Customer Reviews

Under the Gun

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

 

 

Wow. First, I disagree vehemently with the few reviews that are here on this site. I broke ranks with my fellow high schoolers back in 1980 and checked the box for "Under The Gun" on my Columbia Record and Tape Club order form and what arrived in full vinyl form was a shiny black album with the now famous Poco horse logo. And as the other reviewers mention, this was the follow up to the gold album "Legend", the album that spawned tha band's two biggest hits to that point, "In The Heart of The Night" and "Crazy Love". The band's new approach combined a more adult contemporary flavor which subdued some of the more country elements. But the country elements morphed into a more robust rock prototype-one that would inspire those who would compose ballads with a country tinge.

This album could be the most difficult to pigeonhole based on the time period. Even a hint of new-wave shows up on tunes like "Down To The Wire". But the main thrust of UTG rides the rough terrain between pop, country and rock. And for the serious music reviewer, the results are astonishing. "Midnight Rain" is an ample companion to "Heart of The Night" with Rusty Young's "lead" pedal steel guitar. The broken ground is further opened with "Friends In The Distance" with its understated melody, which then bursts forth with Paul Cotton's amazing solo. For me, the most experimental song of the band's career is "Made of Stone" which features a lead dobro that is played over some 80's sounding synths. This is no one-off follow up. This is a collection ignored by the record label, MCA. Who chose to release Poco albums with almost zero promotional muscle. This collection runs start to finish. And even though the music tide was beginning to turn, 1980 was still 1970's enough to support this kind of music. In fact, the band made a conscious effort to not sound dated or stale. This collection is the band's best effort in the modern era. The rodeo, the pop-rock shop, and the cutting edge-all rolled into one offering. You'd be stupid not to seek this album out, and turn it up loud!

Slip this disc on your home system and tell your friends that it's the great lost Eagles album. Chances are they'll go off trying to find a copy of their own. This is a very good album with some great moments. I fail to understand what is driving the stratospheric price. Looks like it's ripe for a reissue and remaster job. Why not, everything else is?

While I do not think that the early (i.e. Richie Furay) POCO was generally better than the later group, both outfits are hard to compare. Times change, and I rather listen to a later "new" POCO than to a band trying to repeat the same sound all over again.

"Under the Gun" is admittedly not among the best post-Furay albums but it does have its moments. The sax is plainly awful, right, and makes my hair stand on end every time I listen to the whole CD. "Legend" (1978), "Ghost Town" (1982) and "Inamorata" (1984) were better by far - great music in its own right, and the latter two are available on a single bargain CD.

I'm obviously in the minority here but Poco's follow up to "Legend" may have found them "Under The Gun" (an appropriate title given that they were under intense pressure to produce a successful follow up to "Legend")but it's as strong an album as its predecessor.

Continuing the band's move into harder rock territory there's still more than a hint of their country rock origin here but "Under The Gun" was clearly made for a 1980's market. Producer Mike Flicker continues the trend from the previous album of putting the guitar up front and loud along with the vocals.

"Under The Gun" failed to ignite the charts like its predecessor and Poco lost some of its gains despite producing a strong follow up album (the album only reached #46 compared to #14 for "Legend" and the two singles "Midnight Rain" reached only #74 while the title track only reached #48 compared, again, to #17 for "Crazy Love" and #20 "Heart of the Night")and, unfortunately, the band would lose further ground on the charts with each succeeding album until the album "Legacy" which featured the original line up of the band.

Still, "Under The Gun" is a worthy follow up even if that isn't reflected in sales, charts and popular fan approval.

If you like The Eagles then you'll probably like Poco. This album contains some really great rock and country rock songs and a good ballad or 2 thrown in. Well balanced album. My favourite Poco album but I'm sure some older diehard original fans would disagree. Have a listen its good.

It is true that Poco of this era was very far away from their country-rock "home" of "Pickin' up the pieces" album from 1969. "That ain't country!" - many of you probably said, some with anger. No. This ain't country. This is first class rock, really as real as it gets. The title song is unforgettable; its anger and simple power shine today as timelessly as ever. A rock classic. There are many good, straight rockers on UTG, but also very beautiful Poco songs such as "Midnight rain".

So, this isn't country? Couldn't care less, to be honest. I love Poco's country-flavoured production, but this band can do so much more, too! There's just as much heart in Poco's "pop/rock" albums as in their early country-style works. Their magic is there - if you just turn all prejudices off and enjoy the music of this very, very special band. "Under The Gun" is both an album no rock music lover should miss, and an example of Poco at their most powerful era.

