Game Recognizing Game

Whenever I Call You "Friend" - Kenny Loggins & Stevie Nicks (Blast from the Past Sunday)

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One of my favorite things to look for when going through music of the past is big, splashy duets. There’s nothing better than seeing two artists who achieved mega-stardom in their own right come together to make a one-off tune of epic proportions. While I have many of these types of duets that live near and dear to my heart, the one I always go back to is “Whenever I Call You Friend” by Kenny Loggins & Stevie Nicks.

Yeah, that’s right. What a terrific combo! While they both came up in the world of soft rock and sugar coated lyrical jabs, I feel like it never would occur to me that they would sing together. But lord do they SING!! The song starts pretty tame, with Loggins staying more on the gentle side of his voice, Nicks coming in on one of the most perfect high harmonies I’ve ever heard. It’s once the rest of the instruments crash in that Nicks begins to really belt, her stronger voice taking over. To contrast this, we get a taste of Loggins’ fabulous falsetto, which I’ll never complain about. Nicks and Loggins have vocals that wind around each other, blending in the way that people work years to achieve. My favorite moment is when you can tell they both go all out, Loggins’ voice breaking as he goes for the “day by day/we CAN see”, allowing for Nicks to go for it. The vocals on this song are a perfect example of game recognizing game, two powerhouses making each other better by simply doing what they do best.

While the vocals are the part of the song that have always fascinated me most, the rest of it is a masterpiece as well. The bass on this song is no joke — chunky and quick, it’s a presence that can’t be ignored, carrying the whole song on its back! The keyboard has the perfect shine to it, that quality that makes it sound like a shooting star in the dead of night. It’s easy to miss the strings in the background, since they lay low in the mix, more as a complement to the other points of the song than its own part. However, the best piece of trivia I found out today was that these very strings were arranged by none other than Bob James, the composer of my all-time favorite television theme song.

“Whenever I Call You Friend” is a duet that I would dare to call perfect, one that I don’t think can ever be topped in my mind. It’s a song that combines two great people and produced an even greater product. Every aspect of the tune is top-notch, making it one of my favorite songs for any and every occasion.

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