My First POCO CD

Let Me Turn Back to You is one of my favorite Rusty Young steel guitar numbers!!

 

I know it's Poco heresy, but it just doesn't sound like a hit to me. I used to have "sympathy resentment" that the Eagles were so big, even though Poco was so much better. Yet, when I listened to those early Eagles singles, it was clear that they were more radio-friendly. It made me angry, but I just couldn't deny it.

I think something like "I Can See Everything" had more hit potential. Poco was basically too "nice". But that's also why we like them. I hear songs like "From The Inside", "Hear We Go Again", and "Ride The Country" as closer to hit material. I think the closest Richie got to writing a big hit was "Falling In Love" with the SHF band. When "Crazy Love" came along, it was so clearly a hit song. It had what the other songs didn't have.

None of this takes away from what the band accomplished, which is making 12 nearly flawless albums in 9 years.

 

I like all the stuff with Richie. "Pickin' up the Pieces" is one of my favorite albums ever, so I'd recommend that one.

 

This might be taking it too far, but if I really had to direct a person on Poco, I'd suggest starting with the three Buffalo Springfield albums. Poco comes from these albums, and Stills' and Richie's work in particular. "Kind Woman" was basically the first Poco track, as it features Messina and Rusty. Pickin' Up The Pieces sounded like the perfect "next" Buffalo Springfield album.

If you get the Box Set, you'll hear Stills singing lead on "What A Day", as well as a demo of "Nobody's Fool", actually a Buffalo Springfield live piece sung by drummer Dewey Martin. Also, Buffalo Springfield recorded "My Kind Of Love". Richie was the "George" of Poco, so I'd suggest Buffalo Springfield as the real starting point.

 

well said....i often tell people about the buffalo springfield and the amount of music that subsequently produced by the member of that band, i know that jim messina was only around for a short time, but between him, stills, young, and furay it is quite amazing what followed.

ya think stills knew his **** back then of what?

 

Yes, "Cantamos" is in my top 3 Poco albums right behind "Picking Up The Pieces" and "From The Inside". Got to see an acoustic show by the Richie Furay Band last week. Excellent as usual!

 

I'd put it inmy top three, with "Picking Up The Pieces" and "Poco"...as those were the first 2 albums I heard by Poco, I think I was 4 at the time. If you've not picked up the Iconoclassic cd w/2 bonus tracks, it's worth having:

Poco - From the Inside - Amazon.com Music »

 

Yes, I did. Great sound with their remaster.

 

Great thread! Love the love for Poco!

 

For those of us who came up listening to WNEW-FM, the late Pete Fornatale was an enthusiastic booster.

 

Interesting.
I bought all the original Poco cd's back when they were first released. Are there any other later cd issues with unreleased "bonus tracks"? Thankyou.

 

Only that one, and the legacy cd of Pickung Up The Pieces

 

Even though it was a hit (#27 on Billboard), I'd never heard it before getting the first Souther-Hillman-Furay album. Those S-H-F Band albums get almost zero respect. I'm not sure why. There is a lot of great music on both. I get the impression that, at the time, they were seen as a manufactured group that fell far short of expectations. From this vantage point, it sounds to me like three talented songwriters playing mostly good to great tunes.

As for could-have-been Poco singles, I think that Lovin Arms or Makin Love might have fared better than Keep On Tryin, the uncharted single from Head Over Heels. Then again, what do I know? I was also going to suggest that an edited version of Rose of Cimarron couldn't have missed. It turns out that it was released as single but rose no higher than #94. Does anyone know if the single was in fact an edit?

 

Wow. I'm late for the party. The two bonus tracks are really special. These are the two tracks Richie Podolor recorded with Poco. Richie thought they were exactly what was needed to put the band on the charts, but Epic disagreed, and the tracks weren't released. Richie wanted Podolor for A Good Feelin' To Know as well, but Epic wanted Jack Richardson. Anyway, these two never heard tracks are never available. It's a big deal for Poco fans! Not to mention the first archival material released by the band since the Pickin' Up The Pieces version of "Do You Feel It Too?" showed up on that remaster in 1995.

 

Well, the first archival *studio* material, anyhow. Lest we not forget the Live At Columbia Studios disc

Bob Irwin and Vic Anesini did a wonderful job w/The Forgotten Trail, and I'd trust them to to work on expanded editions of "Deliverin'", and "Live", but neither are with Sony/Legacy nowadays...if not mistaken

 

I didn't hear the SHF album until 15 years later. So they were albums made by musicians I liked. I went into them with a slight Richie bias. But discovered J.D Souther's incredible voice and writing in the process. Always liked Hillman, and his contributions were solid too.

I agree that "Lovin Arms" had single potential, but was also probably missing something compared to other singles at the time. "Keep On Trying" sounds nothing like a hit to me.

 

Yeah, I wouldn't have selected Keep On Tryin as the single that would finally take Poco to the next level.

Another thing that can't be discounted is that a lot of folks have a strong aversion to anything that is remotely Country. I imagine that the Eagles scored with their brand of Country Rock because their Country flavorings were subtler and their hooks were irresistible.

 

The single ran 3:14. It would be interesting to hear what was left out.

 

Putting aside the bonus tracks, do you think the Iconoclassic reiussue of From the Inside is a substantial improvement on previous releases? I know that at least some members of the band were not happy with the sound of that album, so I'm curious to hear what's been altered. I believe Furay himself was involved in this release.

 

I'd have to go back and compare the Iconoclassic to the 1990's disc. But I do like the Icono disc. Nothing was remixed, though. So, the mixes are the same. I think the band didn't like the production. Maybe the EQ is better on the Icono.

 

I remember seeing Poco (live album period) and they were outstanding! The biggest surprise was the Hendrixian volume level Rusty Young reached during some solos!

 

Thanks. I thought maybe it had been remixed. I've never had a problem with the production. It does sound a bit different, but it's to be expected given that Cropper was presumably brought in for that reason.

Regardless, it contains some of their best music. Bad Weather, Just For Me and You, and the title track are among my favorite Poco songs.

 

I prefer the first half of their career on Epic. Great strong country rock albums.

I worked for ABC when they switched and finally had a hit with the Legend album. Us snooty record folks really pushed that record but didn't love it like the Epic recordings.

Many years later I came to enjoy the ABC records that became MCA records when they were purchased .

 

No problemo.

The three songs you mentioned are among the high points on the album. Compare the title track from the Epic cd, to the same track on The Forgotten Trail (remixed). There's no major changes or revisionism, other than it's a lot clearer...as if a layer of dust had been removed. It gives a good idea of how From The Inside (album) would sound if it was remixed.

 

Legend is the album I started with. Love it!