Album ratings ??

[Malc]

Greetings all from a newbie to this site - although I've been a fan of the band for over 30 years ... and yet, I confess to not owning ALL of the albums !! My collection went from "Head Over Heels" through to "Legend" inclusive, and a couple of early offerings, but I missed out on a few of the essential early ones, plus MOST of the latter releases ("Legacy" excepted).
My question to fellow Poconuts is simply ... how do you guys rate albums such as "Seven" "Inamorata" "Cantamos" "Blue & Gray" etc etc ?
I'm currently downloading them all so the collection WILL be completed soon but on scale of, say, one to ten how would the following score ?

From The Inside
Crazy Eyes
Seven
Cantamos
Under The Gun
Blue & Gray (loving what I've heard so far !)
Cowboys & Englishmen
Ghost Town
Inamorata
Running Horse

Thanks !!

[Mystic]

First, welcome to the nuthouse! We hope you enjoy yourself here. We can always use more discussion of the band.

As for rating those albums, it's obviously very subjective, according to one's own tastes and which version of the band you like. We've had endless discussions here about that.

Here's my own evaluations, and others will rightly have different opinions.

From the Inside: 7. Paul's first album, and he has a couple really good songs--Bad weather and Railroad Days. The tone is a little more solemn and less bouncy than in the first three albums with Jimmy. Other excellent songs--title cut, and Just for me and you.

Crazy Eyes: 8. Richie's last, and a very polished album, but so polished that it takes a real fan to sit and listen on a regular basis. Features the classics of Let's Dance Tonight and Magnolia, as well as some really good playing; but the album really needed some more up-tempo songs.

Seven: 7. The first without Richie, and, under the circumstances, very creditable. Drivin' Wheel is excellent, as is Skatin' and angel, but many of the other songs are lack-luster, worst of all is Just Call My Name.

Cantamos: 9. Excellent album, with a strong cowboy theme. Excellent song-writing, fantastic playing, love the interaction between the acoustic and electric guitars, and with rusty's psg and banjo.

Under the Gun: 7/8. Really a good album, especially the title cut, but Midnight Rain is also superb, as are several of the other cuts; an underrated album.

Blue and Gray: 7. Some here think this is the best album. I like it, wish it was easily available on CD. Some excellent songs (Please wait for me--got me through my last year in the Army; Streets of Paradise), but not as many as on other albums.

Cowboys and Englishmen: 6. Mostly covers. Their getaway album from MCA, a whopping 33 minutes long. Best song by far is Price of Love, though others are okay as well.

Ghost town: 7/8. First album with Atlantic, last with the Englishmen. Really, some good songs and playing on here--title cut, How Would You Feel Tonight, When Hearts Collide, High Sierra, Midnight Rodeo.

Inamorata: 6/7. The last before their first hiatus, brought back Richie, Tim, and George G for a few cuts; lots of yukky 80s electronic production, but certainly some good songs--How many moons, Brenda X, Days gone by.

Running Horse: 8/9. The first new album in many years, features Jack's song writing, singing, and playing. Very good over all, but it really needed some good, solid rockers.

[TonyNYC]

I won't rate every album but will just put them in the order I like them

Both Cantamos and Crazy Eyes are great

Blue And Gray is real good though maybe a little too quiet

Under The Gun and From the Inside are solid (see Mystic's comments)

Seven is only okay, but it has the great Drivin' Wheel on it

The others I never play through, but will every now and then play a song or two from them. I only own these to keep my Poco collection complete. I wouldn't recommend them to anyone. One album is too much like an easy listening station. Another has awful eighties production. None of them have enough innovation or energy in my opinion.

[MartinG]

Having got time to think about rating all the above, but I would give Legacy 2 out of 10 - and that's being generous !

[Lonesomedave]

First, welcome to the nuthouse! We hope you enjoy yourself here. We can always use more discussion of the band.

As for rating those albums, it's obviously very subjective, according to one's own tastes and which version of the band you like. We've had endless discussions here about that.

Here's my own evaluations, and others will rightly have different opinions.

From the Inside: 7. Paul's first album, and he has a couple really good songs--Bad weather and Railroad Days. The tone is a little more solemn and less bouncy than in the first three albums with Jimmy. Other excellent songs--title cut, and Just for me and you.<<<<<Agree. "Bad Weather" is a band staple and I've yet to hear this song played poorly.>>>>>>

Crazy Eyes: 8. Richie's last, and a very polished album, but so polished that it takes a real fan to sit and listen on a regular basis. Features the classics of Let's Dance Tonight and Magnolia, as well as some really good playing; but the album really needed some more up-tempo songs.<<<<<<Agree totally.>>>>>>

Seven: 7. The first without Richie, and, under the circumstances, very creditable. Drivin' Wheel is excellent, as is Skatin' and angel, but many of the other songs are lack-luster, worst of all is Just Call My Name.<<<<I like this album more than it's artistic merit deserves. It was released at a good time in my life. But I'd rate it no more than a 5.>>>>

Cantamos: 9. Excellent album, with a strong cowboy theme. Excellent song-writing, fantastic playing, love the interaction between the acoustic and electric guitars, and with rusty's psg and banjo.<<<<No question. A strong effort all the way around!>>>>

Under the Gun: 7/8. Really a good album, especially the title cut, but Midnight Rain is also superb, as are several of the other cuts; an underrated album.<<<<Not as stout and I think the production is lacking but I agree with the rating.>>>>

Blue and Gray: 7. Some here think this is the best album. I like it, wish it was easily available on CD. Some excellent songs (Please wait for me--got me through my last year in the Army; Streets of Paradise), but not as many as on other albums.<<<<Has some very good songs and Paul's playing is very good. Agree.>>>>

Cowboys and Englishmen: 6. Mostly covers. Their getaway album from MCA, a whopping 33 minutes long. Best song by far is Price of Love, though others are okay as well.<<<<Not a site favorite but I always liked this album and I'd rate it at least a 7.>>>>

Ghost town: 7/8. First album with Atlantic, last with the Englishmen. Really, some good songs and playing on here--title cut, How Would You Feel Tonight, When Hearts Collide, High Sierra, Midnight Rodeo.<<<<No more than a 6 but still a decent listen.>>>>

Inamorata: 6/7. The last before their first hiatus, brought back Richie, Tim, and George G for a few cuts; lots of yukky 80s electronic production, but certainly some good songs--How many moons, Brenda X, Days gone by.<<<<How Many Moons and the album art keep this above a 4.>>>>>>

Running Horse: 8/9. The first new album in many years, features Jack's song writing, singing, and playing. Very good over all, but it really needed some good, solid rockers.<<<<I agree that it lacks some gut punch, some wide open blistering rock. And, "Shake It" struggles. I wanted to like this album more than I do and I can't give it more than a 5.>>>>

I'm going to try to add my own spin to the above post, which for the most part, I agree.


My comments will be bracketed like this, <<<<<!!!!!>>>>>

[DieHardPOCOFan]

From the Inside - my all-time favorite
Crazy Eyes - a close 2nd
Good Feeling to Know - really good
Head Over Heels / Seven or visa versa depending on my mood
Cantamos

The above is the best of the best for me. Fab 5/Fab 4 era. I don't particularly care for Jimmy's work with the band nor do I really like any particular albumn in it's entirety after the exit of Tim and George.