''Under the Gun'' is the twelfth studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by the American

country rock Country rock is a genre of music which fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal s ...

band Poco. Released in July 1980, ''Under the Gun'' was the follow-up to Poco's breakout album ''

Legend A legend is a Folklore genre, genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human valu ...

''.

Background

Poco's successful album, ''Legend'', had been released in November 1978 on

ABC Records ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels befo ...

just prior to that label being bought out by

MCA MCA may refer to: Astronomy * Mars-crossing asteroid, an asteroid whose orbit crosses that of Mars Aviation * Minimum crossing altitude, a minimum obstacle crossing altitude for fixes on published airways * Medium Combat Aircraft, a 5th gene ...

: in a June 7, 2013, interview with Rockin' Rich Lynch of SoundPress.net Radio Network, veteran Poco member Paul Cotton would state that MCA required that Poco audition prior to being allowed to record for MCA. Cotton said, "We had to go over to a rehearsal hall and play in front of all the executives" who after hearing Poco perform "Under the Gun", a Paul Cotton composition referencing the pressure attendant on the audition, approved Poco's recording for MCA. Released at the same time as the album, the "Under the Gun" single failed to reach the

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stalling at No. 48 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100: another Paul Cotton composition "Midnight Rain" also failed to chart high in its single release with a No. 74 peak. Without the impetus of a major hit single the ''Under the Gun'' album failed to match the success of ''Legend'', the former's album chart peak being No. 46.

Reception

In his

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review, music critic William Ruhlmann called the album "a workmanlike but unremarkable effort."

Track listing

#"Under the Gun" (Paul Cotton) – 3:11 #"While We're Still Young" (Rusty Young) – 3:52 #"The Everlasting Kind" (Young) – 4:22 #"Down to the Wire" (Cotton) – 2:55 #"Footsteps of a Fool (Shaky Ground)" (Young) – 3:57 #"Reputation" (Young) – 4:51 #"Midnight Rain" (Cotton) – 4:25 #"A Fool's Paradise" (Young) – 3:18 #"Friends in the Distance" (Cotton) – 3:40 #"Made of Stone" (Young) – 4:00

Charts

Personnel

Poco * Paul Cotton – electric guitars, lead vocals (1, 2, 4, 7, 8), backing vocals (3, 5, 6, 8) * Rusty Young – electric guitars (1, 2, 4-10), backing vocals (2, 7, 10), 12-string acoustic guitar (3), lead vocals (3, 5, 6, 9, 10),

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(5),

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(5),

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a Console steel guitar, console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all s ...

(7) * Kim Bullard – keyboards, backing vocals (3, 5, 10) * Charlie Harrison – bass, backing vocals (1-7, 10) * Steve Chapman – drums Additional musicians * Steve Forman – percussion (2, 5, 6, 9) *

Phil Kenzie Phil Kenzie is a British multi-saxophone player and rock and roll musician. He has been voted by fans as "one of the greatest rock 'n' roll sax players of all time."

– alto saxophone (5)

Production

* Mike Flicker – producer * Dennis Jones – production assistant *

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– engineer, mixing * Barbara Issak – assistant engineer * John Golden – mastering * Rod Dyer – cover design * Andy Engel – cover design * George Osaki – cover design * Gary Heery – photography * Crosslight Management Ltd. – management * Recorded and Mixed at The

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(Los Angeles, California). * Mastered at Kendun Recorders (Burbank, California).

References

{{Authority control Poco albums 1980 albums Albums produced by Mike Flicker MCA Records albums