Souther Hillman Furay Band

The Souther Hillman Furay Band | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 18, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Wounded Bird Records
• ASIN: B000068TN7
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,517 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

The Souther, Hillman, Furay Band was one of those supergroup creations of the 70's. Chris Hillman was an original member of The Byrds, Richie Furay was one of the founders of Poco and J.D. Souther worked with Glen Frey of the Eagles. In 1974 they formed this unique group and recorded two albums. The Souther, Hillman, Furay Band went all the way to # 11 on the Billboard charts and features the top 40 hit Fallin' In Love. Wounded Bird Records. 2002.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars one more classic for the country rock collector, December 19, 2002

By 

jeff hirshberg (New york) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Souther Hillman Furay Band (Audio CD)

What can you say about an album that has more history in country rock than a slide steel guitar in ten country fairs. You have the founding father of Buffalo Springfiled and Poco in Richie Furay; You have a founding father of the Byrds and a perenial back up for everyone including Stephen Stills and the Burrito Bros in Chris Hillman, and you have a solid songwriter who helped form the Eagles in J D Souther. Add on the talents of Al Perkins on pedal steel, and Jim Gordon who's background included Eric Claptons Deric and the Dominos, and you can imagine how incredible this album is.
Setting aside the level of professionalism in its execution and delivery, we can look at the quality in song writing. Each song writer has tremedous experience, and placed on the table three or four of their best for this album. J D Souther presents his classic ballad style in his numbers, Richie furay presents his signature work, and Chris Hillman throws in his solid rock based compositions. ( But then, what else can you expect from a bass player with his portfolio.)
When you have listened to as many of these groups as I have, you find the same people playing for each group, and learn to expect this kind of quality; Only the songs and the group leaders change. This album is A-1, and should not be overlooked.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This Group should have been Super, April 13, 2006

By 

R. D. Fonnesbeck "Poco Fan" (St. George, UT USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Souther Hillman Furay Band (Audio CD)

David Geffen's attempt to create a supergroup to compete with CSN and CSN&Y was driven by former Poco founder Richie Furay's frustrations with Epic Records failure to support Furay's masterpiece Poco LP in 1972 "Good Feelin' To Know". By Furay's own admission, he was upset and dismayed with how GFTK came and went on the charts, though the record's signature title tune was a crowd favorite at Poco concerts. Furay contacted Geffen, who was heading Elektra/Asylum/Nonesuch Records at the time, and the wheels were in motion for Richie to leave Poco before his last LP with the group "Crazy Eyes" came out in 1973. By then, Geffen had wrangled J.D. Souther, sometimes known as the "5th Eagle" for his collaborations with Don Henley and Glenn Frey, to hook up with Furay and Chris Hillman, one of the all-time great country rock musicians, who had been an original Byrd, co-founded the Flying Burrito Bros. with Gram Parsons, and had been Steve Stills' right hand lieutenant in Manassas. Furay and Hillman shared similar backgrounds and philosophies of life and music, drenched in the more "country" part of country-rock, and had known each other for years. Souther, on the other hand, was a loner and wild card, though enormously talented as a songwriter and decent singer as well. The Geffen formula seemed airtight for the SHF Band, especially when sidemen Paul Harris (keyboards,piano-Manassas), Al Perkins (pedal steel guitar, guitar-Manassas, Flying Burrito Bros.) and Jim Gordon (drummer for Eric Clapton/Derek & The Dominos) were added to complete the lineup. Most observers thought the band was a "can't miss" combination...and the first SHF LP did not disappoint. Furay's "Fallin' in Love" did well on the charts, and the contributions by Souther, especially "The Heartbreaker" and "Border Town" as well as Hillman's "Rise & Fall" and "Safe at Home" were strong enough to get the LP inside the Top 40. But the group suffered from the splintering effects of 3 very talented musicians trying to co-exist, with Souther being less than cooperative to many of the perspectives that Furay and Hillman shared. The music on this record is great, and the CD reissue is even better using today's recording techniques, and most of us who had been fans of the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, FBB, Poco and country rock in general felt like the SHF Band was a great alternative to the softer, more saccharine lyrics of CSN. With Neil Young pretty much out of CSN's picture during this era, it was a great opportunity for Geffen to get this new group exposure and make them as visible as the Eagles would eventually become. Unfortunately, that did not happen. The aforementioned personality problems, separate visions of musical direction, Furay's initial leanings to Christianity (he has been a pastor in Colorado for over 2 decades, originally converted by Al Perkins during this period)and their inability to effectively tour after their second album came out in 1975 due to an injury to Furay's hand, were seeds in the ultimate demise of the group. Nonetheless, this LP gets 4 stars easily, it is fun to listen to, and has a great mix of song styles, wonderful harmonies, and excellent lyrics by all 3 principals. All in all, it is a shame that the SHF Band did not hit it big. Furay was an outstanding concert frontman and maybe had the best tenor voice in this genre ever, Hillman was coming into his own as a singer, after spending years as a talented multi-instrument player, and Souther had the poetic sensitivity in his writing that also showed up on the Eagles "Best of My Love" and Linda Ronstadt's "Prisoner in Disguise". Both SHF Band LP's are worth purchasing, but this first effort is unmatched by the follow-up.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A supergroup that didn't need any hype at all, July 16, 2005

By 

R. Verschaeve - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Souther Hillman Furay Band (Audio CD)

JD Souther, Chris Hillman and Richie Furay had a history in the musicbusiness before they joined the SHF-band and it didn't do any harm I have to tell you. The album was hyped at the time, maybe the reason the group didn't reach to its full potential. The album still hit #11 in the BB album charts in 1974 with Furays''Fallin' in Love' being their only hitsingle. There's more here than just that one 'Heavenly fire' 'Deep, dark and dreamless' being beautiful richly harmony filled country ballads 'Border Town' and 'Safe at home' hard rocking popsongs which might as well have been recorded by Poco or the Eagles. Maybe that was the main problem: although all 10 songs where written by groupmembers, the sound was not unique. Never the less this group deserves recognition for providing at an excellent collection of 10 beautiful songs on one album. A huge accomplishment in a period in which fans of the more succesful groups had to do with one or two gems on one lp. They could saved their money and just bought this one.