Keep the Fire

Last updated
Keep the Fire
Keep the Fire.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 28, 1979
Recorded1979
StudioFilmways/Wally Heider Recording, Hollywood, California; Santa Barbara Sound Recording, Santa Barbara, California
Genre Soft rock, jazz, pop
Length40:48
Label Columbia
Producer Tom Dowd
Kenny Loggins chronology
Nightwatch
(1978)
Keep the Fire
(1979)
Caddyshack: Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack
(1980)

Keep the Fire is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins, released in 1979. [1] It is perhaps best known for the hit single "This is It". The song was co-written by Michael McDonald, who also performed on the track. Michael Jackson sings backup vocals on the track "Who's Right, Who's Wrong".

Contents

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Christgau's Record Guide C+ [2]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Record Collector Star full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [4]
Record Mirror Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [5]

Rolling Stone described the album as "the new sound of Southern California: a sophisticated, diffuse, jazz-inflected pop rock performed by an augmented rock band in which guitar and keyboards share equal prominence" and "churning romantic atmosphere constructed around a matinee idol's voice". [6] The Globe and Mail noted that, "occasionally, he stumbles into some of the good-time hokey rockin' fun that made such Loggins and Messina numbers as 'Your Mama Can't Dance' so nauseating." [7]

Film

The award-winning short film "Keep the Fire", by Jake Rice, is a fictionalized "Behind the Album Cover" story. [8]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)GuestLength
1."Love Has Come of Age" Kenny Loggins  3:51
2."Mr. Night"Loggins, Richard Stekol 3:20
3."This Is It"Loggins, Michael McDonald McDonald: backing vocals3:57
4."Junkanoo Holiday (Fallin'-Flyin')"Loggins 4:30
5."Now and Then"Jeff Bouchard, Loggins 3:52
6."Who's Right, Who's Wrong"Loggins, Richard Page Michael Jackson, Richard Page: backing vocals5:38
7."Keep the Fire"Eva Ein, Loggins 4:34
8."Give It Half a Chance" Stephen Bishop, Loggins 4:57
9."Will It Last"Ein, Loggins 5:50

Personnel

Production

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1979–80)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [9] 95
US Top LPs & Tape (Billboard)16

Year-end charts

Chart (1980)Peak
position
US Billboard Top Albums[ citation needed ]16

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loggins and Messina</span> American music duo

Loggins and Messina was an American pop rock duo consisting of Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina, who achieved major chart success during the 1970s. Among their well-known songs are "Danny's Song", "House at Pooh Corner", and "Your Mama Don't Dance". After selling more than 16 million records and becoming one of the leading musical duos of the 1970s, Loggins and Messina separated in 1976. Although Messina would find only limited popularity following the breakup, Loggins went on to achieve major chart success in the 1980s. In 2005 and again in 2009, Loggins and Messina reformed for tours in the United States.

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Mother Lode is the fourth studio album by singer-songwriter duo Loggins and Messina, released in late 1974. It was their final album with their original backing band, because multireedist and violinist Al Garth would soon leave the band, but multireedist Jon Clarke, bassist Larry Sims and drummer Merel Bregante remained, and saxophonist Don Roberts made his debut on this record. Future Toto keyboardist David Paich plays keyboards on this album while percussionist Milt Holland is augmented by Victor Feldman and the album was recorded on location at Jim Messina's California ranch. The Jim Messina composition "Keep Me in Mind" was sung by bassist Sims, whom Messina praised for having a phenomenal voice in a 2009 interview with Loggins for KCTS-TV.

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<i>Finale</i> (album) 1977 live album by Loggins and Messina

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<i>The Best of Loggins & Messina</i> 1980 greatest hits album by Loggins and Messina

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<i>The Best: Sittin in Again</i> 2005 greatest hits album by Loggins and Messina

The Best: Sittin' In Again is the 10th release by singer-songwriter duo Loggins and Messina, a compilation album released in mid-2005. This release was timed to preview the duo's subsequent reunion tour. It contains most of their hits and provides a retrospective view of their music from 1971 to 1974. The 18 tracks appearing on the collection were personally selected by Loggins and Messina. Six of the tracks are from their debut album Sittin' In, six are from their 2nd release Loggins and Messina, four are off the 3rd album Full Sail, and two are featured on their 4th LP Mother Lode. No tracks from either of their last two studio albums are included.

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References

  1. 1 2 Keep the Fire at AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-06-17.
  2. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: L". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies . Ticknor & Fields. ISBN   089919026X . Retrieved March 1, 2019 via robertchristgau.com.
  3. MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1996. p. 417.
  4. Pinfold, William (September 2012). "Kenny Loggins-Keep the Fire". Record Collector. No. 405. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  5. Sexton, Paul (16 February 1980). "Kenny Loggins: Keep The Fire / Jimmy Messina: Oasis". Record Mirror . p. 17.
  6. Holden, Stephen (February 7, 1980). "Album reviews: Keep the Fire". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 30, 2007. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
  7. Niester, Alan (29 Dec 1979). "Keep the Fire Kenny Loggins". The Globe and Mail. p. F4.
  8. Rice, Jake. Keep the Fire (A/V stream). Retrieved June 28, 2013.
  9. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 179. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.