Customer Reviews

Essential Poco

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Leave it to Epic to once again give short shrift to Poco, arguably America's most influential and underrated country-rock band. When I first heard Poco would get an "Essential" collection, I had visions of a two-disc set spanning their entire recording career from 1969-1984, with perhaps a track or two from the one-off "reunion" album, "Legacy" on RCA in 1989 (Poco is back making records again on small, independent labels, now. See 2003's "Running Horse" and 2004's "Keeping The Legend Alive").

Well, Epic got it at least half-right. This set covers their entire recording career, but, at only one 70 minute disc, there are HUGE omissions which do not give a new listener a true sense of this phenomenal band. Enormous chunks of their recording career are completely omitted, particularly their work with ABC/MCA in the late '70s and early '80s. Missing completely from this era are Poco classics like "Keep On Tryin'", "Rose Of Cimarron", "Indian Summer", "Legend", and "Under The Gun." If they had also been included here, some of the tracks from the recently released "from the vaults" live recording, "The Last Roundup" would have introduced the listener to the real power of live Poco, who have always had the reputation of being a fantastic live act. Here, I am thinking of tracks like "Living In The Band" and "Too Many Nights Too Long," among others. Two tracks from 1971's live album "Deliverin'" are included here, but do not pack the punch of the tracks on "The Last Roundup", though "C'mon" comes close.

Other selections in this collection are curious inclusions. While still an enjoyable track, "High And Dry" (from 1974's "Cantamos") is certainly inferior to that album's best track, the vocally and instrumentally amazing "Sagebrush Serenade," which is nowhere to be found here. Just as inexplicably, Poco's uninteresting cover of the Buffalo Springfield's "Go And Say Goodbye" from the 1972 album, "A Good Feelin' To Know" is here, while a superior song like "Ride The Country" from the same album is absent, though the live version of the latter song from the 1976 album, "Live" would be the best choice had it been included.

It would be wise to avoid this collection and to pick up instead the two-disc "The Forgotten Trail" for coverage of Poco's Epic Records years, and the single disc "Crazy Loving: The Best of Poco, 1975-1982" for their ABC/MCA Records hits. Also available as an import is the two-disc "The Essential Collection" which also is restricted to the ABC/MCA years. A more balanced and better collection of ALL their material from 1969-1989 is Hip-O's single-disc "The Ultimate Collection." While still not ideal, it is a far more "Essential" collection than this travesty.

This is the first anthology to cover Poco's entire career from its 1969 debut PICKIN' UP THE PIECES through 1989's reunion effort LEGACY. The seventeen tracks on this collection are all vintage Poco, but as a single-disc collection it leaves numerous gaps in its coverage of this vastly underrated country/rock band.

For example, only "Pickin' Up the Pieces" is included from the debut album, but three tracks are included from LEGACY. In the mid- to late-seventies, Poco released a series of stong albums (POCO 7, HEAD OVER HEELS, ROSE OF CIMARRON--all for MCA) and they are not represented here. [Several early-eighties albums are not included either, but these were not among Poco's best work.]

Classic songs like "You Better Think Twice," and "A Good Feelin' to Know" are here, plus stellar live versions of "C'mon" and "Kind Woman," and their belated commercial successes "Crazy Love," "Heart of the Night" and "Call It Love." Bottom line, this is a terrific collection for casual fans. Serious fans would do better to pick up a copy of 1990's THE FORGOTTEN TRAIL (Epic) or 1998's THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION (Hip-O). RECOMMENDED

POCO-THE ESSENTIAL POCO: POCO's trademark bluegrass licks and gorgeous harmonies can be traced to the demise of pioneering country rockers BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD, with many of the genre's finest musicians passing through its ever changing ranks before moving on to more successful (but not better) acts such as LOGGINS & MESSINA and THE EAGLES. JIMMY MESSINA's YOU BETTER THINK TWICE and RICHIE FURAY's GOOD FEELIN' TO KNOW are zesty twin towers of twang nirvana, although remakes of SPRINGFIELD gems KIND WOMAN and GO AND SAY GOODBYE seem superfluous, especially at the expense of missing bona fide POCO classics on ESSENTIAL. The band's one constant, pedal steel/slide player RUSTY YOUNG came into his own during their more pop oriented middle phase via whispery ballad CRAZY LOVE (their first TOP 40 hit), while sublime guitarist PAUL COTTON contributed the equally stylish HEART OF THE NIGHT, unfortunately his only writing or singing credit here. This so-so compilation comes full circle with a reunion of the original quintet offering the slick comeback single CALL IT LOVE as well as the autobiographical rocker WHEN IT ALL BEGAN, making ESSENTIAL nothing more than the barest of POCO starter kits.

RATING: THREE HOOFPRINTS

THE ESSENTIAL POCO isn't really essential for the group's early work- for that, you need to own the original albums- but it's the best way to get their later good songs without needing to buy the full albums, especially LEGACY. This CD includes LEGACY's two best songs, "Call It Love" and "Where It All Began" as well as their MCA hits "Crazy Love" and "Heart Of The Night." However, it's perfectly OK to cry over being asked for a dance to this CD because it's missing a true classic from the band's MCA years- 1976's "Rose Of Cimarron." However, what's here is great, even though the original Epic albums and CRAZY LOVING 1975-82, the best of from the MCA years, might serve the average listener better.

I think if you like the Eagles, you probally will like this group too. It's got the most you need for the most part, it could use a few more songs, but this will do. But I got this album because it has Heart of The Night, always like that track along with Crazy Love. But it also has other good songs like Pickin' Up The Pieces, You Better Think Twice and Bad Weather. They're not better than the Eagles, but equally acceptable I think considering it had one guy who went to perform with The Eagles (Timothy Schmidt), you can give credit where credit is due. Anyhow, this is a good little album to enjoy.