"...This Old Flame..."
Two long-forgotten US albums by POCO from their 'yacht rock' stay at Atlantic Records in 1982 and 1984 - remastered to perfection onto 1CD by Beat Goes On of the UK. Here are the ghostly post-heartache details...
UK released November 2015 – "Ghost Town/Inamorata" by POCO on Beat Goes on BGOCD 1212 (Barcode 5017261212122) in a compilation that offers 2 albums Remastered onto 1CD that plays out as follows (73:52 minutes):
1. Ghost Town [Side 1]
2. How Will You Feel Tonight
3. Shoot For The Moon
4. The Midnight Rodeo (In The Lead Tonight)
5. Cry No More
6. Break Of Hearts [Side 2]
7. Love's So Cruel
8. Special Care
9. When Hearts Collide
10. High Sierra
Tracks 1 to 10 are the album "Ghost Town" – released December 1982 in the USA on Atlantic 80008-1 (no UK issue)
11. Days Gone By [Side 1]
12. This Old Flame
13. Daylight
14. Odd Man Out
15. How Many Moons
16. When You Love Someone [Side 2]
17. Brenda X
18. Standing In The Fire
19. Save A Corner Of Your Heart
20. The Storm
Tracks 11 to 20 are the album "Inamorata" – released May 1984 in the USA on Atlantic 7 80148-1 and in the UK/Europe on Atlantic 780 148-1
There's the usual card slipcase, a 16-page booklet with full-albums credits (lyrics to "Ghost Town" only), artwork, band photos and new liner notes by noted writer JOHN O'REGAN. The ANDREW THOMPSON Remasters were done in 2015 in the UK from WEA licensed tapes – and as the card slipcase says is 'Mastered in high definition – audiophile recording from the Original Master'. This CD sounds amazing – reflecting the original Production values of JOHN MILLS on "Ghost Town" and RUSTY YOUNG with PAUL COTTON on "Inamorata".
In truth it's hard for me to say that I love either "Ghost Town" and especially its weedy follow-up "Inamorata" – both are the kind of mid Eighties Schlock Rock that cluttered up radios everywhere at the time. Having said that it's hard to resist the slick strummed guitars of "How Will You Feel, Tonight?" – nor the pretty melody behind "Shoot For The Moon" where Paul Cotton urges his lover to 'take a chance' and 'shoot for the moon'. "Break Of Hearts" is more Radio-friendly Countryish smooch while "Special Care" is pseudo guitar-boogie best forgotten. Better is the raunchy riffage of "High Sierra" – a rare moment when the album shows some Don Henley-like teeth.
1984's "Inamorata" saw both Young and Cotton stay in POCO, but joining them was a virtual supergroup of Country Rock – Timothy B. Schmidt (of The Eagles), Richie Furay (ex Buffalo Springfield) and George Grantham (Neil Young's Crazy Horse). With the bulk of songwriting shared between Rusty Young ("Daylight", "When You Love Someone", "Save A Corner Of Your Heart" and "The Storm") and Paul Cotton ("Days Gone By", "Odd Man Out", "How Many Moons", "Brenda X" and "Standing In The Fire") – it was down to Reed Nielsen to provide the odd man out song – "This Old Flame". The same quality production values that made "Ghost Town" such an Audio winner followed the band into "Inamorata" – this time with band stalwarts Rusty Young and Paul Cotton at the helm. Not that all this musical talent produced a winner - it didn't.
It opens promisingly enough with the catchy "Days Gone By" which is followed by the mellow "This Old Flame". But those are rare moments. The awful and tuneless "Daylight" is a victim of its own over-produced cleverness - better is Cotton's "Odd Man Out" and the chipper "How Many Moons". The duo of "Brenda X" and "Standing In The Fire" are again in desperate need of an actual tune - while the hooky "Save A Corner Of Your Heart" just about saves a patchy album.
A very long way from Poco's Seventies Country-Rock heyday – these Eighties uber-productions have all the gloss but lack those killer tunes - especially on that rightly forgotten 2nd Atlantic Records LP. Still POCO fans will love the Quality Audio and Presentation...and if they have any passion for the band - this is the reissue to buy...
