Poco-Legend

Legend

Simply put, this was the right album at the right time for me. We all have those- albums or songs that came out at just the right time where we heard them loud and clear. Their songs practically spoke to us. Though Poco had put out a slew of records before "Legend," none matched it for impact. By the time this CD was released in 78 there were few California Sound bands still putting out strong music. Though Poco never matched The Eagles (who swiped Timothy B. Schmidt right before Poco recorded this CD) for number of hit songs (much less radio play), as this CD proves, they were capable of putting out powerful, catchy radio worthy music. I'll admit this CD has a strong sentimental value to me. "Crazy Love" hit me like a brick when it came out. Judging by how high the song charted, I'm sure I wasn't the only one. Who can't relate to the simple, efficient lyrics that say so much, so beautifully. To me this song is flawless from beginning to end and is one of my all time favorite songs, period. But other spellbinding songs are, "Spellbound" and "Love Comes, Love Goes" both equally potent in delivering heartfelt emotions. "Heart of the Night" and "Little Darlin" are well produced tunes that caught radio play, as this was Poco's most polished sounding recording, if only in sound quality. You'll get debates over whether the material was also as polished, but also like the Eagles, Poco had evolved since their beginnings, culminating in a more pop sounding product that many early fans felt was a sell out (that's how I felt about the Eagles.) Endless numbers of bands have their fan base whose favorite musiic is either the old stuff or the new. Poco's "Legend" falls into that type of debate. They do offer a mere trickle of songs bearing some, albeit a sliver, of resemblence to their previous recordings. "Legend" and "Barbados" are songs where that influence is present. But that wasn't the point of this record. Poco, like the Eagles started to become more the balladeers in their more appealing offerings, as did any surviving remnants of the California sound. This is one of my favorite CDs of the 70s with some of my favorite songs of all time.