Customer Reviews

Trouble in Paradise

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

 

 

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!

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.

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.

1975's Trouble in Paradise followed quickly on the heals of the supergroup's eponymous debut. Singer/ songwriter Souther had aleady been sucessful with compositions on Eagle's and Linda Ronstadt albums, while Richie Furay was ex Buffalo Springfield and Poco, and Hillman an ex- Byrd, ex- Burrito and ex Manassas.
Quite a CV all round! However, neither of the two albums they made were outstanding and sales were only average with the first album getting to no. 11 and this one getting to no. 39 on the US album chart. And here in NZ they didn't chart at all. On the plus side, both albums play right through, the weaker compositions saved by the outstanding musicianship and production (the band fleshed out by Joe Lala, Paul Harris, Al Perkins and Ron Grinel). It's interesting how songwriters have flat patches and here Chris Hillman is a bit below par. The highlights are from Souther and Furay and are mainly on the old side two. Souther's 'Prisoner in disguise' is a great slow paced composition about a sour relationship and has a damned good middle 8 or variation. And his 'Somebody must be wrong' is West Coast with soul and funks along like a Steely Dan composition. In Poco, Richie Furay's songs were often right out there, loosely grounded flights of pedal steel fantasy. Here though, his songs are more solidly bedded down and 'For someone I love' and 'On the line' are both excellent songs with great hooks. The latter especially can brighten up your day. It's got a great chorus.
At the time they came out, in the mid seventies, there was a plethora of good West Coast music out and so this album and it's predecessor didn't cause much of a stir. But now in 2005, it's been great to import this CD across the Pacific Ocean and hear this music all over again from a fresh perspective. It really is a pleasure to listen to the great musicianship and some of the compositions are right up there.

I discovered Richie Furay and J.D. Souther purely by accident. I found the original S-H-F Band self-titled debut album in a bargin bin somewhere around 1979. I was familar with J.D.'s association with the Eagles but I had no idea who Richie and Chris Hillman were. After I threw down my $1, I've seeked out every recording from J.D. & Richie(sorry Chris) ever since. After reading the reviews here I felt compelled to respond.

I found this album to be more enjoyable than the first album. I thought the debut lacked direction and proved to be a bit uneven. But 'Trouble in Paradise' sounded more slick with good pop sensibilities. Now normally that would be considered an insult but after the spotty affair of the first album this was a welcome change. Yes this is in the same vain as Loggins & Messina/Poco/Eagles/Jackson Browne. But you can't dismiss the vocal and songwriting capabilities of J.D. Souther & Richie Furay. Thirty-two years later Richie's voice is still unwavering (check out 'The Heartbeat of Love'). I wish I could say the same about J.D. but we may never know since he hasn't recorded anything in 25 years.

If your considering this CD and have not purchased anything from Richie or J.D. start with their solo material(Richie: Heartbeat of Love, J.D: Home by Dawn or You're Only Lonely)and then revisit this.

I was never really a fan of the first SHF album, although it had some stellar songs on it. Then the second album came out. As odd as it is great, it rates as one of my desert island albums. Every single song is excellent. I wore out probably three vinyl versions of it. I bought a copy of the CD many years ago as a German Import. It wasn't released in America. The first song, Trouble in Paradise, is a warning for what is to come. This was their last album. Each song features strong influences from each different member. And that particular member sings lead. The vocals and arrangements on every single song are amazing. The biggest problem with this album, as is the case with all great albums, is that it is too short. Within a year after SHF broke up, each of the three had his own solo album, and all three are classics. So, not only is this song for song an amazing album, it is a precursur of things to come for all three. I've had the CD for almost 20 years, and I still listen to it about once a week. Thank you for making this album, gentlemen.

This is a rather short CD, but isn't bad overall. The music sounds like a combination of Poco and Loggins and Messina. The first 2 songs sound especially like L & M. Of course, they would naturally sound somewhat like Poco because this is where Richie Furay came from. If you like pop/rock/country from the 70's you will enjoy this one!

'Trouble in Paradise' was David Geffen's second and final attempt at creating a CSNY super-group by merging three disparate (or maybe desperate) talents. 1974's 'Souther Hillman Furay' album was a good-sounding debut, whch hinted at better things to come from the trio once they had gotten a chance to merge into a productive unit. Unfortunately, the follow-up was even more fragmented. It sounds like 3 mini-albums: Richie Furay's Poco outakes, Chris Hillman's Manassass outakes and J.D Souther's Eagles/Jackson Browne tribute act. Allegedly, Furay was heard to remark forlornly during recording sessions 'and to think I left Poco for this?'. I rest my case.

The idea of forming a country rock 'supergroup' by combining the talents of JD Souther, Chris Hillman and Richie Furay wasn't a huge success, and I very much prefer, for example, Souther's solo albums (especially 'Black Rose').

This said, 'Trouble in Paradise' is, in my opinion, appreciably better than the previous SHF album. There's a mellow, jazz-tinged, laid-back feel to this album, and several of the songs are excellent, including the title track, 'Mexico', 'Prisoner in Disguise' and 'Follow Me Through'. If you've got Souther's solo albums, 'Trouble in Paradise' would be a good next addition to your collection.

Finding this album in store without having to order it online was a real treat and despite unenthusiastic reviews of it, I snatched it because it was available. I should have held out for SHF's first album, which is said to be better. JD Souther, Chris Hillman, and Richie Furay should have been the ultimate country-rock superstar band when put together, but this album does not demonstrate anything to that end. The vocal harmonies are as good as one would expect and the musicianship is proficient, but by 1975, the songs have lapsed into '70s California soft-rock lethargy. Certainly, such easy-listening music has its purpose, and I continue to listen to the record for purposes of chilling out, but it has none of the fire of the bands associated with S, H, and F: the Eagles, Flying Burrito Brothers, and Poco. The only song that recalls any of the members' country-rock backgrounds is "Prisoner In Disguise", a laid-back but soulful song with just the right touches of steel guitar, piano, and soaring vocal harmonies. On the title track, a poppy, jazzy number, the band seriously sounds like it's boring itself to sleep. If you're a big fan of any of the three stars, this affords one more opportunity to enjoy their work, especially that of Richie Furay, whose wonderfully twangy country vocals grace the front of just two tracks that aren't even country songs: "For Someone I Love" and "On the Line". One more notable song is "Mexico", a somewhat different song, with an agreeably warm south-of-the-border sound and vocals from JD Souther that are easy on the ears. Otherwise, though I can't yet speak for it, you might better spend your time and money on SHF's first album. See also my review of the "20th Century Masters" compilation of Poco songs.