Keep the Fire | ||||
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Studio album by Kenny Loggins | ||||
Released | October 1979 | |||
Recorded | 1979 | |||
Genre | Soft rock | |||
Length | 40:48 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Producer | Tom Dowd | |||
Kenny Loggins chronology | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | |
Robert Christgau | C+ |
Rolling Stone | (favorable) |
Keep the Fire is a yacht rock album released in 1979 by Kenny Loggins. It was his third solo album after Loggins & Messina disbanded, and is perhaps best known for the hit single "This is It". The song was co-written by Michael McDonald, who also performed on the track. Michael Jackson sings backup vocals on the track "Who's Right, Who's Wrong".
Rolling Stone magazine described it as "the new sound of Southern California: a sophisticated, diffuse, jazz-inflected pop rock performed by an augmented rock band in which guitar and keyboards share equal prominence" and "churning romantic atmosphere constructed around a matinee idol's voice".
"We Will Survive" by Nas from the album I Am... sampled the song "This Is It".
The award-winning short film, "Keep the Fire" by Jake Rice serves as a fictionalized "Behind The Album Cover" story, detailing the origin of the glowing white orb in Kenny's hands on the cover and the people who were involved in the creation of his hit record. The film includes computer graphics enhanced dramatizations depicting Michael McDonald, Tom Dowd, George Daly, Scott Thom, and Eva Ein. It features musical performances of "This Is It" and the acoustic version of "What A Fool Believes" as performed by Loggins and McDonald on the live recording "Outside: Live From The Redwoods".