PURE PRAIRIE LEAGUE - S/T 1972 ; IF THE SHOE FITS 1976

Pure Prairie League is an American country-rock band whose roots began between 1964 and 1969 in Waverly, Ohio with Craig Fuller, Tom McGrail, Jim Caughlan and John David Call. The band's name was chosen by McGrail after a 19th century temperance union mentioned in the 1939 film Dodge City. The band has had a long run, active from the early 1970s through to the early 1980s, and reborn in the mid 2000s.


Although the band has its roots in Waverly, Ohio, it was actually formed in Columbus, Ohio, and had its first success in Cincinnati. Although Fuller, McGrail, Caughlan, and Call had played together off and on since high school, the first Pure Prairie League recording was a George Ed Powell penned composition, "Down to Pieces" with Powell (acoustic guitar and vocal), Fuller (lead guitar and vocal), McGrail (drums), Kenny May (bass) and David Workman (pedal steel guitar). The original stage band was Fuller, McGrail, Powell, Phil Stokes on bass, and Robin Suskind on guitar and mandola. Steel guitar player, John Call, joined the band in 1970. His steel guitar improved the country songs and sparked guitar duels with Fuller that contributed greatly to the rock/country, signature sound of the band. Caughlan, who had played drums and guitar with Fuller, Call and McGrail in earlier bands, took over on drums when McGrail quit the band just before their first album. Lanham replaced Stokes who left at the same time. After the eponymous first album release and a nationwide tour in 1971, the band split up with Call, Caughlan, and Lanham leaving before the second album. This left Fuller and Powell to record Bustin' Out in Toronto with Billy Hinds (drums) and Michael Connor (piano) would become regulars in the Pure Prairie League line-up for years to come. Michael Reilly, the longtime bass player and front man for the band, joined the band for the Two Lane Highway album and plays with the current band.


By far Pure Prairie League’s biggest hit is Craig Fuller’s ode to an on-again/off-again relationship, "Amie", from the 1972 Bustin' Out LP. Over the years "Amie" has become part of the standard reportoire for legions of cover acts, as the singalong nature and multi-part harmony of its chorus lends itself well to audience participation. Other hits for the band include "Two Lane Highway", "I'm Almost Ready", and the musically less-representative pop song, "Let Me Love You Tonight". The latter two feature Vince Gill on vocals, who sang and played guitar with the band in the early 1980s before moving on to become one of Nashville, Tennessee’s biggest stars. Meanwhile, Craig Fuller took a stint as lead singer for the jam/funk/rock band Little Feat in the late 1980s. But after almost a twenty year gap the fourteenth Pure Prairie League album "All In Good Time" was released in 2006, composed primarily of Fuller songs, as was the very first back in 1971.

Tracks :

1. Tears
2. Take It Before You Go
3. You're Between Me
4. Woman
5. Doc's Tune
6. Country Song
7. Brand New Harmony Songs
8. It's All on Me
9. That'll Be the Day
10. I Can Only Think of You
11. Sun Shone Lightly
12. Long Cold Winter
13. Lucille Crawfield
14. Gimme Another Chance
15. Aren't You Mine
16. You Are So Near to Me
17. Out in the Street
18. Goin' Home

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Ripped by : evermoreblues
Artwork Included