step up to the mike...

"Impartiality is not neutrality. It is partiality for justice." - Stanisław Jerzy Lec (1909-1966)

 

Polish Summer...

I haven't written for ages! We spent August in Poland. Great but I had the mother and father of all chest infections! As a result I was hardly eating and drinking and lost a stone and a half! Now back to the UK routine.

Poco...

One of my pet hates is LP reissues on CD where they add new liner notes by someone who knows nothing and cares less. They have done exactly that to the otherwise brilliant BGO two Poco albums on one CD series or re-releases.

The normally brilliant John Tobler rambles on about how the albums failed to chart, what other acts Poco members played with before and after being in the band and famous friends. It is as if he would rather write about anything as long as it is not Poco's music.

Today Poco are remembered as a sort of Eagles "lite" who never made it. In fact the Eagles produced only 7 albums during their main career. Of those the final albums "The Long Run" and "Eagles Live" were a let down. The two classics "One Of These Nights" and "Hotel California" are enormously over-blown and over-produced. It is their first three albums that stand the test of time - "Eagles", "Desperado", and "On The Border".

Poco produced 20 albums in a 20 year run between 1969 and 1989 and two good later albums. It is arguable that the first 12 of those 20 albums are all outstanding.

It is strange to recall that at the time the main criticism of Poco was that they were too "rock" for "country rock" which seemed to upset purists. In fact for Poco addicts each new album came as a breath of fresh air - strong and distinctive songs, fine playing, those marvellous and distinctive harmonies and that amazing freshness each time!

Forget the Eagles. Poco were the real thing.

And the albums:

"Pickin' Up The Pieces", "Poco", "Deliverin'", "From The Inside", "A Good Feelin' To Know", "Crazy Eyes", "Seven", "Cantasmos", "Head Over Heels", "Live", "Rose Of Cimarron", "Indian Summer", "The Last Round Up", "Legend", "Under The Gun", "Blue and Gray", "Cowboys and Englishmen", "Ghost Town", "Inamorata", "Lecacy" and more recently "Running Horse" and "Bareback At Big Sky".

Back At Home...

For ages I've been after the International Submarine Band "Back At Home" album.

THeir only other album "Safe At Home" was an early Gram Parsons album arguably the first ever country rock album.

Well now I have it and "Back At Home" is a 2000 cash in by someone called Ian Dunlop who left  the ISB before they recorded the classic first album and also left the Flying Burrito Brothers before they recorded anything and Jon Corneal who was on those classic disks.

"Back At Home" is a total rip off. It sounds like kids playing in a garage in 1967. The playing and singing is all truly horrid and the murder of Gene Clark's "Feel A Whole Lot Better" is truly grim.

posted by: Oborski at 09:32 | link | comments |