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It took several tries before Kenny Rogers became a star. As a member of the First Edition (and the New Christy Minstrels before that), he shared in some million-sellers, among them "Reuben James" and "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town," an excellent Mel Tillis song about a disabled veteran. But superstardom lay ahead for this Texan, and it arrived in the late '70s. His experience with the two previous pop groups had prepared him well: he knew the easy listening audience was out there, and he supplied them with well done middle-of-the-road songs with a country flavor. Having gone solo, in 1976 Rogers charted with "Love Lifted Me." But it was with an outstanding song by writers Roger Bowling and Hal Bynum, "Lucille," that his star shot upward.
The rest (as they say) is history: award-winning duets with Dottie West and Dolly Parton, 12 TV specials, another song of the year with "The Gambler," "Daytime Friends," "Coward of the County," "We've Got Tonight," "Crazy," "Lady" (his first pop number one), etc., etc., etc. And that's just the musical side of Rogers. In 1980, the made-for-TV movie The Gambler blasted the competition, followed quickly by Coward of the County, then enough sequels to The Gambler to get him to Roman numeral IV. Throughout the '80s, Rogers remained a celebrity, even when his sales were declining. Even during the '90s, when he rarely charted, his name, face, and music were recognizable in a series of concerts, television specials, films, and even fast-food restaurants. Like many country superstars, Rogers came from humble roots. Born in Houston, Texas, Rogers and his seven siblings were raised in one of the poorest sections of town. Nevertheless, he progressed through high school, all the while learning how to play guitar and fiddle. When he was a senior, he played in a rockabilly band called the Scholars, who released three singles, including "Kangewah," which was written by Louella Parsons. Following his graduation, he released two singles, "We'll Always Fall in Love Again" and "For You Alone," on the local independent label Carlton. The B-side of the first single, "That Crazy Feeling," was popular enough to earn him a slot on American Bandstand. In 1959, he briefly attended the University of Texas, but he soon dropped out to play bass in the jazz combo The Bobby Doyle Three. While he was with the group, Rogers continued to explore other musical venues and played bass on Mickey Gilley's 1960 single "Is It Wrong." The Bobby Doyle Three released one album, In a Most Unusual Way, before Rogers left the group to play with the Kirby Stone Four. He didn't stay long with Stone and soon landed a solo record contract with Mercury. Rogers released a handful of singles on Mercury, all of which failed. Once Mercury dropped the singer, he joined the New Christy Minstrels in 1966. He stayed with the folk group for a year, leaving with several other bandmembers -- Mike Settle, Terry Williams, and Thelma Lou Camacho -- in 1967 to form the First Edition. Adding drummer Mickey Jones, the First Edition signed with Reprise and recorded the pop-psychedelic single "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)." The single became a hit early in 1968, climbing to number five. Within a year, the group was billed as Kenny Rogers & the First Edition, and in the summer of 1969, they had their second and final Top Ten hit, "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town." The country overtones of the single hinted at the direction Rogers was taking, as did the minor hit follow-up, "Ruben James." For the next two years, the First Edition bounced between country, pop, and mild psychedelia, scoring their last big hit with Mac Davis' "Something's Burning" in early 1970. By the end of 1972, the group had its own syndicated television show, but sales were drying up. They left Reprise the following year, signing to Rogers' new label, Jolly