The Richie Furay Band
“Alive”
Having been one of the founding members of two of the most important groups of the Sixties, Buffalo Springfield and Poco, it is safe to say that Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Richie Furay’s place in musical history is secure. Given that, it’s all the more amazing, and a blessing, that Furay, at the age of 64, still has the wondrous voice and rapport with an audience that has staked his claim for over four decades of remarkable songs and performances.
That is all the more evident when listening to the rapture of those classic Furay, Springfield and Poco classics, including several covers of his former band members’ work, on “Alive.” Recorded over two nights in his native Boulder and nearby Denver, Colorado late last year, the double disc finds that jaw-dropping Furay voice, still rich (no pun intended) with love and happiness, ringing out.
Opening with the moving Poco tribute, “When It All Began,” followed with that great band’s very first recorded song, “Pickin’ Up The Pieces,” Furay adds a medley of Neil Young songs that he sang on the first Springfield record, and follows that later with a banjo-laden, new arrangement of Stephen Stills’ “Go and Say Goodbye,” which was also recorded by Poco. Other Springfield highlights include “Child’s Claim to Fame,” and “Sad Memory,” the very first Furay song to appear on a Springfield album.
Furay also does great justice to his second great band, Poco, including a cover of Jim Messina’s “You Better Think Twice,” along side such chestnuts as “Hurry Up,” “Make Me Smile,” “C’mon,” “Just In Case It Happens,” “Good Feelin’ To Know,” and the set closer, a stunning “Let’s Dance Tonight.” He also bridges the gap between the two with the still beautiful (just like its subject, Furay’s wife of 41 years, Nancy)”Kind Woman,” which was also recorded by both bands and featured the first joint studio work of Furay and Poco co-founder Rusty Young.
He also does not neglect his post Springfield and Poco years, performing “Falling In Love” and “Believe Me” from the first Souther Hillman Furay Band album, and “Forever With You,” “Callin’ Out Your Name,” and the title track from his most recent solo album, “The Heartbeat of Love.”
Fans of Furay’s non-secular work will also enjoy his renditions of “Rise Up,” and the emotional, lump in your throat, stunning encore of the breathtaking “In My Father’s House,” which Furay dedicated to his mother, who passed away the night before the performance.
There is no doubt, listening to this superb, career-spanning live collection, that Furay’s mother is indeed smiling down on him, for the legacy that he has created, the joy in his voice and performance, and the exemplary life that is mirrored in his songs.
- Mark T. Gould
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