Customer Reviews

From The Inside

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

By the time Poco released their third studio album From the Inside in 1971, Richie Furay was allowing more and more songs from other band members. [Furay wrote or co-wrote ALL of the tracks on their debut.] The newest songwriter is former lead guitarist for the Illinois Speed Press Paul Cotton, who filled the spot vacated by founding member Jim Messina. Cotton wrote and sang "Bad Weather," "Railroad Days" and "Ol' Forgiver" and added another distinctive voice to the band. And the gorgeous title track was written and sung by bassist Timothy B. Schmidt, his first solo writing credit. Also pedal steel and Dobro player Rusty Young co-wrote the toe-tapping "Hoe Down" with Furay.

Still, the album's highlights are Furay's. The sprightly "You Are the One" evokes the country sounds of Furay's previous band, the Buffalo Springfield, as do "Do You Feel It Too," "What If I Should Say I Love You" and "Just For Me and You."

This is engaging country/rock at its best. Why Poco never had the kind of chart success the Eagles had remains a mystery to this longtime Poco fan. Furay would stick around for only two more albums before leaving the band in 1973 following the release of Crazy Eyes.

Poco continues to perform today around the nucleus of Young, Cotton and (just recently) original drummer George Grantham. But From the Inside contains numerous treasures and stands tall among the albums released by the Furay-led version of the band. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

With the departure of Jim Messina, Poco lost a co-founder, their lead guitar player and their producer. "From the Inside" featured the arrival of Messina's replacement, the great Paul Cotton. Cotton settled right in on this record. The same can't be said for the producer. Blues legend Steve Cropper produced this record and totally missed the mark. Cropper's production does not due justice to some great material by Richie Furay, Cotton and Tim Schmit.

Despite this, "From the Inside" is a great record, largely due to the strong material and great musicianship. Cotton's "Bad Weather" and "Railroad Days" are top notch and Furay's "Just for Me and You", "What if I Should Say I Love You" and "You Are the One" are nothing short of fantastic.

If there is a downside to this record it is that it is a little short on rockers. Much like the Byrds' "Ballad of Easy Rider" album, this is a laid back release that shows that the band could produce mellower material and still sound great.

This is the fourth offering from Poco...well if you don't want to include the live album that came before this one you don't have to. This is without a doubt thier best album. It's practically a masterpiece musically. The arrangements straddle country and pop very well without losing the rock and roll feel. If there had to be a flaw it would be the uneven songwriting that made me feel that they were trying to stay in the lines as far as keeping the songs short. The longest song on here clocks in a 5 minutes and 32 seconds. "Hoedown" is the only song that needs to be short. The rest needed a little filler to make the songs whole in my opinion. There's still a chockful of good songs here though. "Bad Weather" Feautures Paul Cotton's debut as a songwriter, and a singer. "You Are The One" a nice bouncy country love song, the title cut is the best by far with tremendous harmonizing from Tim Schmidt, and The last song on the album "Just For Me And You" equals the title cut as the best song on this album a tasty little rocker to give you something to hum on the way home. This was a busy album where Jim Messina would leave after "Deliverin", and Paul Cotton enters, but Ritchie Fuary would now start to get cold feet about continuing on, but he hangs on for 2 more albums, and leaves after recording "Crazy Eyes". This was almost a masterpiece, and I enjoyed it when I first heard the promo 26 years ago, and things just never die.

This album from Poco is as are they all underrated by the great unwashed. Fabulous songs, harmonies and instrumentation. Highlights include the emergence of other song writers in the band apart from Richie Furay. Bad Weather by Paul Cotton is one of their finest ever tracks although Ol` Forgiver is not. Tim Schmit contributes his first song here with the title track, which is a stilted piece with lovely lyrics. Two songs on the album which show Poco at their absolute finest are Just for me and you, which is a feel good sing along highlight as is You are the One, (better live on The Forgotten Trail) An essential album for Poco fans.

The great Messina was gone, replaced by Paul Cotton. Most of us fans were prepared for a real letdown but were pleasantly surprised when the group delivered this tasty collection of songs. "Hoe Down" got my attention right away, announcing that the upbeat attitude wasn't dead yet. Then the gracious "Bad Weather" put me at ease over the change in lead guitarists. One after another the tunes played out, reassuring me that Poco was alive and well. It doesn't quite match the astonishing studio LP that preceded it but very few albums do. This has few "filler" songs and holds up quite well over the years.