Rogers. None of their singles became major hits, though a version of Merle Haggard's "Today I Started Loving You Again" reached the lower regions of the country charts late in 1973. Rogers left the group in 1974, and the band broke up the following year. At the time the band broke up, Rogers was severely in debt and Jolly Rogers was out of business. In order to jump-start his career, he signed to United Artists in 1975, and with the help of producer Larry Butler, he devised an accessible, radio-ready, and immaculately crafted take on country-pop that leaned toward adult contemporary pop, not country. "Love Lifted Me," his debut single for the label, was a minor hit early in 1976, but it took a full year for Rogers to have a genuine breakthrough hit with "Lucille." Climbing to number one early in 1977, "Lucille" not only was a major country hit, earning the Country Music Association's Single of the Year award, but it also was a huge crossover success, peaking at number five on the pop charts. For the next six years, Rogers had a steady string of Top Ten hits on both the country and pop charts. Once Upon a Christmas His crossover success is important -- his lush, easy listening productions and smooth croons showed that country stars could conquer the pop audience, if produced and marketed correctly. During the late '70s and early '80s, much of country radio was dominated either by urban cowboy or country-pop in the vein of Rogers' own singles. Between 1978 and 1980, he had five straight number one country singles -- "Love or Something Like It," "The Gambler," "She Believes in Me," "You Decorated My Life," "Coward of the County" -- most of which also reached the pop Top Ten. In addition to his solo hits, he had a series of Top Ten duets with Dottie West, including the number one hits "Every Time Two Fools Collide" (1978), "All I Ever Need Is You" (1979), and "What Are We Doin' in Love" (1981). Not only did his singles sell well, but so did his albums, with every record he released between 1976's Kenny Rogers and 1984's Once Upon a Christmas going gold or platinum. By the beginning of the '80s, Rogers' audience was as much pop as it was country, and singles like his cover of Lionel Richie's "Lady" confirmed that fact, spending six weeks at the top of the pop charts. Rogers also began performing duets with pop singers like Kim Carnes ("Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer," number three country, number four pop, 1980) and Sheena Easton ("We've Got Tonight," number one country, number six pop, 1983). Rogers also began making inroads into television and film, appearing in a number of TV specials and made-for-TV movies, including 1982's Six Pack and two movies based on his songs "The Gambler" and "Coward of the County." Late in 1983, he left United Artists/Liberty for RCA Records, releasing a duet with Dolly Parton called "Islands in the Stream" as his first single for the label. Written by the Bee Gees and produced by Barry Gibb, the record became one of his biggest hits, spending two weeks on the top of both the country and pop charts. Something Inside So StrongRogers stayed at RCA for five years, during which time he alternated between MOR, adult contemporary pop, and slick country-pop. The hits didn't come as often as they used to, and they were frequently competing with releases from Liberty's vaults, but he managed to log five number one singles for the label, in addition to "Islands in the Stream": "Crazy" (1984), "Real Love" (1985), "Morning Desire" (1985), "Tomb of the Unknown Love" (1986), and the Ronnie Milsap duet "Make No Mistake, She's Mine" (1987). Despite his country successes, he no longer had pop crossover hits. Nevertheless, Rogers' concerts continued to be popular, as did his made-for-TV movies. Still, the lack of blockbuster records meant that RCA failed to renew his contract when it expired in 1988. Rogers returned to his first label, Reprise, where he had one major hit -- 1989's Top Ten "The Vows