Trouble in Paradise

The Souther Hillman Furay Band, J.D. Souther, Souther Hillman Furay Band | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 18, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Wounded Bird Records
• ASIN: B000068TKS
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #142,541 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. Trouble In Paradise rose to # 39 and is making its worldwide CD debut. Wounded Bird Records. 2002.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Skip the first two songs and you've got a Perfect Album, June 28, 2005

By 

TUCO H. "H. TUCO" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Trouble in Paradise (Audio CD)

Considering all the resurgence of attention paid to The Flying Burrito Brothers & Gram Parsons these days some 30 years after they made their 4 or 5 original albums, it's only appropriate that country-rock fans should also use amazon.com to link to the Souther-Hillman-Furay band, forgotten now but well worth the time to re-discover.

Their second outing, "Trouble in Paradise," is really nothing less than a flat-out 1970s country-rock classic if you just skip the first two mediocre tracks. Why they would open their album with the 2 weakest tracks is anybody's guess since most people would not even have the patience to listen beyond it. However if they did they would discover gems, 7 of them, back to back. Not every song is meant to be a hit, some are more meditative and build up their vibe slowly. However, "Mexico" "For Someone I Love" "On The Line" & "Prisoner in Disguise" could have been gigantic hits if given a little bit better production and frequent radio play or if a more widely known band like the Eagles happened to perform them. In their original versions sung by Souther & Furay, these songs are easily as soulful as anything the Eagles could have done with them in their prime.

These songs are the fruits of an easy-going laid-back, totally open-minded but still culturally American way of life, part-hippie, part-cowboy, part-adventurer, part-gentleman. There is subtle philosophy in this album happening all the time just like it did on the early Poco albums. These guys do have ideals they won't sell-out and so did the Eagles in the mid-'70s. Yeah, go ahead and laugh if you want but it's true, the Eagles "Hotel California" or Boston's first album, no matter how commerical they sound, how many million times they got played on AOR radio, do not have one ounce of compromise for the sake of popularity in them. Their highest expression of what they liked at the time just happened to be exactly what their audience liked best.

Conclusion: If you like the Flying Burrito Bros., Buffalo Springfield, Poco & the Eagles or authentic 1970s Country-Rock sounds in general, here's another classic you can add to your collection. Just skip the first two tracks and enter the perfect time warp for another one of those never-to-be-duplicated bygone-era mid '70s So-Cal sound country-rock albums. Because of the enormous success of the Eagles & the overplaying of their music to death, any style of music associated with them may not be hip to listen to anymore but it remains great, it's got quality, soul & class most of the newer artists of today only wish they had. And let's face it, if the Eagles hadn't hit the big time like they did, they would be being re-discovered now just like Parsons/Burrito Bros/Souther Hillman Furay BAnd. When you keep repeating these tracks over & over again because you can't get enough of them, don't say I didn't warn you!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So much to offer-Too little to hear, January 26, 2001

By 

Ross Smith (Kettering, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Trouble in Paradise (Audio CD)

As anyone who has followed the career's of these three artists, it is well known how far and wide their music has been tasted. From Furay's time with Poco and Buffalo Springfield, groups whose members crossed paths as well as his individual work to Hillman's music with The Byrds,The Desert Rose Band, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Manassas and individually and finishing with Souther's mostly individual music to his work with several other artists (Ronstadt) before and after SHF. The previously known obvious talents of these artists made it a very easy decision to buy the album before hearing a song, I believe, in 1976. The album was played so many times that when I decided to copy it on a cassette (oops, am I allowed to say that?) it had so many scratches, nothing could save the sound. But what I have always remembered is the depth of the talent and how the emotions played with such deep sincerety in each track, It seemed sure that this was a group that would be around for some time. Making albums full of songs that were all worth listening to. With all due respect to The Eagles, Souther, Hillman and Furay would more than likely stole much of their thunder, had SHF chose to stay together. But given the trio's already mentioned history, it seemed logical they would not be together long. Regardless, this album has to rank in the top 10 of it's music genre of the 70's. Overall it is timeless in the so called Country Rock format. It would be "a good feeling to know" as well as "the sweetest amnesty," to hear this music again on disc. Until then I'll have my, "Black Rose," in the window to console me. Thanks for your time.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Prelude to Demise, April 18, 2006

By 

R. D. Fonnesbeck "Poco Fan" (St. George, UT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Trouble in Paradise (Audio CD)

This second, and final, LP by the SHF Band reminds me of Buffalo Springfield's "Last Time Around"...it was good album, but you could almost feel it consisted of separate efforts by each band member, compiled together on one disc. Richie Furay's tunes clearly showed his leanings to Christianity, though they were well done; but only having 2 songs on the album spoke volumes of his interest and/or involvement. Souther, who made no effort to keep the group together, included a previously released song (Prisoner In Disguise) and uses the principals of the Eagles as background singers instead of Hillman and Furay on supporting vocals. Hillman's work stands out the best from my perspective, even though he has one less tune than Souther. The group also misses the work of drummer extraordinaire Jim Gordon, who was replaced after the first SHF album by Ron Grinel (Gordon eventually had some serious legal problems). Terrific sidemen Al Perkins and Paul Harris return, and the album is an easy listen--- great harmonies, country-rock beat and each tune was thematic in its own way. Still,it was clear this LP was the swan song for the group, which had failed to tour much to support its first album, due to an injury to Furay's hand. Furay and Hillman were much more compatible as bandmates, and Hillman has been quoted as saying he got tired of being the middle man between the exuberant goodness of Furay and the brooding, more moody Souther. Lost in the translation of all this was the potential for a great band, if not the supergroup that David Geffen had envisioned in the first place. By the time his hand healed, Furay was focusing on his family, personal life and his commitment to Christianity, and Hillman correctly surmised there was no way to effectively tour without him. All three---Souther, Hillman and Furay, released solo projects for Asylum with little fanfare and monetary success after the band broke up. Look for Souther's "Black Rose", Hillman's "Clear Sailin'" and "Slippin' Away" (what's in a title?) and Furay's triumvirate, "Richie Furay Band", "Dance A Little Light" and his best Asylum work, "I Still have Dreams". All were great in certain aspects, but Furay and Hillman's LPs were supported strongly by former bandmates from their past, somehow giving them more credibility than Souther, who continued to play his Eagle connection a bit too much.