Poco was certainly not the first band to combine elements of folk, rock and country music. But it became one of the best, maybe even the best, at the California folk-rock rage of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
There was something special about the early Poco music, a chemistry that touched a lot of people with its feel-good simplicity and optimism. The band featured Jim Messina and Richie Furay of the pioneer folk-rock band Buffalo Springfield, as well as then-unknown Coloradoans Randy Meisner, George Grantham and Rusty Young.It was a lineup that lasted through "Pickin' Up the Pieces," Poco's first album, which is now hailed as one of the finest of all time.
But Meisner soon left to find fame, riches and acrimony with the Eagles. Messina joined up with Kenny Loggins to form Loggins and Messina. Furay left to join the short-lived supergroup Souther-Hillman-Furay Band. Grantham later joined Ricky Skaggs' band.
The band's lineup changed so many times that the chemistry so important early on was eventually lost, and Poco became nothing more than a fond memory. Few expected to ever hear the trademark Poco sound again.
But Poco - the original Poco - is back with a most welcome of comebacks called "Legacy."
"Legacy" features songs written by all but Grantham, and for the most part features the tight vocal harmonies and light country-rock flavor. Neophytes may even compare the album to early Eagles albums, not realizing that Poco came before the Eagles.
"Legacy" probably won't make many critics' Top 10 lists. In fact, most critics weaned on today's variety of socially conscious technopop may find "Legacy" too primitive for their tastes. After all, steel-pedal guitars, vocal harmonies, country ballads and love songs are all dinosaurs.
But Poco has never tried to fit the critics' pidgeonholes. Nor did Poco try to be America's social conscience. "All Poco tried to do was make people happy," said Grantham.
When it came to making people happy, Poco was a huge success in the 1970s. And "Legacy" succeeds wonderfully on the same score today.
No, "Legacy" is not a great album. But it's a collection of tunes that make you feel good inside, the kind you want to play over and over again. They are the kind that remind you of how good country-rock music can be.
"There's still a void, a gap for light-hearted music," said Furay, now a pastor in Boulder, Colo. "Hopefully we'll be able to remind people what it was all about."
A helpful reminder is the single "Call it Love" that is getting good airplay around the country. Other exceptional tunes include Furay's "When It All Began," Messina's enjoyable "Look Within" and Young's "What Do People Know."
Bassist Meisner, who was almost anonymous on the first album, chips in a couple of "Take it to the Limit"-style tunes that are good, but not great. Unfortunately, long-time Poco bassist Timothy B. Schmit, himself an ex-Eagle, was not invited to join the reunion.
But "Legacy" is not just a few good songs. It's more a sum of separate parts that sets this effort apart from the rest.