Go Unbroken (Always True to You)," taken from the gold album Something Inside So Strong -- before his singles started charting in the lower half of the Top 40. Christmas from the Heart Throughout the late '80s and '90s, Rogers kept busy with charity work, concerts, his fast-food chain Kenny Rogers' Roasters, television specials, movies, and photography, publishing no less than two books, Kenny Rogers' America and Kenny Rogers: Your Friends and Mine, of his photos. Rogers continued to record, releasing albums nearly every year, but they failed to break beyond his large, devoted fan base and only made a slight impact on the charts. With 1998's Christmas from the Heart, he established his own record label, Dreamcatcher; She Rides Wild Horses followed a year later, and There You Go Again was issued in mid-2000. A&E Live by Request appeared in 2001, followed by Back to the Well in 2003, Me & Bobby McGee in 2004, and Water & Bridges in 2006. At this point in his career, unable to hit the pop or country charts any longer, Rogers repositioned himself as a nostalgic brand in the middle, releasing 2011's The Love of God, a collection of gospel hymns and inspirational songs, only through Cracker Barrel locations (the album was re-released a year later by the Gaither Music Group under the title Amazing Grace). In 2012 Rogers issued an autobiography, Luck or Something Like it: A Memoir. A year later, Rogers signed to Warner Bros. Nashville and released You Can't Make Old Friends, his first major-label, big-budget release in seven years. Preceded by the title track duet with Dolly Parton, the record was released in October 2013. -- Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide |
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01 Found A Reason 02 Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In) 03 Shadow In The Corner Of Your Mind 04 If Wishes Were Horses 05 Ticket To Nowhere 06 I Get A Funny Feeling |
07 I Was The Loser 08 Dream On 09 Home Made Lies 10 Marcia 2 A.M. 11 Hurry Up Love 12 Church Without A Name |
01 Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town 02 Me and Bobby McGee 03 New Design 04 Always Leaving, Always Gone 05 Listen to the Music |
06 Sunshine 07 Once Again She's All Lone 08 Girl Get a Hold of Yourself 09 Time Liberator 10 Reuben James |
01 Tell It All Brother 02 Shine on Ruby Mountain 03 King of Oak Street 04 I'm Gonna Sing You a Sad Song Susie 05 Love Woman |
06 Heed the Call 07 Camptown Ladies 08 Molly 09 After All (I Live My Life) 10 We All Got to Help Each Other |
01. Take My Hand 02. What Am I Gonna Do 03. All God's Lonely Children 04. Lay It Down 05. Tulsa Turnaround |
06. Poem For My Lady 07. For The Good Times 08. Good Lady of Toronto 09. Two Little Boys 10. Where Does Rosie Go |
01 Sunrise Overture 02 Calico Silver 03 Write Me Down (Don't Forget My Name) 04 Way It Used to Be 05 Madame de Lil and Diabolical Bill 06 School Teacher 07 Road Agent 08 Sally Grey's Epitaph 09 Dorsey, Mail Carrying Dog 10 Harbor for My Soul |
11 Calico Saturday Night 12 Trigger Happy Kid 13 Vachel Carling's Rubilator 14 Empty Handed Compadres 15 One Lonely Room 16 Rockin' Chair Theme 17 Old Mojave Highway 18 Man Came up from Town 19 Calico Silver (Reprise) |
01 Lady Play Your Symphony 02 She Thinks I Still Care 03 Look Over the Hill 04 There's an Old Man in Our Town 05 My Sweet Lady |
06 Today I Started Loving You Again 07 Tell Me Why 08 Here Father Didn't Like Me Anymore 09 Indian Joe 10 Do You Remember the First Time |
01. Lena Lookie 02. Something About Your Song 03. Building Condemned 04. Hoodooin' of Miss Fannie Deberry |
05. Ritual, Morgana Jones 06. 42nd Street, Oregon 07. Whatcha Gonna Do 08. Gollop County Train |
01. Good Vibrations 02. Long And Winding Road 03. Sylvia's Mother 04. Joe (Jesu Joy Of Man's Desire) 05. Paperback Writer |
06. Get Back 07. Border Song 08. I Need You 09. Coconut 10. Morning Has Broken |
01. Love Lifted Me 02. Abraham Martin and John/Precious Memories 03. I Would Like to See You Again 04. Runaway Girl 05. World Needs a Melody |
