Poco Albums (22)
'Alive in the Heart of the Night'
Release Date 10/24/2005
Tracks 14
Label Music Avenue
See Album Tracklist and Review
'Bareback at Big Sky'
Release Date 9/20/2005
Tracks 15
Label Emergent / 92e
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
The "bareback" in the title partially alludes to the acoustic/predominantly unplugged nature of this live album. It's also recorded in front of a frequently sedate audience of Poco family and friends. The atmosphere is not surprisingly homey and loose, with terrific harmonies from Paul Cotton and Rusty Young, the only two Poco originals left. It's a rather odd combination of almost hits, generally from the Legend era, along with some new material and a few from the band's previous indie release, Running Horse. New member bassist Jack Sundrud contributes two selections, but neither is as good as much of the band's earlier work for Epic, none of which is included here. Timothy B. Schmit's lovely and relatively obscure "Find out in Time" gets revived as does Cotton's "Too Many Nights Too Long," originally from the Rose of Cimarron album. New tracks such as Cotton's "Bareback" and Young's "Nothing Less Than Love" and "Save a Corner of Your Heart for Me" are middling love songs that work well enough in this acoustic atmosphere. Rusty Young's distinctive pedal steel, a sound that used to define the band, is frustratingly only dusted off for "Midnight Rain." The band's Buffalo Springfield roots are revisited for a stirring cover of Neil Young's "On the Way Home," a bittersweet set-closer that brings out the best in Poco's legendary vocal harmonies. Still, one wishes for a few more frisky nuggets, or even some hits, to spice up the ballad-heavy show. It's all pleasant, comfy, and predictable with too few moments, such as an unexpectedly rowdy cover of J.J. Cale's "Cajun Moon," where sparks fly. But the sound is crisp, the band sounds inspired, and for old fans there are enough glimpses of Poco's characteristic country/folk-rock to make this a worthwhile purchase. ~ Hal Horowitz, All Music Guide
'Running Horse'
Release Date 1/1/2002
Tracks 11
Label Drifter's Church
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Though its cover art and title allude to Legend(1978), Poco's only real blockbuster album and last of any true merit, Running Horse reaches back back no furhter than the group's last studio album, 1989's Legacy, a cobbled together reunion album produced in part by Richard Marx. The production on [^Running Horse} is equally weak, tentative, and thin, with dated highly guitar tones and studio feel. Surprisingly little of founder Rusty Young's famous pedal steel work is evident, odd considering his prowess on that instrument helped introduce it to the non-country world (Greg Leisz bow down). It's as if the alt-country explosion of the mid-1990s never happened. With so many groups owing a debt to Poco, its hard to understand why listening to Running Horse. All that said, Young and guitarist Paul Cotton's songs display charming honesty and rich emotional depth, moreso than most any mainstream county release could muster. "Every Time I Hear That Train" does feaure some fine harmonies, but it's a pale glimpse. Even without a major label deal and much technical support, they could have done much better. Little Feat alum Craig Fuller appears as a guest and co-writer. ~ John Duffy, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The original 1968 lineup of Richie Furay, Jim Messina, Randy Meisner, George Grantham, and Rusty Young, which never got to record (Meisner quit on the eve of their first session), finally goes into the studio, and it's as though 20 years dissolve away. The singing is impeccable, the playing awesome -- maybe a little too good -- and unlike a lot of reunion projects of this kind, the songs are as good as any the group ever recorded, with a couple ("When It All Began," "Call It Love") that would belong on any truly honest best-of collection. The only flaw, if that's what it is, is the decidedly modern sound and production -- the group's country-rock sound is nearly compromised by the modern engineering, which gives the drums too much presence and the guitars too much volume. The playing is loud and precise and often beautiful, but also at times mechanical and soulless compared with the group's old recordings; the exceptionally passionate singing more than compensates for this flaw, however. It might have been interesting to see the re-formed group do a couple of the songs off of the first album that they never got to do as a quintet, but the point behind that had long ago been made by the quartet that did record. A must-own alongside the MCA best-of and the original eight Epic albums (or the Epic double-disc Forgotten Trail anthology). David Cole was the overall producer, but Richard Marx signed his name as producer to one of the best tracks here, "Nothin' to Hide," which he also co-wrote. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Poco was down to the duo of Rusty Young and Paul Cotton by this point, which may be why, having been visited in the studio by former members Richie Furay, Timothy Schmit, and George Grantham, they structured the credits in such a way that you might think the old group had reformed. Not so. Rather, this was a mediocre (and final) effort by an act long past its prime. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Merely a shadow of their former selves, Poco seems to have lost their way. This album includes covers of Gordon Lightfoot's "Ribbon of Darkness," and J.J. Cale's "Cajun Moon," and The Everly Brothers' "The Price of Love." ~ James Chrispell, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
While it's nowhere near on par with the Poco of the late '60s and '70s, Ghost Town is surprisingly polished, AOR-friendly classic rock with a country tinge. Very similar in warmth and production values to the Eagles (a group that Poco member Timothy B. Schmit would eventually join), the songs are pleasant but easily forgettable in comparison to the rest of their catalog. Moments like the eponymous title track, "How Will You Feel Tonight," and "Shoot for the Moon" offer glimpses of the band's glory years, but the rest of the album fades into the "classic rock" mists whence it came. ~ Rob Theakston, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Talk about bad timing -- had Rusty Young and Paul Cotton only brought this concept album out about nine years later, around the time of Ken Burns' The Civil War, it might well have sold a few hundred thousand copies, or at least generated a little press and gotten a shot at some sales. As it was, in 1981, no one really cared that much about a concept album built around the Civil War -- or, at least not a country-rock concept album. Perhaps, unlike White Mansions, it came out too long after the American Bicentennial -- or that the culture war embodied in Reagan's election in 1980 had wearied too many people on the matter of national conflicts and divided nations. As it happens, this isn't a bad album, and at least benefits from more energy and ambition than its immediate predecessor, Under the Gun. There's some fine playing throughout and generally good singing, and some of the writing is inspired, although there are some lapses into lightweight, unmemorable fare also. A little more consistency might have lofted this album to the level of the band's best recent work, but it's still worth hearing as one of the more ambitious records ever to come from this long-lived country-rock band -- and it certainly didn't deserve the obscurity that enveloped it. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
A deliberate follow-up to Legend, Under the Gun was a workmanlike but unremarkable effort. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
