On Time To Move, his debut Jive Records release, Crosby Loggins draws on a unique personal and musical history to forge a statement that places his intimate voice front and center.
After several years at the helm of his former band, Crosby Loggins and the Light, the songwriter opted for tighter editing and sharper focus on Time To Move. Its ten songs exude the warmth of mid-70s singer-songwriter LPs, retaining a comfortable, well-worn feel without seeming aggressively retro.
Growing up around musicians gave Loggins a sense of personal perspective while also shaping his tastes. The son of chart-topping artist Kenny Loggins, Crosby had early exposure to his father’s peers and friends, including Jackson Browne and Michael McDonald. “There were no direct mentorships,” he says, “but I learned as much from their personalities as I did from their talents."
And although the 28-year-old Loggins reveals plenty of modern tastes, ranging from the grunge-era rock of his formative years to present-day indie faves Feist and Wilco, Time To Move was designed with a nod to an earlier era. “It was a very conscious choice to work with a sonic palette of vintage tones - drums, bass, guitars and keyboards,” says Loggins. “I’ve always been more interested in old records, and always more attracted to organic sounds.”
To that end, Loggins chose to work with producer John Alagia (Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer) in seeking a more handmade sound that still avoided the potential traps of throwback purism. With a backing band that included Loggins’ longtime friend and collaborator, guitarist Jesse Siebenberg, veteran drummer Matt Chamberlain, and session wunderkinds bassist Sean Hurley and keyboardist Zach Gray, Loggins and Alagia sought something comparable to an updated version of The Section, which backed Seventies stars like Browne and James Taylor.
The basic tracks, cut in less than three days’ time, allowed plenty of room for Loggins' vocal melodies, the hallmark of Time To Move. "I recognized that I needed to get back to basics and focus on songs that would be more reproducible on an acoustic guitar without an ensemble,” Loggins says.
Time To Move emphasizes lyrical stories steeped in autobiography. “I’ve lived every moment on this record, in some way or other,” says Loggins, “although I still like to have fun with a song and write through characters.” The songs run the gamut from complicated relationships (“Seriously”) to optimistic ones (“Only One”), from frustration and self-doubt (“Good Enough”) to carefree cruising down a desert highway (“Radio Heart”). Fellow songwriter Brett Dennen served as his sounding board, editor and co-writer as Time To Move came together. “My writing was getting kind of complex at the time, and he really helped me to remember the power of a concise song that stays on topic,” says Loggins.
Time To Move derives much of its character from a variety of flourishes, including a guitar solo on the title track from John Mayer. “He popped in from a neighboring studio as we were working on the solo. We said, ‘Why don’t you take a pass at this one?’ He ended up taking five or six.” Elsewhere, Loggins’ longtime band mate Dennis Hamm delivers a barrelhouse piano solo on “You Want To Be With Me,” while “Radio Heart” incorporates a Farfisa organ part reminiscent of Nick Lowe’s “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding?”
The album even includes an extended outro jam on the rhythm & blues influenced “Heaven Help Me,” which Loggins says was meant to reflect the groove-oriented vibe of his earlier work: “It’s more like how we used to make music.” Poised atop a groove built around a simple acoustic guitar lick, the lyric is among the album’s most troubled, as its narrator faces evaporating self-confidence. “I think my generation has grown up more conscious and aware of ourselves, but we’re still human,” he explains. “We have so much more information available to us today, but it’s just as easy to make a lot of the same mistakes.”
Indeed, Loggins hasn’t always been comfortable with certain aspects of having a famous name. His participation in the MTV reality show Rock the Cradle, which pitted offspring of musicians against one another, was admittedly reluctant, although he wound up winning the contest. The lyrics of “Good Enough” discuss the challenges of living up to high standards: “Can’t fill the shoes that somebody else wore/They’ll never fit, they don’t belong to me.”
As surely as Loggins’ songs draw strength from their concise structure, his emotionally honest vocals resonate within them, elevating them to more than just well crafted pop songs. Time To Move showcases a complex artist whose voice is all his own.
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