06. You Gotta Be Tired 07. Home Made Love 08. While the Feeling's Good 09. Heavenly Sunshine 10. There's an Old Man in Our Town |
01 Laura (What He's Got That I Ain't Got) 02 I Wasn't Man Enough 03 Mother Country Music 04 Why Don't We Go Somewhere and Love 05 Green, Green Grass of Home 06 Till I Get It Right |
07 Lucille 08 Son of Hickory Holler's Tramp 09 Lay Down Beside Me 10 Puttin' It Overtime at Home 11 While I Play the Fiddle |
01 Daytime Friends 02 Desperado 03 Rock and Roll Man 04 Lying Again 05 I'll Just Write My Music and Sing My Songs 06 My World Begins and Ends With You |
07 Sweet Music Man 08 Am I Too Late 09 We Don't Make Love Anymore 10 Ghost of Another Man 11 Let Me Sing for You |
01 The Gambler 02 I Wish That I Could Hurt That Way Again 03 King of Oak Street 04 Makin' Music for Money 05 Hoodooin' of Miss Fannie Deberry 06 She Believes in Me |
07 Tennessee Bottle 08 Sleep Tight, Goodnight Man 09 Little More Like Me (The Crucifixion) 10 San Francisco Mabel Joy 11 Morgana Jones |
01 Love or Something Like It 02 There's a Lot of That Going Around 03 Buried Treasure 04 Something About Your Song 05 Momma's Waiting 06 We Could Have Been the Closest of Friends |
07 I Could Be So Good for You 08 Sail Away 09 Even a Fool Would Let Go 10 Highway Flyer 11 Starting Again |
01 You Turn the Light On 02 You Decorated My Life 03 She's a Mystery 04 Goodbye Marie 05 Tulsa Turnaround 06 I Want to Make You Smile |
07 Santiago Midnight Moonlight 08 One Man's Woman 09 In and Out of Your Heart 10 Old Folks 11 Coward of the County |
01. Intro: Goin Home To The Rock 02. Gideon Tanner 03. No Good Texas Rounder 04. Don t Fall in Love With A Dreamer [duet with Kim Carnes] 05. The Buckeroos 06. You Were a Good Friend 07. Call Me Up (The Phone Is In The Cradle) |
08. These Chains 09. Somebody Help Me 10. One Place In The Night 11. Sayin Goodbye 12. Requiem: Goin Home To The Rock 13. Love The World Away |
01. Blaze of Glory 02. I Don t Need You 03. The Good Life 04. Makes Me Wonder If I Ever Said Goodbye 05. Through The Years 06. Share Your Love With Me |
07. So In Love With You 08. Goin Back To Alabama 09. Without You In My Life 10. Gray Beard 11. Lady |
01. Ruby Don't Take Your Love to Town 02. Love Woman 03. The King of Oak Street 04. Shine on Ruby Mountain 05. Where Does Rosie Go 06. Tell It All Brother |
07. Molly 08. I'm Gonna Sing You a Sad Song Susie 09. We All Got to Help Each Other 10. Elvira 11. Tulsa Turnabout 12. Something's Burning |
01. Love Will Turn You Around 02. A Love Song 03. Fightin' Fire With Fire 04. Maybe You Should Know 05. Somewhere Between Lovers And Friends |
06. Take This Heart 07. If You Can Lie A Little Bit 08. I'll Take Care Of You 09. The Fool In Me 10. I Want A Son |
01. We've Got Tonight 02. Scarlet Fever 03. Farther I Go 04. No Dreams 05. Bad Enough |
06. All My Life 07. How Long 08. Love, Love, Love 09. What I Learned From Loving You 10. You Are So Beautiful |
01. This Woman 02. You And I 03. Buried Treasure 04. Island In The Stream 05. Living With You |
06. Evening Star 07. Hold Me 08. Midsummer Nights 09. I Will Always Love You 10. Eyes That See In The Dark |
01. What About Me 02. The Night Goes On 03. Dream Dancing 04. Two Hearts One Love 05. I Dont Want To Know Why |
06. Didn't We 07. Somebody Took My Love 08. Crazy 09. The Stranger 10. Heart To Heart |
01. I Believe in Santa Claus 02. Medley: Winter Wonderland/Sleigh Ride 03. Christmas Without You 04. The Christmas Song 05. A Christmas to Remember |
06. With Bells On 07. Silent Night 08. The Greatest Gift of All 09. White Christmas 10. Once Upon a Christmas |
01. Love Is What We Make It 02. Twentieth Century Fool 03. Still Hold On 04. Tie Me To Your Heart Again 05. Maybe In The End |
06. It Turns Me Inside Out 07. It Happens In The Best Of Dreams 08. A Stranger In My Place 09. Starting Today, Starting Over 10. Born To Love Me |
