Customer Reviews

Last Roundup

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Let me start by saying that I'm a huge Poco fan. I bought their debut back in 1969 and over the next twenty years purchased every album they released. [I even had concert tickets to see them in 1973, but the concert was cancelled--probably due to Richie Furay's yet unannounced departure from the band.] When this album finally became available, I was thrilled to find a Poco album that lived up to the memory of this great band. [Quite frankly, by the early eighties, their releases were spotty at best.]

So now, almost twenty years after the fact, we get a new Poco album that features the spark and fire that drew me to this group in the first place. The album--THE LAST ROUNDUP--is aptly named. This would be the final outting with the lineup of Paul Cotton, George Grantham, Rusty Young and Timothy B. Schmidt. Schmidt would be gone by the end of the year this concert was recorded (1977) and George Grantham was gone by early 1978, leaving only Young and Cotton to soldier on.

This concert was from a tour in support of their then current release, INDIAN SUMMER, and features four tracks from that album. In addition, another four tracks are from their previous album ROSE OF CIMARRON. Only two tracks date back to the Richie Furay years: "Magnolia" and "Honky Tonk Downstairs" (with Furay on vocals). Young's pedal steel drives the music and their vocal harmonies are as lush as ever. This is a welcome addition to your Poco collection. [Running time - 62.57] RECOMMENDED

Post-Richie Poco was hit and miss. Their ABC/MCA albums had good and mediocre moments, and their "Poco Live" album wasn't terribly strong or as sxciting as Poco fans knew they could be live.

So, when this "new" CD was announced, I was only mildly interested, even with the inclusion of a track with Richie.

I was dead wrong! This is a white-hot, smoking and joyous performance and recording. It just screams out of your speakers, and throws you against the wall. It's the Poco us old-timers remember, even if with only a brief Richie appearence.

If there's ever a reason why Poco must be in the Rock Hall, one only needs this disc to know that Poco should have gone in way ahead of the Eagles - these are the real fathers of country-rock, and they are at the top of their late-innings game.

Well worth ever penny for this disc.

It doesn't get any better than this! This is the "Holy Grail" of Poco music. This live performance was from the July 1977 Indian Summer tour recorded by ABC Records with a guest appearance by Richie Furay. No traditional 3:30 format songs here, and backed by an orchestra too. The band members all are there...Rusty, Paul, Timothy, George and Richie {guest performance}. Sweet ecstasy for the soul.

This is a great recording of the rockiest country band there ever was. This is Poco in their prime. The sound is great, the energy is high, the harmonies are right on. Rusty Young displays his mastery of multiple instruments, Paul Cotton and Timothy Schimdt's vocals are strong and George Grantham drum beat is the back bone. This is a treasure unearthed. You won't be disappointed.

While this album was shelved some years ago by Poco's label, the fans had begged and pleaded for it's release. Well the wait is over! The folks at Futuredge put this beauty out and it captures the band on tour behind their "Indian Summer" album. A set many Poco fans believe to be one of their best albums ever!
If you've been to see Poco, you probably ordered this one already.
If you haven't been fortunate enough to see these master craftsmen deliver the goods on stage, I suggest you order this one right away! It has well performed renditions of "Indian Summer", "Dallas", "Rose Of Cimarron" and "Magnolia" as well as many of Poco's finest stage classics.

Very much surprised at how good this live concert recording is. Though I did see this final incarnation of the first post-Ritchie Furay version of the band in concert at the time I'm still amazed at how good they were. The sound quality of this CD is excellent, the band sounds super-charged. The only weakness in my mind is a couple of song selections.

For the un-initiated this the end of the road for the band era that includes Timothy Schmit before he headed off to greener pastures otherwise known as The Eagles. This CD includes many songs from Indian Summer, their final studio album with Schmit. On the surface that might not be a good sign, but surprise, surprise. The live versions here improve on virtually all of those songs. Its impossible to exaggerate how well these songs are sung and played here.

Throw in a couple of excellent vintage tracks such as Rose of Cimarron, Keep on Tryin and Sagebrush Serenade and what you are left with is a nice reminder of how good this band was. The songs from Paul Cotton and Timothy Schmit dominate this recording which is good. But you also see the emergence of Rusty Young as a songwriter which would eventually come to full fruition with the subsequent incarnation of Poco sans-Schmit.

Overall this is a great find for Timothy Schmit fans as you would never hear him so prominently featured in his future endeavors with The Eagles. I always liked this incarnation of Poco though most long time fans would not consider this to be their finest era (how could it be without Ritchie Furay?). Take it for what it is; a fine live document of a very good band that never quite got its due.

This is considered to be the "Holy Grail" of Poco recordings. It was during their Indian Summer tour in 1977. If you want to hear Poco the way they wanted their fans to hear them, you cannot go wrong with this offering.

While available as a "boot" for years amongst traders, this "official" release of The Last Roundup exceeded all my expectations for quality. Recorded during POCO's 1977 summer tour, The Last Roundup captures POCO at its very best. This is my favorite POCO record. Enjoy.

This is an amazing live reocording that contains all of the energy and musical and vocal talent that made Poco a standoout band of the 70s. THEY RICHLY DESERVE TO BE INDUCTED IN THE MUSIC HALL OF FAME!

Read the reviews; purchased the CD. It was wonderful to see an unreleased live Poco concert available after many years in the can. But let's be honest, the breathless Reviews I read before purchasing the CD were a bit over the top. Yes, it is a good recording, but the CD suffers because several weak songs were included (in an effort not to duplicate the previous live recordings?). There are some real gems, some real keepers, on this CD, but because of the filler material, it is not a great one. Your best bet: invent a time machine and attend a Poco concert in person.