Loggins looked tired but happy as he spoke of his impressive new album, "It's About Time," which was released last month and marks the beginning of a new chapter in his career.
It may also be Loggins' most important album since "Celebrate Me Home" launched him as a solo artist in 1977, after five years with Jim Messina as Loggins & Messina. It's the first Loggins album in more than 30 years for a label other than Columbia Records, and Loggins fans will certainly embrace it even as they wonder how the "suits" at Columbia could have been so obtuse as to let him go.
Loggins says that he can't write formula by-the-numbers songs, and feels lucky that he broke into the record business at a time when introspective lyrics were what the labels were seeking. "What I've discovered is that when I write something that really matters to me in my life, I'm writing about your life, because we're all basically sharing the same issues -- we're assessing why we do what we do."
Loggins was forced to assess himself when Columbia, the label of Loggins & Messina and of his solo career, opted to end the long-standing contractual relationship. It was the first time in more than 25 years that Loggins had not had a deal with a major label.
Loggins realized he couldn't go out as an oldies act living off the legacy of Loggins & Messina and songs such as "Footloose" and "Forever." He became so depressed that he considered retiring from the business. A chance comment by his son changed his mind.
"When Luke said to me, 'If Daddy stops singing, he'll die,' I began to realize that this is about my well-being, this is about who I am in my life. I have to do this because it makes me feel good, and when I feel good then I'm a better husband and better father, and I feel better as a person. ... I have to go to the gym, I have to eat good food and I have to keep creative. If I let the creativity atrophy, it's like a betrayal to myself."
Loggins formed his own label, All the Best, to issue "It's About Time."
The reason for his depression was that he judged himself based on his record sales, Loggins said.
"If my sales and popularity drop, then my self-esteem drops, too. (But) you can't see the world that way. What I have to do is write the things that matter to me and trust that the people who resonate to that will come along for the ride. So I don't care whether 'the young people' get it. Some will, some won't. I'm not really writing for young people. A song like 'It's About Time' is a life-experience song, 'Leap of Faith' was a life-experience song, and it helps if you've lived a little to get what I'm talking about."
"Leap of Faith" included a song titled "The Real Thing" in which a father tries to explain to his children why he's not going to be living with them anymore ("It was a very difficult song to write," said Loggins, whose first marriage ended in divorce). His new release includes "The One That Got Away," expressing the pain a parent feels when a child reacts badly to a divorce.
"I saw that I had a obligation to write a song that may be perceived as the other side (of 'The Real Thing') but which is really a step forward. ... Again, it's an example of a song cutting right to the bone (and being) incredibly personal and changing lives. Parents have been showing children that song and saying, 'This is what I wanted to say to you,' and children have told me that they wish they could talk about that with their parents," Loggins said.
In retrospect, Loggins says, one of the things that made the ending of his affiliation with Columbia so devastating was that success had come relatively early for him.
"I've been incredibly lucky. I've been successful since I was 21, but the problem is when you're 21 you're still developing a sense of yourself, and that sense of self was intertwined with my success.
"When I started to see my success diminishing, my sense of self went with it, and I saw that the reason I wanted to retire was because I felt unwanted and unneeded in the business."
He was no longer making music for himself, but for the applause, he said, which is typical of many artists.
"They don't consciously realize that that's not a good enough reason, and maybe that's what separates artists from pop stars."
"When I was a young man, my motivation was to get famous, to get rich and to get laid. Once all those things happened, where's my motivation? The money comes and goes, the fame comes and goes. Luckily I have landed in a wonderful marriage of 13 years, so I'm still getting laid -- but I know a number of pop stars who aren't."
Loggins' motivation now is getting his new music heard. He'll be on the road for most of the next two months, calling in favors and doing all the interviews, guest spots and concert dates he can schedule (he returns to Hawaii for a New Year's Eve show at the Hilton Hawaiian Village; tickets go on sale Dec. 16). Not only has Loggins put a lot of his own money into the new album, but his manager has, too.
"I don't know of a manager who would put his own money into a project. That in itself is an act of faith that I feel obligated now to return by doing interviews and television shows, and to tour out there and let people know (about the album)," Loggins said.
"The hardest part of being a legacy artist with a self-released album is letting the audience know that the album exists. I think I'm writing valid stuff. If I can get it heard, there'll be people out there that will agree with it."
To learn more about Kenny Loggins or to order his album, visit www.kennyloggins.com or www.allthebestmusic.com.
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"It's About Time"
Kenny Loggins
(All The Best! 0001-2)
New album deserves platinum
Powerful, passionate, expressive. Kenny Loggins' new album is all that and more. The music is a broad and richly textured musical tapestry that addresses the highs and lows of life when viewed from the vantage point of hard-earned experience. The music is a rich and diverse tapestry that reflects all the genres Loggins has explored as an artist. His lyrics are as personal and introspective as ever, and in some places pick up where his 1991 album, "Leap of Faith," left off.
"The One That Got Away," co-written by Richard Marx, is Loggins' very personal expression of the pain a parent feels when a child makes him the "bad guy" in a divorce. "I Miss Us," also co-written by Marx, is more enigmatic and will resonate almost as strongly with those mourning a lost love as with those simply be too busy to share as much time as they'd like. Several other songs speak exuberantly of finding that perfect relationship and loving all the facets of it.
The title track, co-written with Michael McDonald, speaks of Loggins' escape from depression and the start of his new life after Columbia Records and tells the story with a crisp gospel-funk vibe. The line, "the gates of hell are locked from the inside," offers many listeners a great credo to live by (people who appreciate good lyrics will find them included in the annotation).
Loggins also kicks it with a mix of rock, funk and world music ingredients on "The Undeniable Groove."
"Alive 'N' Kickin'," co-written with Clint Black, adds country-rock to the collection as Loggins recalls his days as a teenage hopeful, and makes some oblique comments about the business these days, before closing with the flat-out statement that 30 years later he is still alive and kicking.
Loggins may not go platinum with "It's About Time," but he certainly should.
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