Customer Reviews

Pickin Up the Pieces

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4 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

On this album Richie Furay and Jim Messina literally pick up the pieces of their former band Buffalo Springfield and create a landmark in the history of music. Furay and Messina rounded out their band with pedal steel guitar great Rusty Young (whose great steel solo on Kind Woman, the finale of the last Springfield album, helped set the direction for what would later become Poco), the great Randy Meisner (who would later become famous to a generation of country-rock fans as the high harmony voice of the Eagles), and George Grantham, whose steady drumming and fantastic harmonies were a perfect fit for what would become a very tight band. The term "soaring harmonies" never fit as well as with Furay/Meisner/Grantham on this album. For fans of great guitar and steel guitar, the interplay that developed between Young and Messina on this album will truly amaze you. On this album, perhaps more than any other Poco album that was to come, Furay took center stage as the #1 songwriter, contributing to almost all of the tunes on this set. He truly set the stage for Poco's trademark upbeat music.

If there is a downside to this album it may be the fact that it actually could have been even better. A rift developed between Meisner and the band during the completion of the album and his lead vocals and some of his other contributions were erased from the final product. Messina was also never particularly happy with the fact that his hands were somewhat tied from a production/engineering perspective. There is also a noteworthy lack of anything even remotely resembling a candidate for hit status on AM radio, a fact that would haunt the band for years. There are also a couple of weaker tracks, but the power and energy of the title track, Calico Lady, Consequently So Long, What a Day, Make Me a Smile, and Rusty Young's instrumental Grand Junction more than make up for them.

This album is also interesting from the standpoint that nobody had ever really created a full-length album of rock music infused with the elements of country music prior to this album's release. The Byrds's Sweetheart of the Rodeo and the International Submarine Band's Safe at Home came close, but they both lacked the down home rock foundation of this album. Poco spent months perfecting the sound that you will hear on this work, and it stands out as a true milestone in the history of music.

I wouldn't recommend starting with this album if you are new to Poco (check out Good Feelin' to Know instead), but it definitely ranks up there among their best and if nothing else they should offer a money back guarantee if listening to these songs doesn't brighten up your day.

Poco debuts with a bang on PICKIN' UP THE PIECES. This wonderful album proves that Crosby Stills Nash & Young weren't the only great country-rock-folk band to come out of California in the late 60s. This album deserved to do much better commercially than it did, and now that it's been remastered, it just might get its day in the sun. As it was, in 1969 this album was just too country for rock radio and too rock for country radio.

Poco was the most uplifting band I ever saw and their debut album was the most joyful record of the sixties. From the ashes of The Buffalo Springfield Ritchie Furay and Jim Messina formed the definitive country rock band. The uniqueness of the band centered around the innovative steel guitar playing of Rusty Young and the almost ethereal high harmonic vocal blend of Ritchie, Jim, drummer George Grantham and bass player Randy Meisner. This was the only album to feature this lineup before Randy was replaced by the talented Timothy B. Schmit and though not as well produced as some of their later albums there is an innocence and overall good feeling that was never equaled.













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When Neil Young and Stephen Stills decided to call it quits and leave Buffalo Springfield those of us who had followed the band throughout its abbreviated career were naturally very disappointed. However, all was not lost. From the ashes of the Springfield arose not only the megabands CSN and CSN&Y but also Poco, one of the first and most accomplished practioners of what would become known as Country-Rock. As one reads articles and reviews about the band and its extensive musical output the words most often used are under-appreciated, underrated and over-looked. These adjectives are appropriate. For the most part, particularly in the early years, the band's records were well-regarded by the musical press but ignored by the record-buying public. When they did finally break through in 1978 it was as a purveyor of what I would describe as radio friendly and somewhat generic rock music rather than as a producer of distinctive country rock. Along with many of the group's diehard fans I was both disappointed in the direction that the band was taking and happy that it finally was receiving airplay and had a couple of medium-sized hits. But I am now getting ahead of myself. That was 1978 - we now need to go back approximately a decade.

From Buffalo Springfield came the talented duo of Jim Messina and Richie Furay. The other original members were excellent steel guitarist Rusty Young, singer-drummer George Grantham and bass player-singer Randy Meisner. Meisner was gone in an instant leaving the remaining members as a quartet for the band's freshman record. Some forty years on I recall that during the spring of 1969 I eagerly awaited the release of the band's initial release. When I finally got the LP home I wasn't disappointed. Pickin' up the Pieces was unlike anything we had heard before. It really did introduce the music loving public to a new genre - Country-Rock. Now I do appreciate that others (The Byrds spring to mind) had ventured into similar territory. However to my ears Poco was the first band to effectively meld equal parts rock and country.

