Poco - Legacy
BGOCD1138
I remember it as if it was yesterday when this reunion album was released 25 years ago. Looking back now, 1989 was a significant year with some exciting new artists and music including the debut albums by Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, Clint Black and Travis Tritt, but for me, LEGEND by Poco was ‘the one.’ It was 20 years after their own debut with PICKIN’ UP THE PIECES, and for the first time in almost 20 years, the original line-up of Richie Furay (guitar and vocals), Jim Messina (guitar and vocals), Rusty Young (pedal steel, banjo, guitar, vocals), George Grantham (drums) and Randy Meisner (bass) reunited in the studio for this album. Originally released on RCA, it became the legendary band’s second gold album and produced two American hit singles in Call It Love and Nothin’ To Hide. For legions of tried-and-true Poco fans, LEGEND represented an exuberant return to the sound and style that distinguished some of the band’s best work and produced some of the most influential examples of West Coast country-rock.
Poco were always one of the very best country-rock bands, way ahead of the Eagles, Pure Prairie League and all those that followed, yet major commercial success always eluded them. Though never eagerly embraced by mainstream country audiences, the country-rock music of Poco was often closer to the roots of country music than much of what was being recorded on Music Row. They were pioneering the country-rock sound with the introduction of the steel guitar and the high country harmonies. It had a lot of energy that mainstream country lacked. As a band, Poco could not be faulted. They were always totally committed to country-rock; they had the technical side of playing country-rock well sewn-up. So well that they stepped over the line at times and sounded like a high-class mainstream rock act. No mean feat, that. The travesty of the Poco story is that they always resided in the shadows of the Eagles, yet it was Poco that perfected the West Coast country-rock sound. Though they sold a lot of records, Poco never made that same kind of huge commercial breakthrough like the Eagles.
Once again, in 1989, Poco was ahead of the trend. They had reunited too soon, allowing the Eagles to come along a few years later, reform with all the hoopla that a major rock act could generate, and play huge arena sell-out concerts. The Poco reunion had been more low-key and financially impracticable, so shortly after the release of LEGEND, once more the Poco members went their separate ways. But they left in their wake what is not only the finest Poco album, but also one of the very best country-rock albums of all time; the one disc I always reach for when someone asks me to describe country-rock. With LEGEND the group had arrived at a place of perfection that was as much a milestone for the band as it was for the entire genre.
Jaw-droppingly fine songs steeped in classic Poco tradition, the album leads off with twanging electric lead to usher in Richie Furay’s distinctive tones as the band recalls When It All Began, looking back fondly to those early days when Poco had everything to play for and what appeared to be a highly successful—and possibly lucrative—musical career ahead of them. There’s no bitterness here, just a happy reminisce dressed up with those classic harmonies and as the song unfolds you’re wrapped in country-rock splendour. Pick up the guitar and strum and sing along. Grab an electric for the blistering Call It Love, a country-rock anthem with some shredding guitar, and sway back and forth with the band on the roots-rock of The Nature Of Love. By the time you reach What Do People Know, it should be fists in the air and singing along at the top of your voice trying to match Poco’s exuberance on the infectious chorus. They slow it down for the gentle Follow Your Dreams, Jimmy Messina taking the lead vocals to a softly-strung acoustic arrangement, his undeniable croon instantly disarming. Rough Edges, a co-write by Rusty Young, Bill Lloyd and Radney Foster, is possibly the heaviest rock-styled track on the album with some quite ferocious pedal steel by Young behind Randy Meisner’s raunchy vocal. He also takes the lead on Nothin’ To Hide in which the harmony vocals are pure magic. Richie Furay’s voice exudes a variety of emotion on the well-written If It Wasn’t For You; from the sly exuberance of new found love past the hard times to the realisation that the oppression of a lonely spell is lifting.