01. I Don't Wanna Have to Worry 02. The Heart of the Matter 03. You Made Me Feel Love 04. Morning Desire 05. Don't Look in My Eyes |
06. The Best of Me 07. Tomb of the Unknown Love 08. People in Love 09. I Can't Believe Your Eyes 10. Our Perfect Song |
01. This Love We Share 02. If I Could Hold on to Love 03. You're My Love 04. Time for Love 05. They Don't Make Them Like They Used To (Theme from Tough Guys) |
06. Life Is Good, Love Is Better 07. Just the Thought of Losing You 08. Anything at All 09. After All This Time 10. Twenty Years Ago |
01. Abraham Martin and John 02. Daytime Friends 03. Goodbye Marie 04. Long Arm of the Law 05. Son of Hickory Holler's Tramp |
06. Buried Treasure 07. Desperado 08. Green, Green Grass of Home 09. San Francisco Mabel Joy 10. While the Feeling's Good |
01. I Prefer the Moonlight 02. Now and Forever 03. We're Doin' Alright 04. Make No Mistake, She's Mine 05. One More Day |
06. She's Ready for Someone to Love Her 07. I Don't Call Him Daddy 08. The Factory 09. We Fell in Love Anyway 10. You Can't Say (You Don't Love Me Anymore) |
01. Talla 02. Take Another Step Closer 03. Ask Me How I Know 04. Don't Wake Me Up 05. Run |
06. Everything That's You 07. The Bright Side 08. Hold Me 09. Love Is Easy 10. Signals |
01. Planet Texas 02. Something Inside So Strong 03. If I Knew Then (What I Know Now) 04. One Night 05. There Lies the Difference |
06. If I Ever Fall in Love Again 07. When You Put Your Heart in It 08. The Vows Go Unbroken (Always True to You) 09. Maybe 10. Love the Way You Do |
01. Love Is Strange 02. Soldier of Love 03. Listen to the Rain 04. If I Were a Painting 05. Crazy in Love |
06. Lay My Body Down 07. So Little Love in the World 08. Walk Away 09. In Our Old Age 10. What I Did for Love |
01. If You Want to Find Love 02. Bed of Roses 03. Someone Must Feel Like a Fool Tonight 04. Two Good Reasons 05. Some Prisons Don't Have Walls |
06. They Just Don't Make 'Em Like You Anymore 07. When You Were Loving Me 08. Sunshine 09. I'll Be There for You 10. How Do I Break It to My Heart |
01. Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got) 02. I Wasn't Man Enough 03. Mother Country Music 04. Why Don't We Go Somewhere and Love 05. Green, Green Grass of Home 06. Till I Get It Right |
07. Lucille 08. The Son of Hickory Holler's Tramp 09. Lay Down Beside Me 10. Puttin' in Overtime at Home 11. While I Play the Fiddle |
01. Fightin' for the Same Thing 02. Missing You 03. She Waits 04. Ol' Red 05. If I Were You |
06. Wanderin' Man 07. Reason to Go 08. If You Were the Friend 09. If Only My Heart Had a Voice 10. Somebody's Wrong, Somebody's Right |
01. I Remember You 02. But Beautiful 03. When I Fall in Love 04. Love Is Here to Stay 05. The Nearness of You 06. My Funny Valentine |
07. Love Is Just Around the Corner 08. Where or When 09. My Romance 10. In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning 11. I Get Along Without You Very Well (Except Sometimes) 12. You Are So Beautiful |
01. Mary, Did You Know 02. A Soldier's King 03. Pretty Little Baby Child 04. What A Wonderful Beginning 05. It's The Messiah |
06. I Trust You 07. Sweet Little Jesus Boy 08. The Chosen One Montage 09. Til The Season Comes Round Again |
01. To Me 02. Write Your Name Across My Heart 03. The Only Way I Know 04. Have A Little Faith In Me 05. Sing Me Your Love Song |
06. As God As My Witness 07. You're Not Asking Much 08. Only Once In A Lifetime 09. Find A Little Grace 10. See Me Through |
01. All My Life 02. Love The World Away 03. Share Your Love With Me 04. Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got) 05. Lady 06. Blaze of Glory 07. What Are We Doing In Love (Duet W/Dottie) 08. Sweet Music Man 09. All I Ever Need Is You w/ Dottie 10. Love Song 11. Every Time Two Fools Collide w/ Dottie West 12. Lucille 13. Anyone Who Isn't Me Tonight w/ Dottie West 14. It's Just Not Christmas 15. The Christmas Song |