Why shouldn't a band re-invent itself? Whatever Poco has done, it has always done it with style. So, you hate rock music? Don't bother. This is about as good as it gets, and that's no lie. Give "Under The Gun" a try - I don't think you're going to regret.

1980 saw Poco, as a five man band, release its fourteenth album. Whereas Legend represented a rewarding movement from Country-Rock to generic pop-rock Under the Gun was far less interesting and deservedly less successful. The problem, as is usually the case, lies with the material. For the most part the music is merely ordinary. I don't dislike the songs on this record - I simply have no reason to play them again. Why would I when I have so many other superior Poco LPs from which to choose? The bits and pieces that make me sit up and listen are too far and between - Cotton's solo on The Everlasting Kind, Footsteps of a Fool - the best song on the album, Midnight Rain and Friends in the Distance - good Cotton songs - but he `d done them before and done them better.

When I pulled out my Poco records with a view to re-evaluating each of them I guess that there was a reason why, after over thirty years in most cases, I recalled all except this one. I love Poco and it doesn't please me to be negative, but, this album is uninspired and plodding. It is not memorable in any way. It sounds to me as if the band had run out of ideas and was just going through he motions.

With their late-1978 album "Legend", Poco finally got themselves their first gold album--it was certified gold within 6 months of its original release. Though not even close to a masterpiece, "Legend" is at least a decent album and an improvement over 1977's "Indian Summer". However, Poco stumbled again with 1980's "Under The Gun", both commercially and artistically. "Under The Gun" suffers from the same things that had plagued the group before--competent-but-uninspired performances and rote songwriting with miserably unimaginative lyrics. The lion's share of the album finds Poco seemingly clueless as to how to rise above mediocrity. "Under The Gun" is actually a rather fitting title for this album--it's as if the group was in a hurry to meet a record company deadline and didn't have anywhere near a solid album's worth of original song material ready. It starts off with Paul Cotton's stadium rock-style title track which is a badly generic and dull attempt at an anthem complete with overwrought vocals. The following track, the more ballad-ish "While We're Still Young", offers up more of the same with more gratingly generic riffage. Rusty Young's "The Everlasting Kind" is a truly awful ballad--incredibly sappy, corny, and laughably unconvicing, with abysmal lyrics and wailing lead guitar that's appallingly out of place. The bluesy, slow-paced "Reputation" is another miserably undercooked tune with heavy repetition of utterly unimaginative guitar licks. The album closing "Made Of Stone" has a speedy but obvious and routine guitar lick which appallingly gets used as the song's main riff, and the song also has prominent and cheesy synth horns. "Footsteps Of A Fool (Shaky Ground)" is another half-hearted ballad, and "A Fool's Paradise" is another annoying rocker. Actually, "A Fool's Paradise" would have made for a fitting album title here as well. Cotton does serve up a couple decent songs with the ballad "Midnight Rain" and the nicely moody "Friends In the Distance". Overall though, not a whole hell of a lot to recommend this album whatsoever.

Poco had its five minutes of commercial success with "Legend", recorded with its final and (to me) weakest lineup. Rusty Young was the only original member, though Paul Cotton had been aboard since "From the Inside". The afterglow of that moment of fame was obviously wearing thin when they cut this album.

Poco's best and most successful work has been based on gentle melodies and gorgeous harmonies. On this album they seemed to be trying to do loud electric anthems (ala Springsteen, Mellencamp, etc) and it just doesn't work too well. Worse, Rusty Young had just about abandoned his steel guitar, one of the highlights of Poco's sound, and he is playing singer-songwriter here. There is even (gasp) sax on one cut, and Steve Forman adds percussion on several cuts; very un-Poco!

The songwriting chores are split about evenly between Rusty Young and Paul Cotton. These tunes are mostly forgettable. "The Everlasting Kind" has a touch of the old Poco harmonic spark, but that's about it.

This album was definitely the beginning of the final slide. A couple of more ordinary albums and this once-great group fizzled out for good. This is one of the worst efforts of this group, which means it still is well crafted and better than most stuff out during the late 70's/early 80's. OK is the highest recommendation I can give.

Get any of the Richie Furay led Poco albums on Epic before bothering with this stuff.