This excellent two-disc collection captures Poco's finest moments from the days when they were laying down the template for all the country-rock music that was to follow. It's hard to remember, but when the Eagles first hit the scene, they were thought by many to be a Poco-wannabe band. Listen to this set and you'll hear why. The Forgotten Trail (1969-1974) culls tracks from Poco's first eight albums, as well as unreleased cuts and singles. From the classic anthem "Pickin' Up the Pieces," which kicks things off, through "You Better Think Twice," "C'mon," "Kind Woman," "From the Inside," "A Good Feelin' to Know," "Crazy Eyes," and on and on, this is wonderful music, ahead of its time in many ways. If Poco had arrived on the scene in the early '90s, they would have been kings of the country charts. Of course, without Poco, country music wouldn't have taken on the rock trappings that it did in the '80s and '90s. As it was, the band was considered too country for the Top 40 rock format of the time, and too rock & roll for country radio. This set is the place to start for an appreciation of the original Poco, when the group was considered to be Richie Furay's band. All the ingredients are here that made their music so delightful: the trademark high-vocal harmonies; Rusty Young's pedal steel guitar wizardry; Furay's patented juxtapositions of sad lyrics against bouncy, harmony-filled tunes; and their spirit of optimism and good feelings even in the face of hard luck and bad weather. The 36-page booklet does a fine job of telling the story in print, and the 38 songs speak volumes about the band's place and influence. Thanks to this compilation, Poco's trailblazing days need be forgotten no longer.
01 Pickin' Up The Pieces 02 Grand Junction 03 Consequently So Long 04 First Love 05 Calico Lady 06 My Kind Of Love 07 Hard Luck 08 Last Call 09 Honky Tonk Downstairs 10 Hurry Up 11 You Better Think Twice 12 Anyway Bye Bye
13 I Guess You MAde It 14 C'Mon 15 Hear That Music 16 KInd Woman 17 Just For Me And You 18 Bad Weather 19 You Better Think Twice 20 Lullaby In September
Disc 2
01 You Are The One 02 From The Innside 03 A Good Feeling To Know 04 I can See Everything 05 And Settin' Down 06 Blue Water 07 Fool's Gold 08 Nothin' Still The Same 09 Skunk Creek 10 Here We Go Again 11 Crazy Eyes 12 Get In The Wind 13 Believe Me 14 Rocky Mountain Breakdown 15 Faith In Te Families 16 Wastern Waterloo 17 Whatever Happened To Your Smile 18 Sagebrush Serenade