Loggins

Raven's 2001 collection The Good Side of Tomorrow: 1971-1984 is the first true retrospective assembled on Dave Loggins, a '70s singer/songwriter best-known for his Top Ten 1974 hit "Please Come to Boston" (he was also known for being the cousin of singer/songwriter Kenny Loggins). Prior to this, there had been no collection, either on vinyl or on CD, that took his catalog seriously – there had only been a budget-line greatest hits – and this takes it very seriously, sampling from his five albums between 1971-1984, adding a single and a duet with Anne Murray. The emphasis is naturally on his first two albums, as both 1972's Personal Belongings and 1974's Apprentice (In a Musical Workshop) have nearly half their tracks here. There is a big difference between the two records, too, with the first finding Loggins closer to his folky roots and with Apprentice finding him working with larger but mellow soft rock arrangements. From that point, his productions stay in the soft rock vein, even when he starts bringing in a stronger country bent.

The first full-fledged L&M album found the duo in good form as songwriters, with Messina turning in the sparkling "Thinking Of You," and the two collaborating on the hit single "Your Mama Don't Dance" and "Angry Eyes." Their backup band was anchored by multi-instrumentalist Al Garth, and also featured keyboardist Michael Omartian and Poco steel guitarist Rusty Young.

Finale is the second live double album (and eighth overall release) by singer/songwriter duo Loggins and Messina, released in early 1977. Tracks on the album are from performances while touring in 1975 and 1976…