Easy Rock gathers up 17 lite rock and easy listening pop classics from the 1970s by some of the biggest artists of the decade. One of the defining voices of the era,
Michael McDonald, turns up no less than four times, singing background for
Kenny Loggins on "This Is It" and
Christopher Cross on "Ride Like the Wind," performing solo on "I Keep Forgetting (Every Time You're Near)," and with
the Doobie Brothers on "What a Fool Believes." Other highlights are
Exile's sexy "Kiss You All Over,"
England Dan & John Ford Coley's breezy "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight,"
Chicago's harmony-soaked "Baby, What a Big Surprise," and
Rupert Holmes' silly but somehow moving "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)." Along with all the usual easy rock standards are a few surprises like the inclusion of
Grover Washington, Jr.'s smooth-as-silk "Just the Two of Us" and
Earth, Wind & Fire's beautiful "After the Love Has Gone," which aren't obvious choices but fit very well. A choice that doesn't really work is
Nick Gilder's "Hot Child in the City." Sure, it is a good song but is too darned exciting and breaks the mood so carefully established elsewhere. Apart from that one misstep and the inclusion of a re-recording of Benny Mardones' "Into the Night" instead of the original,
Easy Rock is solid as a rock, guaranteed to make things go down smooth and easy like a Sunday morning.