Poco-Seven

Seven

This band could've faltered when founding member Ritchie Furay followed co-founder Jim Messina out the door in 1973, right on the heels of one of Poco's best albums, CRAZY EYES. And some Poco fans were also disappointed with this album because the shift away from the "pickin' and grinnin' music that made you smile" style of their first few albums is pretty well complete by this one. But the group clearly shows that it was always much more than just it's founders. SEVEN has it all; chugging rockers ("Drivin' Wheel," "Skatin'"), bluegrass ("Rocky Mountain Breakdown"), ballads ("Krikkit's Song") and even a "Crazy Eyes" type of epic ("You've Got Your Reasons"). Everyone here does a top-notch job, with Rusty Young particularly shining on pedal steel. All in all, SEVEN boasts an energy and power that is damn near majestic at times; it's definetely one of the best albums in the "country-rock" catagory and certainly one of the best albums, period, from the Seventies.