Full Sail is the third album for the ’70s soft rock sensations, Loggins & Messina. The 1973 release showed the versatility of the duo, with everything from 1950s retro to island-style pop and romantic ballads. The lead single “My Music” charted at #16 while other notable tracks included Jim Messina’s island-rock anthem “Lahaina,” fan favorite “Pathway to Glory” and the sensitive Kenny Loggins ballad, “A Love Song” that makes appreciative use of the guitars.
The follow-up single, a poetic masterpiece called “Watching the River Run,” also achieved pop chart status. “Sailin’ the Wind” closes the album in style with bookends of soothing nautical nuggets…a little audio treat, not to be missed, especially on this 4.0 multchannell version. The clarity and balance on this recording is wonderful. You can hear every vocal line, every guitar riff, every woodwind line.
The charm of Loggins & Messina is the evenness of their albums, and it’s the chief talent (among many) that producer Messina brings to them. On “Full Sail” they begin to stretch out with lengthier instrumental passages with hints of country-jazz fusion. The album reached the Top 10 on the national charts and was very much a group success…the band was red-hot and at the height of their creativity.
1 Lahaina
2 Travelin’ Blues
3 My Music
4 A Love Song
5 You Need A Man/Coming To You
6 Watching The River Run
7 Pathway To Glory
8 Didn’t I Know You When
9 Sailin’ The Wind