Native Sons

The song Native Son is still one of my favorites after 30+ years....still love the sax solo .....one of their absolute best.

Despite the "Old West" theme cover of this album, Loggins & Messina's collection here seems to span several era. "Sweet Marie" could have come from the 1950's, "Pretty Princess" could easily be from a Victorian age, "My Lady, My Love" touches any generation of love and dancing. Perhaps the most moving song on this album is "When I Was a Child" -- a father and son coming of age story that rivals Harry Chapin's "Cats In The Cradle" for emotional impact (Jimmy does a beautiful job singing this one). Kenny shines on "Peacemaker." And if you want to hear how ageless some songs can be, listen to "It's Alright" ... a pot-shot at marketing, our dependency on oil ("The Arabs sell us our petroleum jelly, a little dab at a time ...") and more. And "Native Son" seems to fit that album cover photo, you can hear them singing it by the camp fire.

This album represented an advancement of the trademark L&M arrangements, sound and feel in response to the changing technologies present in the mid-1970s (the album's liner notes reference the use of ARP 2600 analog synthesizers, considered state-of-the-art for the time.) All of the vocal and musical performances are top-notch but sadly, underrated by mainstream Rock and Roll afficionados. The songs presented herein are beautiful melodies that retain their integrity despite having been recorded over 30 years ago. In short, this is an album well worth your time and gets better with continued listening!