Customer Reviews

Ultimate Collection

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Intentionally or not, Poco may well have been the best minor-league team in rock history. Its country-rock was not as critically acclaimed as forebears Buffalo Springfield or contemporaries the Flying Burrito Brothers, Mike Nesmith's National Bands (which it invoked on "Bad Weather") nor as popular as the more prententious Eagles. Poco sipped its success, thwarted by changing personnel (one ex-member replaced another in the Eagles, another became half of Loggins and Messina; a third joined Souther-Hillman-Furay Band) and atop record companies stewarding its career.

Its hit songs and best albums scatter across haphazard collections on major labels, yet Poco remains a popular touring band with integral members (songwriters Paul Cotton and Rusty Young, drummer George Grantham) intact."The Ultimate Collection" makes appreciating Poco easier, gathering its best from 30 years of music previously left on budget sets like "Backtracks" and incomplete boxes like Epic's "Forgotten Trail."

It says much for Poco's vision that, despite changing personnel nearly every track, its trademark harmonies and tight instrumentation remained intact. This is true on hits that should have charted (1972's soaring "Good Feelin' To Know," the sing-a-long "Rose of Cimmaron," 1982's pensive "Shoot For The Moon") and those that did ("Crazy Love" and "Heart Of The Night," from 1978's "Legend,." were soothing exhales after disco-dance exhaustion. The late comedian Phil Hartman designed that best-seller's cover, the closest Poco came to a cohesive national identity.)

The final song, the unlikely Top 20 hit "Call It Love" was from 1989's aptly titled "Legacy," a fine LP that imploded into another missed opportunity. It was a near-perfect single with wistful message, unforgettable mandolin-style intro and powerful guitar break. Founding member Richie Furay was back, the then-hot Richard Marx contributed, and the then-"Saturday Night Live" star Hartman even designed a variation on his "Legend" cover. But Furay could not tour with the group due to ministerial duties; his priorities were correct, but Poco would not score another hit.

Poco's influence would outlive its chart success, much of what stands as country music today owes as much to its 1970s vision as anything the Eagles did, let alone the Buck Owens-Merle Haggard Bakersfield country inspiring country-rock to begin with. "The Ultimate Collection" is just that for new fans and those seeking one stop for the hits; longtime fans can reach for the original Epic or MCA LPs, many of which remain in print.

Formed from the ashes of the Buffalo Springfield in 1968, Poco was one of the first bands to combine the traditional vocal harmonies and instrumentation of country music with a modern rock and roll approach. But while the band sold a steady amount of records, due to one too many personnel changes in too short a time, they never really got to the superstar level of their successors the Eagles.

Nevertheless, they were a tremendous band of great potential, and ULTIMATE COLLECTION, which spans their career from their 1969 debut PICKIN' UP THE PIECES to 1989's LEGACY, shows why. The early songs spotlight the work of lead guitarists/vocalists Richie Furay and Jim Messina plus the innovative steel playing of Rusty Young. In later years, after Furay and Messina departed, Paul Cotton worked with Young to beef up things and give Poco a more Eagles-like punch. In 1978, that resulted in the band cracking the Top 20 on the singles charts for the first time with the acoustically-inclined "Crazy Love" and the classic "Heart Of The Night", both of which are featured here.

But the album also gives us gems like "Rose Of Cimarron" (later covered by Emmylou Harris), Cotton's very tropical "Barbados", and the chilling "Widowmaker." Concluding with the band's 1989 Top 20 hit "Call It Love", ULTIMATE COLLECTION shows Poco to have been one of rock's most underrated bands ever, especially when it comes to California country-rock. Nashville may have such Poco imitators as Rascal Flatts, Diamond Rio, and Lonestar, but Poco, like the Eagles, is a band whose sound and substance can never be duplicated.

The liner notes confirm that many Poco fans think of this group as shoulda-been superstars of Eagle proportions. They would prefer the first half of this CD, with its light country-rock that does predate the Eagles' early hits by a bit. Personally, I can't deal with the dopey lyrics to "Pickin' Up The Pieces", with the pickin' 'n' grinnin' 'n' the old folks back home. Or "A Good Feelin' To Know", in which the singer comes home when he needs good lovin' (impliedly dissatisfied with what he picks up on the road? Why am I suddenly itchy?).

I first heard of Poco in the late '70's, when it morphed into a soft-rock powerhouse along the lines of the Little River Band and Dr. Hook. Their biggest hit, "Crazy Love", came during this period. It's beautiful, with great harmony and delicate guitar strumming. But my favorite is the followup single, "Heart Of The Night." Breathtaking, and one of the few songs that can calm me down at the end of a bad day. Even though I've never been to New Orleans, and therefore needed a few years to figure out "Pontchartrain." "Under The Gun" and "Widowmaker" change the pace a bit. Rock on. Later songs "Shoot For The Moon" and "Days Gone By" are also pretty, though they were smaller hits. The disc ends with their 1989 RCA hit "Call It Love." I remember it more for the video's megababe sashaying on the railroad tracks than for the song itself. ("I recall the yellow cotton dress...") Surprisingly left off is that song's followup "Nothing To Hide," co-written by Richard Marx. Poco only had four Top 40 hits, and that was the last of them.

"The Ultimate Collection," like other Hip-O compilations, spans a bunch of record labels which usually don't cooperate with each other. If you like the early period, you can pick and grin away with the Columbia two-disc set. Most of the more polished later stuff is on "Crazy Loving". I'll probably play the second half of this CD more than the first, but I'm glad I held out for this disc so I can have a little of everything. A Poco de todo? Sorry...

This is their best single CD compilation, but it is missing an important contributor to Poco, Randy Meisner. While this CD has most of their hits and best songs it appears that one of the goals of whoever selected the songs was to make sure this was a Meisner-free CD. This leads to the omission is their last top 40 hit Nothing To Hide. I can't think of any other reason to leave off one of their biggest hits since Poco only had 4 top 40 hits; but still a very good collection and the best available for Poco.

This is the only Poco collection to cover their entire career from the early 70's through the early 90's. Most of the best songs are here, including "Picking up the Pieces", "Rose of Cymarron", "Crazy Love", "Heart of the Night" and "Widowmaker". This is the best collection for introducing new listeners to Poco.

I recently went with my parents to see a Poco concert (my mother followed the band in the 70s). I must confess, I absolutely loved the concert and I love this CD. If you don't find yourself humming along with the tune you've heard 100 times (Crazy Love), I'll be shocked.

I was also so surprised to learn that Timothy B. Schmit (from the Eagles) used to be a member of Poco. I love the songs he wrote. Why the Eagles made it so big and Poco was sortof the underground "cool" band during that time, I'll never know.

They are so incredibly talented. Pop this in while you are having a cold beer on a summer day or while you are driving a long stretch on a road trip, and you'll no doubt be smiling along.

Poco's Ultimate Collection is a wonderful greatest hits album for the band because it shows how the group has evolved from the beginning. It also clearly illustrates the range of each member's talent, especially Richie Furay and Rusty Young. A very good selection of songs seem to have been rightfully chosen. Overall, this album (CD) is very entertaining.

This CD came in great condition. I am a long time fan of Poco, and I like this particular compilation. The service was great from the seller and it arrived quickly!

This is the collection to own if you're trying to replace the best Poco songs from you vinyl albums. My one regret is that nothing from Poco seven made the cut; I'd have included "Faith in the Families," one of Paul Cotton's best.

A must have for any POCO fan! This album contains the most popular tracks heard on the radio.