The album consists of twelve simple, bright, happy and snappy short songs. The title song is a lovely and lively ode to country music. There isn't a weak track on the record. All four band members contribute to the vocal duties. There is some pretty harmonizing between Richie Furay and George Grantham. Furay, whose occasional vocals when with Springfield were always welcome, is the star solo singer (i.e. First Love). Rusty Young's steel guitar is a standout feature of the LP. I always enjoy listening to Poco. The band's early records are instantly and effortlessly likeable. However, I can appreciate why they failed to capture a sizable audience. For most Rock fans Pieces, for instance, is just too country. On the other hand, the country establishment and many fans of the genre have never been known to be receptive to music that is anything except "pure" country (Shania Twain is a perfect example - it took years for her to be accepted). Poco and the band's first half dozen or so LPs just fell through the cracks - not rock, not country, not popular!

I first saw POCO as the warm up band for the Moody Blues in NYC. I forget the Moody's part of the show because I was so blown away by these guys called POCO. The harmonies make your heart sing. The instrumental excellence makes your hair stand on end. There is "a little bit of magic in the country music they're singing". How many times did I see them live at the Filmore East . . .the band burned the house down. If you like this album, check out "Deliverin".

If you need a happy smile--and I know you do--it'll happen in less than two seconds. Involuntarily! This should be prescribed by "health care professionals" instead of their crappy drug empire phony pills. This is the real thing and one-of-a-kind. Poco released several happy records, but this set the bar. A total standout. Like the first Doors album or the first Moby Grape--I stopped in my tracks and had to rub my eyes. Totally fresh and a great place to be. Later, I saw them in concert several times when I was tangentially related to a Poco clique by my girlfriend--now my wife. As I recall they were quite loud and she dragged me to the front every time! Great shows. As the group began to change members and the Big Break never came we just drifted out into our lives. Always a good memory and I'm glad there is a Poco out there still performing. But really--you need this record.

Country rock bands like Buffalo Springfield and The Eagles get a lot of play while Poco seems to sit on the back shelf unknown to many. When it comes to country rock, Poco has a sound that blends in well with the likes of the afore mentioned bands. A great debut, but not the best I've heard. The music is well played but some of the songs tend to be a little short. However, for fans of country rock, I would recommend a Poco Greatest Hits album. For serious fans of country rock and Poco, this is a must have!

Poco's debut album "Pickin' Up The Pieces" is one of those albums that needs to be heard to be believed.

Continuing on the same vein as Richie Fuary's classic song on the last Springfield album "Kind Woman", him and Messina continue the country rock sound with their baby, Poco.

The beginning of a very underrated band whose material will become much better as more albums are released. But not a bad way to start.

A few of Furay's demos with the Springfield turn up on this album including What A Day, First Love, and Nobody's Fool.

The classic title track, Just In Case It Happens, Yes Indeed, Grand Junction, and Consequently So Long are all Poco classics (with the later 3 given a dyamite treatment in medley form on the live album Deliverin').

Other hightlights include Calico Lady, Oh Yeah, and Make Me Smile.

While the album itself seems to be for some people not really strong, I see it as a continuation of probably what Buffalo Springfield would have become.

Not their best, but a good effort for a debut album. The best was yet to come!

I think becoming a fan of Poco should start as it did for us back then, with the first album. Country was finding it's way into rock more and more, and Poco, the Byrds, BufSpring, and a small knot of others, often cross-pollinating (burrito bros, CSNY, Eagles, etc). Poco remains one of the best. I eventually owned and enjoyed all their LPs. I'm not sure I'd have enjoyed them as much if I had not seen them LIVE! Man they were GREAT! Far far better than the records could hope to reveal. Paul Cotton, Rusty Young's tremendous steel pedal work, TB Schmidts bass, Georges drumming, and the sheer energy and joy of their performance ... equaled really only by The Flying Burritos and Manassas. Really a great look at the way rock was progressing out of the late 60's, moving away from SF Psych and into more roots. And some of us were waiting for such a group. Poco led the forefront, though sadly, I think they aren't well recognized today. Enjoy them where you can.

Poco remains one of the best groups of the sixties and this is one of their best recordings. Great guitar work, and excellent music throughout. If you like Poco, give a listen to the Flying Burrito Brothers.