solo artists sharing the same record rather than as a genuine partnership. As both Loggins and Messina noted in 2005, their collaboration eventually became more a competition. Never really a team of true equals because of the teacher–apprentice nature of their music experience levels, the pair had by early 1976 quietly, amicably parted to pursue solo careers, following the release of Native Sons. Prior to the duo's final tour, Loggins accidentally cut his hand with a craft knife while practicing his wood-carving hobby at home, which required surgery and prevented him from playing guitar for most of their final tour. After a final concert in Hawaii, the duo split and went on to solo careers. Messina found solo success elusive, but Loggins went on to become one of the biggest hit makers of the 1980s. Reformation The two reunited in 2005 to choose tracks for an expanded compilation album of singles and album cuts The Best: Sittin' In Again, which proved successful enough for them to embark on tour together. Their successful "Sittin' In Again" tour was launched in mid-2005 and played out the remainder of the year. They also released an album that year of the tour. "Every couple of years we'd talk about it, but I was having too much fun as a solo artist," Loggins said that summer. "It was very rewarding for me, and I wasn't ready to share the reins. I still had a lot of stuff to do on my own, to prove myself and to express myself, in a way that wouldn't have fit in with Loggins and Messina." The two were pleased enough to consider future Loggins and Messina projects and the two also toured in 2009. "Like most relationships, we were a moment in time," Loggins said. "It's just really fun to be able to go back and celebrate that and just sort of really honor each other as grown men, in a way we never really did back then. We were young and competitive and didn't realize that it wasn't necessarily all about getting your way, but you learn that if you grow up." Their backing band changed from album to album, with the core members listed below. Many albums featured backing members who were well known in their own right; John Townsend and Ed Sanford, later of the Sanford-Townsend Band ("Smoke from a Distant Fire"), contributed vocals and songwriting