The songwriting team of
Craig Fuller and
George Powell was one of the finest in the business, and on
Bustin' Out they made an album that is unequaled in country-rock. The songs are meditative portraits of relationships that aren't running smoothly but are still alive, and they sound autobiographical rather than something contrived to sell records. These tunes are presented with grace and unusual taste, the country guitars and vocal harmonies backed with astonishingly sympathetic string arrangements by
Mick Ronson. Both lyrical and musical themes carry over from song to song -- "Falling in and out of Love" and "Amie" are really two halves of one suite, and there are echoes of that suite throughout the rest of the album. Despite the extraordinary beauty and intelligence of the music on this album, it was not immediately successful, and the already troubled band broke up after it was released. Nevertheless, the influence of
Bustin' Out was profound, and one song in particular became a staple for bar bands everywhere. RCA re-released "Amie" as a single more than two years after the album came out, and it was a Top 30 hit. The revival of interest in
Pure Prairie League led RCA to re-sign the group, alas without
Craig Fuller. That hit status also led to a rediscovery of the merits of the rest of
Bustin' Out, which is acknowledged to be one of the artistic high points in country-rock history. ~ Richard Foss, All Music Guide
