Search - Poco :: From the Inside

Almost A Masterpiece

D. R Hayes | Clermont, FL. United States | 10/11/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Very good, considering....

Rollie Anderson | Forney, Texas United States | 06/14/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The great Messina was gone, replaced by Paul Cotton. Most of us fans were prepared for a real letdown but were pleasantly surprised when the group delivered this tasty collection of songs. "Hoe Down" got my attention right away, announcing that the upbeat attitude wasn't dead yet. Then the gracious "Bad Weather" put me at ease over the change in lead guitarists. One after another the tunes played out, reassuring me that Poco was alive and well. It doesn't quite match the astonishing studio LP that preceded it but very few albums do. This has few "filler" songs and holds up quite well over the years."

Laid Back Poco

Reviewer | USA | 11/04/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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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