The impact that Poco has made, not only on the Eagles and other country-rock bands like Pure Prairie League and Firefall, but also current Nashville country acts from Vince Gill through Lonestar to Eli Young Band, is immeasurable. There can hardly be a person in the Western World who has not come under the country-rock musical spell of Poco, whether through one of their many clones or songs like Rose Of Cimarron, Crazy In Love and Good Feelin' To Know. They may not be together as a unit, but their musical legacy remains for generations to come. If you only own one Poco album … make damn sure that it’s this one.
www.bgo-records.com
I remember it as if it was yesterday when this reunion album was released 25 years ago. Looking back now, 1989 was a significant year with some exciting new artists and music including the debut albums by Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, Clint Black and Travis Tritt, but for me, LEGEND by Poco was ‘the one.’ It was 20 years after their own debut with PICKIN’ UP THE PIECES, and for the first time in almost 20 years, the original line-up of Richie Furay (guitar and vocals), Jim Messina (guitar and vocals), Rusty Young (pedal steel, banjo, guitar, vocals), George Grantham (drums) and Randy Meisner (bass) reunited in the studio for this album. Originally released on RCA, it became the legendary band’s second gold album and produced two American hit singles in Call It Love and Nothin’ To Hide. For legions of tried-and-true Poco fans, LEGEND represented an exuberant return to the sound and style that distinguished some of the band’s best work and produced some of the most influential examples of West Coast country-rock.Poco were always one of the very best country-rock bands, way ahead of the Eagles, Pure Prairie League and all those that followed, yet major commercial success always eluded them. Though never eagerly embraced by mainstream country audiences, the country-rock music of Poco was often closer to the roots of country music than much of what was being recorded on Music Row. They were pioneering the country-rock sound with the introduction of the steel guitar and the high country harmonies. It had a lot of energy that mainstream country lacked. As a band, Poco could not be faulted. They were always totally committed to country-rock; they had the technical side of playing country-rock well sewn-up. So well that they stepped over the line at times and sounded like a high-class mainstream rock act. No mean feat, that. The travesty of the Poco story is that they always resided in the shadows of the Eagles, yet it was Poco that perfected the West Coast country-rock sound. Though they sold a lot of records, Poco never made that same kind of huge commercial breakthrough like the Eagles.
Once again, in 1989, Poco was ahead of the trend. They had reunited too soon, allowing the Eagles to come along a few years later, reform with all the hoopla that a major rock act could generate, and play huge arena sell-out concerts. The Poco reunion had been more low-key and financially impracticable, so shortly after the release of LEGEND, once more the Poco members went their separate ways. But they left in their wake what is not only the finest Poco album, but also one of the very best country-rock albums of all time; the one disc I always reach for when someone asks me to describe country-rock. With LEGEND the group had arrived at a place of perfection that was as much a milestone for the band as it was for the entire genre.
Jaw-droppingly fine songs steeped in classic Poco tradition, the album leads off with twanging electric lead to usher in Richie Furay’s distinctive tones as the band recalls When It All Began, looking back fondly to those early days when Poco had everything to play for and what appeared to be a highly successful—and possibly lucrative—musical career ahead of them. There’s no bitterness here, just a happy reminisce dressed up with those classic harmonies and as the song unfolds you’re wrapped in country-rock splendour. Pick up the guitar and strum and sing along. Grab an electric for the blistering Call It Love, a country-rock anthem with some shredding guitar, and sway back and forth with the band on the roots-rock of The Nature Of Love. By the time you reach What Do People Know, it should be fists in the air and singing along at the top of your voice trying to match Poco’s exuberance on the infectious chorus. They slow it down for the gentle Follow Your Dreams, Jimmy Messina taking the lead vocals to a softly-strung acoustic arrangement, his undeniable croon instantly disarming. Rough Edges, a co-write by Rusty Young, Bill Lloyd and Radney Foster, is possibly the heaviest rock-styled track on the album with some quite ferocious pedal steel by Young behind Randy Meisner’s raunchy vocal. He also takes the lead on Nothin’ To Hide in which the harmony vocals are pure magic. Richie Furay’s voice exudes a variety of emotion on the well-written If It Wasn’t For You; from the sly exuberance of new found love past the hard times to the realisation that the oppression of a lonely spell is lifting.
The impact that Poco has made, not only on the Eagles and other country-rock bands like Pure Prairie League and Firefall, but also current Nashville country acts from Vince Gill through Lonestar to Eli Young Band, is immeasurable. There can hardly be a person in the Western World who has not come under the country-rock musical spell of Poco, whether through one of their many clones or songs like Rose Of Cimarron, Crazy In Love and Good Feelin' To Know. They may not be together as a unit, but their musical legacy remains for generations to come. If you only own one Poco album … make damn sure that it’s this one.
www.bgo-records.com