Crazy Love: The Ultimate Live Experience

If the Eagles could do Hell Freezes Over, then why shouldn't Poco do this reunion concert, featuring Richie Furay, Rusty Young, Paul Cotton, George Grantham, et al.? They were a better group, if not remotely as successful commercially, and Poco actually had some unfulfilled potential, whereas the Eagles, if anything, were overachievers in terms of exposure. The harmonizing is gorgeous, the playing superb, and the repertoire is perfectly chosen from across their entire history to show off the considerable strengths of this band. Rather than re-create their old sound, this lineup takes its own approach to the material, changing tempos and shifting some emphasis, which adds a refreshing new dimension even to well-established songs such as "Rose of Cimarron." Amazingly, Richie Furay, who's been playing professionally longer than most of the rest of the band (going back 40 years), looks better than the other members. But the key is how they sound, and on that count there is nothing to apologize for or explain on the double-disc video set -- the second disc includes wraparound footage about the reunion and interviews with the members, and loading that material onto the second platter has allowed the producers to provide a decently loud volume level on the concert. ~ Bruce Eder