Poco- Bareback at Big Sky

Bareback at Big Sky

Poco's first unplugged CD attempt, after 35+ years as a band in various lineups, is both satisfying and fun to listen to. Recorded live at a small studio in Bozeman, MT, these pioneers of country rock turn back the clock with renditions of some of their best work, including several excellent songs from the more recent Poco releases. Rusty Young, the only original Poco member who has been in the group from its inception in 1968, runs the show @ Big Sky and his vocals, along with those of longtime member Paul Cotton, will bring back many fond memories to Poco enthusiasts, past and present. Young shows why he has continued to be the backbone of Poco through the years, as he has become a solid vocalist after being reknown for his steel guitar/guitar work early in his career. His acoustic versions of "Save a Corner of Your Heart for Me", "What do People Know" and "When a Heart needs a Hand" will intrigue listeners and can be appreciated by even first-time fans who are not familiar with the voluminous Poco catalogue of tunes. Cotton, who brings his throaty baritone to such classics as J. J. Cale's "Cajun Moon" and a couple of other older Poco tunes, "Barbados" and "Under the Gun", while reminding us that some of his newer material, such as "Bareback" and "Every time I hear that Train" warrant attention as well. New drummer George Lawrence, replacing the great George Grantham who is still recovering from a 2004 stroke, keeps a consistent backbeat for the group, and Jack Sundrud, who has spent several years as Poco's bassist after both Randy Meisner and Timothy B. Schmitt left the group for greener pastures, contributes his smooth voice to a couple of good tunes as well. Poco fans will enjoy the acoustic nature of the music and intimacy of the venue, and will revel in the fact that Young and Cotton can still make music that is so full of ethereal harmonies that it is undeniably the Poco sound---which is to say among the best in the genre. My thought on first listen was that former band leader and co-founder Richie Furay, who still performs with Poco now and then, would be very proud of the band that he, Young and Jim Messina brought out of the ashes of the demise of the Buffalo Springfield. And for a reminder that in 2005 great songs from the 60's remain as timeless as ever, Poco closes this superb CD with a harmony-filled rendition of Neil Young's "On the Way Home", which has graced the Poco setlist since the days of Furay, who sang it for the Springfield way back when. Rusty Young and Cotton trade verses on the song, expertly putting a finishing exclamation point and quaint touch on the concert/recording, deftly showing that Poco's brand of countrified rock is always worth a listen.