16. My Favorite Things 17. White Christmas 18. Let It Snow 19. O Come All Ye Faithful 20. Hey, Little Christmas Tree 21. Merry Christmas 22. Money Isn't What Really Matters 23. Heroes 24. I Wanna Be A Christmas Present 25. The Ballerina Song 26. Help Somebody Find Their Way 27. If Only I Had Your Heart 28 Mister Perfect 29. I Promise You 30. The Toy Shoppe |
01. Slow Dance More 02. Buy Me A Rose 03. I Will Remember You 04. Love Don't Live Here Anymore 05. She Rides Wild Horses |
06. The Kind Of Fool Love Makes 07. Loving Arms 08. I Can't Make You Love Me 09. Let It Be Me 10. The Greatest |
01. There You Go Again 02. He Will, She Knows 03. I Wish I Could Say That 04. Homeland 05. When We Made Love 06. Until Forever is Gone |
07. Crazy Me 08. Blue Train 09. I Do It For Your Love 10. What That Means 11. I Won't Forget 12. All That You Could Be |
01. Islands In The Stream 02. Request 03. Daytime Friends 04. Request 05. She Believes In Me 06. Request 07. Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town 08. Request 09. Love Will Turn You Around 10. Request 11. The Greatest 12. Request 13. Love Or Something Like It 14. Request 15. Through The Years 16. Request 17. Lucille |
18. Request 19. Don't Fall In Love With A Dreamer 20. Request 21. Coward Of The Country 22. Request 23. Lady 24. Request 25. Crazy 26. Request 27. The Gambler 28. Request 29. You Decorated My Life 30. Request 31. Slow Dance Move 32. Request 33. Slow Dance Move |
01. Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town 02. Reuben James 03. Shine on Ruby Mountain 04. Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In) 05. She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye 06. My Washington Woman 07. For the Good Times 08. Something's Burning |
09. Heed the Call 10. We All Got to Help Each Other 11. A Poem for My Little Lady 12. Where Does Rosie Go? 13. Sunshine 14. Me and Bobbie McGee 15. Calico Silver 16. Elvira |
01. Back To The Well 02. Listen To The Rain 03. 727 East Magnolia Avenue 04. Owe Them More Than That 05. Prairie Wedding 06. I'm Missing You |
07. Harder Cards 08. Tears In God's Eyes 09. Suitcase Full Of Blues 10. You Have No Idea 11. Handprints On The Wall 12. Love Like This |
01. Water & Bridges 02. Someone Is Me 03. Someone Somewhere Tonight 04. I Can't Unlove You 05. Calling Me (featuring Don Henley) 06. Half A Man |
07. I Can Feel You Drifting 08. The Last Ten Years (Superman) 09. You'll Know Love 10. My Petition 11. One Life |
01. Ain't No Sunshine 02. You Don't Know Me 03. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) 04. Three Times A Lady 05. Share Your Love With Me (Re-Record) 06. I Don't Need You (Re-Record) |
07. This Masquerade 08. Since I Fell for You 09. Don't Fall In Love With a Dreamer (feat. Kim Carnes) (Re-Record) 10. You Looked So Beautiful 11. Small Dark Cloud |
01. Stardust 02. My Funny Valentine 03. Always 04. Misty 05. As Time Goes By 06. When I Fall in Love |
07. I Only Have Eyes for You 08. It Had to Be You 09. Unforgettable 10. Crazy 11. I Can't Help Falling in Love 12. Have I Told You Lately That I Love You |
01. Will the Circle Be Unbroken 02. Peace 03. I’ll Fly Away (feat: The Whites) 04. The Rock of Your Love 05. In the Sweet By and By (feat: Winfield's Locket) 06. He Showed Me Love |
07. Grace 08. What a Friend We Have in Jesus 09. Circle of Friends (feat: Point of Grace) 10. For the Love of God 11. Amazing Grace 12. Leaning on the Everlasting Arms |
01. My Favorite Things (Live) 02. Silent Night (Live) 03. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! (Live) 04. Mary, Did You Know? (Live) 05. Away in a Manger / O Holy Night (Live) |
06. O Come All Ye Faithful (Live) 07. We Three Kings / Little Drummer Boy (Medley) (Live) 08. The Chosen One / Joy to the World (Live) 09. 'Til the Season Comes 'Round Again (Live) |
01. You Can't Make Old Friends (Duet With Dolly Parton) 02. All I Need Is One 03. You Had To Be There 04. 'Merica 05. Turn This World Around 06. Dreams Of The San Joaquin |
07. Don't Leave Me In The Night Time (feat. Buckwheat Zydeco) 08. Look At You 09. Neon Horses 10. When You Love Someone 11. It's Gonna Be Easy Now |