"Legend" is Poco resurrected. The last of the original line-up broke up after 1977's poorly received "Indian Summer" album. Timothy B. Schmit and George Grantham exited leaving Paul Cotton and Rusty Young to carry on. They took some time off to re-group and re-tool their sound and in 1978 "Legend" gave them the most commercial success they would ever receive. Adding British pop musicians Charlie Harrison (bass), Kim Bullard (keyboards) and Steve Chapman (drums) gave the group the rock edge it on...
"Legend" is Poco resurrected. The last of the original line-up broke up after 1977's poorly received "Indian Summer" album. Timothy B. Schmit and George Grantham exited leaving Paul Cotton and Rusty Young to carry on. They took some time off to re-group and re-tool their sound and in 1978 "Legend" gave them the most commercial success they would ever receive. Adding British pop musicians Charlie Harrison (bass), Kim Bullard (keyboards) and Steve Chapman (drums) gave the group the rock edge it only hinted at previously since it did cling to country rock after the field became too crowded and even mainstream country acts were stealing the thunder from the genre. Rusty Young's voice came front and center, another departure from the 1968-1977 versions of the band. And the sweet sincerity of that voice gave Poco it's first big hit, "Crazy Love". It was followed by another that dripped with Paul Cotton's affinity for New Orleans, "Heart Of The Night". While those might be the two most memorable songs on "Legend", there are others that make this a complete "Comeback LP Of The Year": the haunting "Spellbound", the bouncy "Boomerang" and "Barbados", another sweet one that Young sings, dusted off from the old Poco song bin "Little Darlin'", and the raucous finale, "Legend". Yes, that means "Love Comes, Love Goes" and "The Last Goodbye" aren't up to the quality of the rest, but it is best for the listener to decide for themselves on those two. The point is, "Legend" signaled a rebound for a group that played in the shadows of the Eagles for most of the 1970s. Poco left the 1970s as strongly as they had entered the decade. "Legend" is more of a pop album than fans might like, but there is so much to like that it simply can't be set aside.
Note: The horse on the album cover was drawn by the late actor, Phil Hartman. He used just a few brush strokes to create a powerful image. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
