Pure Prairie League / If the Shoe Fits [Original recording reissued]

Pure Prairie League | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 18, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued
• Label: Renaissance
• ASIN: B000005NOH
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #117,732 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Tears

2. Take It Before You Go

3. You're Between Me

4. Woman

5. Doc's Tune

6. Country Song

7. Brand New harmony Songs

8. It's All On Day

9. That'll Be The Day

10. I Can Only Think Of You

11. Sun Shone Lightly

12. Long Cold Winter

13. Lucille Crawfield

14. Gimme Another Chance

15. Aren't You Mine

16. You Are So Near To Me

17. Out In The Street

18. Goin' Home

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the finest country rock bands of the early 70's., November 10, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Pure Prairie League / If the Shoe Fits (Audio CD)

Pure Prairie League's eponymous first album is a classic of the country-rock genre. Every cut is a beauty. Along with their second album, "Bustin' Out", PPL cut two of the best albums of the early seventies and really forged their own niche which can best be described as prairie rock. Starting strong with "Tears" this re-issue never flags. This is as good as anything by the Eagles and Poco. The second re-issue on this CD, "If the Shoe Fits", is not as strong (due to the absence of original group leader/ songwriter, Craig Fuller), but it is still a nicely-turned effort. If you've not heard PPL before you're in for a treat. This is some of the loveliest music ever recorded. Buy it, kick back, and enjoy.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's about time we see this early release on CD, June 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Pure Prairie League / If the Shoe Fits (Audio CD)

I played this record until I wore the grooves right off the thing, and by the time I tried to find another copy it was out of print. Bless Renaissance Records for finding the guy who had the key to the RCA vault and for realizing the substantial impact that this work had on early Progressive Country-Rock. It meets or beats any comparative early efforts by such icons as The Eagles, Poco, the Burrito Brothers, Byrds, and so on.

The first eight tunes on this CD comprise Pure Prairie League's first RCA recording from 1972 simply entitled "Pure Prairie League" and are indeed remarkable. The Craig Fuller penned tunes "Tears", "Take It Before You Go", "You're Between Me", and "Brand New Harmony Songs" are exceptional. Later to appear on a PPL "Live" recording, the full length jam - "Country Song" - appears here. All through, the steel guitar of John David Call is fine...fine...fine!

Pure Prairie League would approach this great recording with its follow up "Bustin' Out", with the top hit "Amie", before generating other moderately successful albums with revised lineups, and although enjoyable, they would not live up to their debut.

The remaining ten tunes comprise the album "If The Shoe Fits"; a more mellow overall effect with less notable tunes and an absence of hits. By this time, Craig Fuller had departed, and for this particular set, the band has departed from its early upbeat country tempo.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but don't pay that kind of money for it!, February 22, 2008

By 

Richard D. Hodgson (Madera, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pure Prairie League / If the Shoe Fits (Audio CD)

I've commented in other reviews that I wish I could give a disc more than one rating; in this case, one for the content and another for the value vs. the price being asked. The private sellers who are asking up to 150 bucks for copies of this disc have no shame whatsoever. I personally have a strong distaste for sellers who rip people off in such a manner, figuring that if you want it bad enough you'll be willing to pay an absolutely ridiculous price for it. Guys like that ruin the hobby of collecting music for a lot of people, and I feel nothing but disdain for them.

Here's the deal. Yes, this is a nice disc. And yes, it is rare and hard to find. And it does contain one of Pure Prairie League's finest efforts, their debut album. Paired with that, in a 2-fer disc, is a later album titled "If The Shoe Fits". It's a decent album, but not a terrific one. Both are out of print domestically, so at one time this was a very desirable disc to find, if only for the first half. At one time. But recently, the Acadia label out of England has issued another 2-fer with the debut album that's included on this disc, paired this time with "Bustin' Out", their second and perhaps finest album. It's a much better pairing, and a whole lot cheaper. In addition, Acadia's reissue of "Bustin' Out" is far superior in sound quality to RCA's domestic version.

If you can get the "PPL/If The Shoe Fits" disc for a decent price, it's certainly worth owning. While inferior to Bustin'Out, Shoe Fits does actually have several really nice tracks. But if you look in the used bins at brick and mortar stores long enough you can probably find one for a small fraction of what these jerks are asking for it.

Bottom line: 1) Skip the domestic RCA release of "Bustin' Out"-- it's awful. 2) Buy the Acadia import of "PPL/Bustin' Out"-- it's excellent. 3) Buy this "PPL/If The Shoe Fits" 2-fer if (and only if) you can find it for a good price-- it's worth owning. But don't pay more than 10 bucks for it-- I didn't, and mine's in near-mint condition. If you buy it for what these guys are asking, you are being absolutely, utterly, completely and totally ripped off. It's just not anywhere near that good. Few discs are, in fact, new or used. Time to find a conscience, guys...