Song#: 3717
Date: 11/12/1988
Debut: 90
Peak: 82
Weeks: 5
Genre: Soft Rock
Pop Bits: By this point in time, Loggins hadn't released a solo album since '85's gold selling Vox Humana (#41). However, he wasn't sitting around idle. From '86 to the summer of '88, Loggins would place four singles on the Pop chart that were all from film soundtracks. Included in the batch were the #2 "Danger Zone" from Top Gun and the #8 "Nobody's Fool" from Caddyshack II. While the one-off soundtrack hits were great to have and helped to keep his career going, Loggins needed to return to non-movie solo work and by the fall of '88 he had completed his sixth studio album Back to Avalon. While it contained two of his previously released soundtrack hits, the LP still needed to be promoted with a new single and this track was selected. Unfortunately, it didn't get the job done. The tune stalled low on the Pop chart and disappeared after a few weeks. It didn't get any support at AC and missed making that chart. The failure didn't bode well for the future of the album and indeed it would only get to #69 and become Loggins' first solo effort to not at least go gold.
ReduxReview: This song had that late-70s soft rock/blue-eyed soul feel that helped to kick off Loggins' solo career. Unfortunately, that wasn't something that was going to light up the charts in the late 80s. It also didn't help that Loggins had won over folks with heavily produced rockers and big ballads from soundtracks and this tune was nothing like those. This doesn't mean it was a bad song. It was just slightly too far astray from what Loggins had been doing and it wasn't what folks wanted to hear from him. And even though it was a pleasant little tune, it was a bit unremarkable and not all that single-worthy. Back to Avalon was a bit of a transition album for Loggins. It was as if he was trying to bridge his soundtrack hits with songs that he really wanted to write and record. It didn't really work out, but his next LP would do better at moving his career into a new phase.
ReduxRating: 5/10
Trivia: In his solo career, Loggins scored five Pop Top 10 hits. Only one of those, 1978's "Whenever I Call You Friend" (featuring Stevie Nicks), would come from one of his solo albums. The remaining four all came from film soundtracks. Loggins would also place three more movie songs on the Pop chart along with one that topped the AC chart (1996's "For the First Time" from One Fine Day). His streak of film hits began with 1980's "I'm Alright" (#7) from Caddyshack. However, he initially kicked off his soundtrack contributions first as a songwriter. In 1976, Loggins co-wrote the song "I Believe in Love" with Alan and Marilyn Bergman. It would be recorded by Barbra Streisand and included on the soundtrack to her remake of A Star Is Born. In addition to being on the #1 soundtrack album, the tune was selected to be the b-side to the LP's first single, the #1 Oscar-winning "Evergreen." Around that time, Loggins had split from his long-time musical partner Jim Messina and was embarking on a solo career. For his debut LP, Loggins would record his own version of "I Believe in Love." It was selected to be the first single from the album Celebrate Me Home. It would become Loggins' first charting single reaching #66 Pop/#32 AC.
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