From a dyed-in-the wool NON-country/western musicologist, this album (when I first heard and purchased it in the '70s) is so good I bought the CD as soon as I could find it in the '90s. Almost every track is a star in it's own right. You'll not find the twang but you will find it full-bodied, toe-tapping and just about as good as it gets.

The circumstances of the making of this album (the recent change in personel, being informed by the record company that they had to go straight back to the studio following a lengthy tour, a producer (Steve Cropper) who they didn't want, and who showed little love for their music, etc) has long clouded the various members perceptions of this superb piece of country-rock, both Richie Furay and Rusty Young citing it as their least favourite Poco album. The QUALITY of the result suggests that it was worth every moment of agony that went into its making (Easy for me to say, I know).

Certainly this is a very dark album, no doubt due to the problems noted above, but the songs are uniformally excellent.

If you're not a country fan the opening cut "Hoe Down" may dismay you, but from there the 'rock' side of things (thanks to the guitar of Paul Cotton) predominates more than you might expect. Cotton brings into the band not only a distinctive presence with his guitar and vocals, but a pair of glorious songs in "Bad Weather" and the rocking "Railroad Days". At the same time, Timothy B. Schmit begins his emergence with the elegant title track, an indication of his huge talent that would be fostered as long as he stayed with Poco, and thrown away the minute he joined The Eagles.

The rest of the album belongs to band leader Richie Furay, though, and he too shines throughout, particularly at the end of the album with "What If I Should Say I Love You?" and "Just For Me And You". "Do You Feel It Too?" is a good song, but this version unfortunately falls flat when compared to the original (First released on the "Picking Up The Pieces" CD reissue).

Poco made many fine albums during the course of their 20-year recording career, but this is one of their very best, and is certainly a highlight of the Furay years.

The comings and goings of the members of Poco continues - from the original line-up we have scratched Randy Meisner and then Jim Messina, replacing them with Timothy B. Schmidt and Paul Cotton. For me these were good trades from both a short term and a long term perspective. As the years passed each of the new band members became major contributors. Cotton in particular was an excellent songwriter-singer and a more than adequate guitarist. I remembered him from his days as one half of Illinois Speed Press - a band whose two cds I continue to pursue, unsuccessfully (Amazon at over $70!).

Hall of Fame guitarist Steve Cropper produced From the Inside. He has been much criticized for his work here. Quite frankly, I don't see the problem. The album is loaded with excellent songs and first class playing. The vocals are exactly what we had come to expect from Poco. I detect no flaws with the sound of the record. Bad Weather is one of my favourite Poco songs - although I do have to admit that I prefer the Illinois Speed Press take on the song - then again that version is one of my favourite songs of all time. Schmidt's title song contribution is very pretty. Cotton and Furay share the credits for the remaining songs. Now, if you come to this record expecting a reprise of Pickin' up the Pieces you are probably in for a minor jolt. Even some of Furay's songs are less delicate, less country and more rock oriented than they were on the band's debut. However, all in all, while this was another fine effort from this under appreciated band, commercial success was still a few years away.

If you're a Poco fan, this record is a must. If you're new to Poco, this record will steal your heart. This is as good as it gets! Made at the height of their touring days, the record combines the sweetest ballads with the hardest rocking songs Poco ever performed. "Bad Weather", "Railroad Days", and "What if I Should Say I Love You" are my favorites.

Jim Messina gone, Paul Cotton arrives. A different vibe from their first 3 records.

I forgot about "Hoedown". What a cool way to open the record. It reaches back to their first album without wanting to relive past memories. A good way to get you sucked in to the record.

Then there's "Railroad Days". I remember watching "Saturday Night Live" in the mid-1990's when the band starting playing this song going into commercial. I nearly fainted when I heard it. "Railroad Days" and "Hurry Up" from their second album are the two best songs Poco ever recorded. It's a darn shame "Railroad Days" did not make "The Forgotten Trail" 2-CD collection. Play this song LOUD.

The rest of the album shows a definite transition into a more rock direction with twinges of country. This record paves the way to their different attack of the mid to late 1970's.