Takin' It Easy


Takin' It Easy is the ninth studio album by Seals and Crofts, released in 1978 by Warner Bros. Records.
It was their last album to chart and contain any charting singles. "You're the Love" reached #18 in early 1978 and #8 in Canada. The title track reached #79 later the same year and #13 on the Canadian AC charts.
The title track has a more rock-oriented approach than was the band's usual fare, and was essentially a James Seals solo track, with Dash Crofts making no contribution to either writing or performing it. Seals in turn was absent from the album's second track, "One More Time". The album in general relied more heavily on outside musicians and songwriters than Seals and Crofts's previous albums, with the duo writing barely half the songs themselves and only occasionally performing anything other than lead vocals.
The cover photograph was taken at the historic Oak Alley Plantation in Louisiana.

Track listing

  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. "A Tribute to ʻAbdu'l-Bahá"

    Personnel

  • James Seals – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, tenor sax on "Sunrise"
  • Dash Crofts – lead vocals, mandolin
  • Louie Shelton – production, guitars, arrangements, art concept
  • Tony Peluso – guitars on "Takin' It Easy" and "Sunrise", Buchla synthesizer on "Sunrise", backing vocals on "Takin' It Easy" and "One More Time", arrangements
  • Marty Walsh – guitars on "Takin' It Easy" and "Forever Like the Rose"
  • Larry Rolando – guitars
  • Dan Fergueson – dobro on "Midnight Blue"
  • Dennis Belfield – bass
  • Dominic Genova – bass on "Takin' It Easy" and "Forever Like the Rose"
  • David Parlota – bass on "Midnight Blue"
  • Steven Olitzky – piano
  • Tom Hensley – piano
  • Brian Whitcomb – piano on "Sunrise" and "Breaking in a Brand New Love"
  • David Foster – piano on "Midnight Blue"
  • Danny Deardroff – harmonica on "Midnight Blue"
  • Ralph Humphrey – drums
  • Ron Krasinski – drums
  • James Divisek – drums and Buchla programming on "Sunrise" and "Breaking in a Brand New Love"
  • Jim Keltner – drums on "Midnight Blue"
  • Bob Zimmitti – tympani on "Midnight Blue"
  • Shaun Furlong – strings programming on "Sunrise"
  • Don Menza – tenor sax on "Magnolia Moon"
  • Alan Estes – vibraphone on "Nobody Gets Over Lovin' You"
  • Manoochehr Sadeghi – santur and Persian chanting on "A Tribute to ʻAbdu'l-Bahá"
  • Sean MacLeod and Bob Phillips – backing vocals on "Takin' It Easy"
  • Tanya Tucker, Sherlie Matthews, Jim Gilstrap, and Venetta Fields – backing vocals on "Nobody Gets Over Lovin' You"
  • Gary Sims – arrangement and backing vocals on "One More Time"
  • Doug Strawn – arrangement and backing vocals on "One More Time"
  • Gene Page – string arrangement for "You're the Love"
  • Lee Holdridge – string arrangement for "Forever Like the Rose"

    Charts