Search - Southern Pacific :: Southern Pacific - Greatest Hits

Country group with ex-Doobie and Creedence musicians

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 03/21/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This eighties group brought together various session musicians, some of whom had previously been members of famous rock groups. The members who recorded their first album (Southern Pacific) in 1985 were Tim Goodman (lead and background vocals, acoustic guitar, synthesizer), John McFee, former member of the Doobie Brothers (lead and background vocals, electric guitar, steel guitar, mandolin, banjo, violin, dobro), Keith Knudsen, also a former member of the Doobie Brothers (background vocals, drums & percussion), Jerry Scheff (background vocals, bass), and Glenn D. Hardin (background vocals, piano and synthesizer). Jerry Scheff and Glenn D Hardin left after the first album. New members for the second album (Killbilly hill) in 1986 were Stu Cook, formerly of Creedence Clearwater Revival (bass and vocals) and Kurt Howell (keyboards and some lead vocals). Tim Goodman left after the second album. His replacement, David Jenkins, was with the group to record the third album (Zuma) in 1988 but quit before the final original album (County line) was recorded in 1990. He was not replaced. On the Zuma album, John McFee was lead singer on some songs, a role he continued in on County line.This collection, released at about the time that the group disbanded, rounds up most of their country hits but there is at least one notable omission - Don't let go of my heart. Most of the songs here are originals, though there is a cover of Thing about you (Tom Petty) featuring Emmylou as duet singer, I go to pieces (Del Shannon) and a live version of Pink Cadillac (Bruce Springsteen). All the other songs were written by members of the group except Time's up, a duet with Carlene Carter recorded at a time when she was making the best music of her career. Other great songs include Any way the wind blows, Reno bound, New shade of blue and Perfect stranger - but I love all the songs here.If you enjoy the rocking country music produced by such groups as Alabama, Exile and Sawyer Brown, you might enjoy this, especially if you also enjoy rock music by such acts as Tom Petty, the Doobie Brothers and Creedence Clearwater Revival."

Greatist Hits/ Southern Pacific

Fletch Sullivan | California | 02/27/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This too, is one of my all-time favorite bands. I have seen them perform with Asleep at the Wheel and others. From such deep roots as the Doobie Bros and CCR, spawned Southern Pacific in the mid 80's. Unfortunately this is the only SO-PAC album still in circulation. Other favorites were County Line and Killbilly Hill. After Keith Knudsen and Stu Cook are done with their respective projects, the world would love to hear such harmonies and rythmns again."

A decent overview of their career in 13 songs

Bradley Olson | Bemidji, MN United States | 09/23/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Although only 3 of their top 40 hits are missing in favor of 2 album tracks and a live version of their cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Pink Cadillac," this CD does give you nearly all of the biggest hits including all of the essentials of this band for most people including "Any Way The Wind Blows" (from the movie "Pink Cadillac"), "Reno Bound," "Midnight Highway," "Honey I Dare You," their cover of Tom Petty's "Thing About You" with Emmylou Harris (Tom's original can be found on "Hard Promises"), their acapella cover of the Peter & Gordon hit "I Go To Pieces," "Time's Up" with Carlene Carter, and their biggest hit, the Eagle-esque "New Shade of Blue" which went to #2 in 1988. Although they recorded only 4 albums from 1985-1989 (twofers of all 4 of their albums are available here at Amazon and are worthwhile for diehard fans), this CD will definitely suffice for most people."