Poco

It wasn't long after that Messina decided to leave, feeling that Furay had started to exert too much control over the group's sound. Before departing, however, he secured the services of a more-than-capable replacement member, guitarist/singer Paul Cotton, a onetime member of the country band Illinois Speed Press, who had recorded for Epic. Messina also played on and produced their subsequent live album, Deliverin' -- the latter represented an interesting change in strategy for the label and the band, which, after two artistically successful but commercially disappointing albums, was now looking to present itself in the strongest light possible. A live album consisting entirely of new material, Deliverin' offered the record-buying public a glimpse of the group's on-stage sound, which melded the excitement and energy of rock & roll with the lyricism and romanticism of country music. And it seemed to work to a degree, the album reached number 26 and yielded a minor hit in "C'mon." Messina's departure left Poco in need of a producer, and for their next album, From the Inside (1971), they turned to Booker T. & the M.G.'s guitarist Steve Cropper, who was an experienced producer, but one mostly associated with Southern soul. The resulting album had a heavier and more soulful sound than their earlier studio releases, but lacked the freewheeling spirit that had driven those albums. And, in a surprising development, this lineup -- Furay, Cotton, Young, Schmit, and Grantham -- lasted for more than one studio album. Poco decided to build their next release around one of their most popular concert numbers, a Furay song called "A Good Feeling to Know," which was also issued as a single -- the album A Good Feelin' to Know (1972) never got any higher than number 69, and the single never charted at all. By this time, even Furay had begun to lose heart over the band's lack of commercial success, and began making plans to move on.

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