Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Paul Cotton's Debut With the Band, November 12, 2000
By the time Poco released their third studio album From the Inside in 1971, Richie Furay was allowing more and more songs from other band members. [Furay wrote or co-wrote ALL of the tracks on their debut.] The newest songwriter is former lead guitarist for the Illinois Speed Press Paul Cotton, who filled the spot vacated by founding member Jim Messina. Cotton wrote and sang "Bad Weather," "Railroad Days" and "Ol' Forgiver" and added another distinctive voice to the band. And the gorgeous title track was written and sung by bassist Timothy B. Schmidt, his first solo writing credit. Also pedal steel and Dobro player Rusty Young co-wrote the toe-tapping "Hoe Down" with Furay.Still, the album's highlights are Furay's. The sprightly "You Are the One" evokes the country sounds of Furay's previous band, the Buffalo Springfield, as do "Do You Feel It Too," "What If I Should Say I Love You" and "Just For Me and You." This is engaging country/rock at its best. Why Poco never had the kind of chart success the Eagles had remains a mystery to this longtime Poco fan. Furay would stick around for only two more albums before leaving the band in 1973 following the release of Crazy Eyes. Poco continues to perform today around the nucleus of Young, Cotton and (just recently) original drummer George Grantham. But From the Inside contains numerous treasures and stands tall among the albums released by the Furay-led version of the band. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Laid Back Poco, November 4, 2005
With the departure of Jim Messina, Poco lost a co-founder, their lead guitar player and their producer. "From the Inside" featured the arrival of Messina's replacement, the great Paul Cotton. Cotton settled right in on this record. The same can't be said for the producer. Blues legend Steve Cropper produced this record and totally missed the mark. Cropper's production does not due justice to some great material by Richie Furay, Cotton and Tim Schmit.
Despite this, "From the Inside" is a great record, largely due to the strong material and great musicianship. Cotton's "Bad Weather" and "Railroad Days" are top notch and Furay's "Just for Me and You", "What if I Should Say I Love You" and "You Are the One" are nothing short of fantastic.
If there is a downside to this record it is that it is a little short on rockers. Much like the Byrds' "Ballad of Easy Rider" album, this is a laid back release that shows that the band could produce mellower material and still sound great.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Almost A Masterpiece, October 11, 2004
This is the fourth offering from Poco...well if you don't want to include the live album that came before this one you don't have to. This is without a doubt thier best album. It's practically a masterpiece musically. The arrangements straddle country and pop very well without losing the rock and roll feel. If there had to be a flaw it would be the uneven songwriting that made me feel that they were trying to stay in the lines as far as keeping the songs short. The longest song on here clocks in a 5 minutes and 32 seconds. "Hoedown" is the only song that needs to be short. The rest needed a little filler to make the songs whole in my opinion. There's still a chockful of good songs here though. "Bad Weather" Feautures Paul Cotton's debut as a songwriter, and a singer. "You Are The One" a nice bouncy country love song, the title cut is the best by far with tremendous harmonizing from Tim Schmidt, and The last song on the album "Just For Me And You" equals the title cut as the best song on this album a tasty little rocker to give you something to hum on the way home. This was a busy album where Jim Messina would leave after "Deliverin", and Paul Cotton enters, but Ritchie Fuary would now start to get cold feet about continuing on, but he hangs on for 2 more albums, and leaves after recording "Crazy Eyes". This was almost a masterpiece, and I enjoyed it when I first heard the promo 26 years ago, and things just never die.
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