Audio CD review:
Seals & Crofts - Takin' It Easy

Seals & Crofts - Takin' It Easy

Band: Seals & Crofts Title: Takin' It Easy Rating: Release Date: 18 September, 2007 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Takin' It Easy 2: One More Time 3: Midnight Blue 4: You're the Love 5: Sunrise 6: Breaking in a Brand New Love 7: Magnolia Moon 8: Nobody Gets Over Lovin' You 9: Forever Like the Rose 10: Tribute to 'Abdu' L-Baha'

Customer Reviews perfection on a round piece of plastic Finally, after many MANY years, Seals & Crofts "Takin' It Easy" album has been officially released! I can't express how happy I am this album was finally released on CD. I can't believe it. I've waited YEARS for this to happen! This is one of the greatest songwriting albums ever made. I'm totally serious about that. I love Elton John, Deep Purple, Three Dog Night, the Blues Image, Norman Greenbaum, etc. I really honestly believe "Takin' It Easy" is right up there with the very best of them. I can't put into words exactly how I feel when I listen to this album. It's like a mystical journey inside my mind combined with childhood feelings and memories that makes the album so delightful to listen to over and over again. It truly is a forgotten treasure. Diversity is important to me, and each song on this album is distinct from all the others. When this album came out in the year 1978, the music scene was beginning to change as punk and new wave entered the scene. Fortunately, none of this affected Seals & Croft's consistently pleasing ability to write one memorable song after another. This album is *entirely excellent* and I truly mean that. The title song really surprised me at first. I didn't think Seals & Croft's could EVER rock this hard! A really upbeat, energetic rocker. You know, funny story. I could have sworn in the chorus the words being sung were "hot diggin' it" which is a saying kids used to say back in the early 90's when I was only in 5th grade. "One More Time" is a really pleasant ballad with memorable vocal lines. It reminds me of the Jefferson Starship song "Tumblin". The two songs are really pretty similar to each other. "Midnight Blue" is foot-stompin' music! I *love* the catchy verse melody, and you can seriously tap your foot to the beat of the tune. Highly enjoyable song. "You're the Love" is a disco song, and while I'm not a fan of disco (and probably never will be) I like when rock bands attempt some diverse styles without any fear. Wow. . . "Sunrise". What can I possibly say about this brilliant song? Let me try to explain why I love this track so much. Memories are important to all of us when listening to music, whether we realize it or not. Memories help us appreciate music even more. Music can help us dream about faraway places, and peaceful settings. Music can put us in our own little world, if we allow it to happen. "Sunrise" is beyond brilliant for a variety of reasons. For one thing, the vocal melody immediately takes me back to when my mom used to drive me to a fabric store in a tiny town in southeast Pennsylvania. That store doesn't exist anymore, but the memories remain, and that's the important thing. Also, the song reminds me of my childhood fasciation of wanting to be an astronomer when I grew older, and having a total blast looking into my telescope and watching the stars in outer space, and dreaming about what living things might possibly be out there. It's not just a childhood memory- it's also a dream I continue to experience with certain songs that allows my mind to open up and think about a really pleasant future for all of us. I love the dreamy verse melody, and the saxophone jam at the end. Sure, it sounds like 70's music, but that's NOT a bad thing! "Breaking in a Brand New Love" is an extraordinary love song that reminds me of a popular song Joe Jackson would do five years later. "Magnolia Moon" took me a LONG time to appreciate, but I finally came around. Brilliant vocals. "Nobody Gets Over Lovin' You" is a magnificent ballad. Once again, let me state I don't care if the music is dated and sounds stuck in the 70's. To me that just means a music scene can never be repeated again. "Forever Like a Rose" sounds like Crosby, Stills and Nash a little bit, specifically that popular song called "Our House". That's certainly not a bad thing at ALL. The final track is highly unusual in that it has a spectacularly unique vocal section in the beginning of the song before eventually progressing into a highly memorable vocal section that's very normal for anyone familiar with Seals & Crofts career. Overall, I am extremely happy this album is available on CD finally. I can't believe it took this long, but I won't complain, because the point is- it happened! . Finally - Takin' It Easy It took way too long to arrive on CD. I've anticipated this release for years, much as an antsy child waits for Christmas morning. Favorite amongst all is Sunrise - which seems to have originated in and floated down from heaven. What a treasure this song is. Other favorites include the title track, and the maligned You're The Love. Who really care what style a song is in? Who cares who wrote it or not? If a song sounds good to the listener and becomes a part of their life, you've successfully created an important song! As we send our children out into the world, do we not do so with the hopes that someone will find them, love them and cherish them? Mission accomplished!. An Overlooked Gem There is an extended club mix of this too, which would have been a nice bonus track. This album is dominated by the disco (or disco-like) hit You're the Love, which is not your typical S&C song. The high quality of the production gives this song merit but I just can't get over the jaw-dropping sweep of strings that takes over in the middle. It makes me cringe every time. The high marks for this album are based on the other tunes. The title track fairly rocks. Dash's solo ballad One More Time is top notch. Forever Like the Rose is a really excellent showcase for their voices, once again. I do take issue with the other reviewer's take on Magnolia Moon. This is a deeply moving Deep South reverie. I love the keyboard work and Jimmy's vocal phrasing. And the lyrics fascinate with just the right hint of abstract meaning. Someone is being idolized and we don't know why. I also love the minor key guitar intro to Tribute To Abdu'l Bah'a and the unabashed devotion in the melody. This is an album to savor and reveals more with each listen. . You can see a complete list of all Seals & Crofts discography, or go back to the Seals & Crofts tabs