Search - Kenny Rogers :: We've Got Tonight

A victim of label change

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 04/11/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This was Kenny's last album for United Artists, after which he moved to RCA and immediately started work on his first album for them, Eyes that see in the dark, which was released only six months or so later. Thus, this album was never given the promotion it deserved and it eventually had to compete with Eyes that see in the dark. It is therefore something of a miracle that this album did as well as it did.



The opening single was the title track, a brilliant duet with Britain's Sheena Easton. Whatever one thinks about her own recordings, there is no doubt that Sheena is in top form here. It was an international pop hit although it barely made the top thirty in the UK. I suppose this was no particular surprise as Sheena was rapidly going out of fashion and Kenny's own UK chart history is modest despite his popularity.



Two other singles were released, neither of which charted in the UK, these being All of my life (a great pop song) and Scarlet fever (a country story song). Some people consider Scarlet fever risqué, but I don't see a problem with it. It is a brilliant song about a man fantasising about a stripper but nothing actually happens. It made the top five in the country charts and would likely have made number one if Kenny had remained with United Artists. While Scarlet fever was number five, Islands in the stream was number one. Radio stations - and the public - like to focus on one single at a time by a given artist, so it says much for the quality of both songs that Kenny had two top five country hits simultaneously.



There are plenty of other great songs here including several outstanding ballads - What I learned from loving you (also recorded by Lynn Anderson at around the same time, more recently revived by Tammy Cochran), You are so beautiful (a brilliant version of a classic song), No dreams and Love love love.



This is one of Kenny's best original albums. It is unfortunate that it was overshadowed by another of Kenny's albums. By all means buy Eyes that see in the dark first (it is my favorite album of his) but don't forget about this one."

Kenny Rogers conjures up yet another hit!

David Hugaert | Honolulu, HI United States | 07/14/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The 1980's, as well as the latter half of the 1970's, proved to be the most successful decade and a half of Kenny Rogers' music career, as he ascertained a majority of hits on both the pop and country charts during those two decades, respectively. The 1983 effort "We've Got Tonight" is no exception, as it contains one pop/country/AC (adult contemporary) hit, titled "All My Life", with the rest of the tracks being predominantly country, of course. Either a country or pop music afficianado will find these selections a true winner: the title track, which features Kenny performing a duet with Scottish pop siren Sheena Easton, the introspective "What I Learned From Loving You" and the Joe Cocker remake "You Are So Beautiful", among them. It is on "YASB" where KR provides his smooth, gruff trademark vocals. "Bad Enough" and "Farther I Go" are also superbly done musical and lyrical compositions as well, with both latter tracks featuring up-tempo, bouncy choruses. The lyrics of "Scarlet Fever" are a little on the sexually explicit side, as expressed in one such line: "She looked twenty-five, but I was told she was just sixteen." There are other semi-risque lyrics featured in this selection, but I won't delve into those any further. The chords featured in "Scarlet Fever", however, are a delight to the ears, which more than make up for the somewhat underaged tone of the lyrics. These are only some of the above mentioned "guilty pleasures" that you'll find on "We've Got Tonight". You'll feel even more guilty if you don't have this one in your collection. Get it, before it's gone!"