Buffalo Springfield, who definitely deserve an own post, may well have been called “Buffalo Springboard.” After the Canadian-American folk rock band broke up in May 1968, Stephen Stills got together with David Crosby and Graham Nash to form Crosby, Stills & Nash; Neil Young launched his solo career and later joined CSN; and Richie Furay (vocals, rhythm guitar) co-founded Poco, together with Jim Messina (lead guitar, vocals), Rusty Young (pedal steel guitar, banjo, dobro, guitar, mandolin, vocals), George Grantham (drums, vocals) and Randy Meisner (bass, vocals). Messina also served as the band’s producer. They called their debut album Pickin’ Up The Pieces, a reference to Springfield’s break-up, and boy did they live up to the title!
I rarely find myself agreeing with the editors of Apple Music, but in this case, I think they got it right. They boldly call the record “an album that’s every bit as good as anything the Springfield did.” Poco are considered to be one of the pioneers of country rock, years before the Eagles popularized the genre. And yet, compared to records from CSN and Young that came out around the same time Poco released their debut in May 1969, the latter only accomplished moderate chart visibility. It would take the band almost a decade before scoring a commercial success with the excellent Legend, the band’s 11th studio release from November 1978. Back to Pickin’ Up The Pieces.
Furay was involved in most of the writing of the album’s music, either as the sole writer or a co-writer. Various of his songs date back to the time with Springfield. In this context, Wikipedia specifically notes What A Day. While Meisner participated in the recording sessions, he was asked to leave the band prior to the record’s release over disagreements with Furay, who for some reason insisted that only he and Messina could participate in the final mixing sessions. As a result, Meisner’s vocals were re-recorded by Grantham. He was also replaced on the cover with a dog. Only this bass parts were kept – egos in rock. Time for some music!
I’d like to kick things off with the above mentioned What A Day. That song grabbed me immediately with it’s powerful opening It’s a good morning and I’m feeling fine. The vocal harmonies are an absolute killer and definitely rival the magic of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. I also dig the tune’s groove. Apparently, Poco didn’t release any singles from the record. I wonder how that tune would have fared as a single.
Calico Lady is another standout to me – more terrific harmony singing and nice acoustic and electric guitar work. Also, I’ve never heard a dog play such a groovy bass line! The song is credited to Furay, Messina and Skip Goodwin.
Among the tunes that sound more like straight rock is Short Changed, another track written by Furay. The rugged lead guitar is a bit reminiscent of Neil Young. I would bet this is one of the songs Furay wrote during his Buffalo Springfield days.
The album’s title track is traditional country rock. This was the first song Poco recorded and appears to be another tune Furay wrote during the Buffalo Springfield era. According to Wikipedia, commenting on the song, Furay said, “To me it summarized the attitude we wanted to convey in our music: good, wholesome & positive. There was so much negativity going on in the world in the early 70s and it needed a refreshing sound. The country rock sound we were creating would be it. We were innovators, pioneering the way for a whole new ‘Southern California sound’ that many groups who followed would capitalize on.”
The last track I’d like to call out is Grand Junction. The instrumental, yet another piece written by Furay, has a groove that is similar to The Allman Brothers’ Jessica.
From Pickin’ Up The Pieces Poco went on to record 18 additional studio albums, the most recent of which appeared in March 2013. There are also nine live records and multiple compilations. In 1974, Furay left Poco, discovered Christianity, formed Christian rock band Souther, Hillman, Furay and in 1983 became a senior pastor in Bloomfield, Colo. He continues to perform to the present day. Messina left the band in 1971, following the release of their live album Deliverin’ to focus on producing. He then hooked up with Kenny Loggins to form Loggins & Messina. Following his exit from Poco, Meisner joined the Stone Canyon Band and in September 1971 became a co-founding member of the Eagles.
Poco are still around. Rusty Young remains the only co-founding member. The current line-up also includes Jack Sundrud (guitar, bass, vocals), Rick Lonow (drums, percussion) and Michael Webb (keyboards, guitars, accordion, vocals). While at the end of 2013 Young announced his official retirement, he still tours with the band. He also released his first solo album Waitin’ For The Sun last year.
Poco are currently touring the U.S. If you happen to live in or near Melbourne or Jacksonville, Fla., you can see the guys this Thursday or Friday. There are four additional scheduled gigs for 2018, as well as three dates for February and March 2019. Based on the schedule, it doesn’t look like Poco are planning to call it quits anytime soon.
Sources: Wikipedia; Apple Music; Poco official website; YouTube
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