Souther Hillman Furay Band

SHF band 1st

David Geffen's attempt to create a supergroup to compete with CSN and CSN&Y was driven by former Poco founder Richie Furay's frustrations with Epic Records failure to support Furay's masterpiece Poco LP in 1972 "Good Feelin' To Know". By Furay's own admission, he was upset and dismayed with how GFTK came and went on the charts, though the record's signature title tune was a crowd favorite at Poco concerts. Furay contacted Geffen, who was heading Elektra/Asylum/Nonesuch Records at the time, and the wheels were in motion for Richie to leave Poco before his last LP with the group "Crazy Eyes" came out in 1973. By then, Geffen had wrangled J.D. Souther, sometimes known as the "5th Eagle" for his collaborations with Don Henley and Glenn Frey, to hook up with Furay and Chris Hillman, one of the all-time great country rock musicians, who had been an original Byrd, co-founded the Flying Burrito Bros. with Gram Parsons, and had been Steve Stills' right hand lieutenant in Manassas. Furay and Hillman shared similar backgrounds and philosophies of life and music, drenched in the more "country" part of country-rock, and had known each other for years. Souther, on the other hand, was a loner and wild card, though enormously talented as a songwriter and decent singer as well. The Geffen formula seemed airtight for the SHF Band, especially when sidemen Paul Harris (keyboards,piano-Manassas), Al Perkins (pedal steel guitar, guitar-Manassas, Flying Burrito Bros.) and Jim Gordon (drummer for Eric Clapton/Derek & The Dominos) were added to complete the lineup. Most observers thought the band was a "can't miss" combination...and the first SHF LP did not disappoint. Furay's "Fallin' in Love" did well on the charts, and the contributions by Souther, especially "The Heartbreaker" and "Border Town" as well as Hillman's "Rise & Fall" and "Safe at Home" were strong enough to get the LP inside the Top 40. But the group suffered from the splintering effects of 3 very talented musicians trying to co-exist, with Souther being less than cooperative to many of the perspectives that Furay and Hillman shared. The music on this record is great, and the CD reissue is even better using today's recording techniques, and most of us who had been fans of the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, FBB, Poco and country rock in general felt like the SHF Band was a great alternative to the softer, more saccharine lyrics of CSN. With Neil Young pretty much out of CSN's picture during this era, it was a great opportunity for Geffen to get this new group exposure and make them as visible as the Eagles would eventually become. Unfortunately, that did not happen. The aforementioned personality problems, separate visions of musical direction, Furay's initial leanings to Christianity (he has been a pastor in Colorado for over 2 decades, originally converted by Al Perkins during this period)and their inability to effectively tour after their second album came out in 1975 due to an injury to Furay's hand, were seeds in the ultimate demise of the group. Nonetheless, this LP gets 4 stars easily, it is fun to listen to, and has a great mix of song styles, wonderful harmonies, and excellent lyrics by all 3 principals. All in all, it is a shame that the SHF Band did not hit it big. Furay was an outstanding concert frontman and maybe had the best tenor voice in this genre ever, Hillman was coming into his own as a singer, after spending years as a talented multi-instrument player, and Souther had the poetic sensitivity in his writing that also showed up on the Eagles "Best of My Love" and Linda Ronstadt's "Prisoner in Disguise". Both SHF Band LP's are worth purchasing, but this first effort is unmatched by the follow-up.