Treated to the Sound of Furay

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO â€”  In the mid-’70s, Richie Furay left behind the world of rock ‘n’ roll to answer a higher calling. But who says he can’t return to his roots if the spirit moves him?

Furay, a singer-songwriter-guitarist and founding member of both Buffalo Springfield and Poco, became a born-again Christian after steel guitarist Al Perkins (of the short-lived Souther-Hillman-Furay Band) introduced him to the faith. And for the past 15 years, Furay has been a pastor of the Rocky Mountain Christian Fellowship in Boulder, Colo., where he lives with his wife and four daughters.

Songs still flow from his sweet tenor, most of them the kind of devotionals heard in church, or on the new, self-released “In My Father’s House� (Calvary Chapel Music). But Furay hasn’t completely let go of his past. Last year, he opened for two old buddies at Humphrey’s by the Sea in San Diego, and last week he played a pair of Southern California dates, including the Coach House here on Thursday night.

As Furay tells it, Humphrey’s concert promoter Kenny Weissberg nudged him back onto the secular stage. “He was the one who got me back into it,� he said after the afternoon sound check. “We knew each other from a Boulder connection, and he was looking for someone to open for Stephen Stills. At first I was hesitant and didn’t give him an answer.�

When he finally got around to accepting the offer, Weissberg already had hired Chris Hillman. “It turned out that Stephen, Chris and I all performed that night,� Furay said, “and it was just a beautiful experience.�

On that date, Furay and multi-instrumentalist Scott Sellen played an eight-song acoustic set that proved to be so much fun that Furay decided to return, this time with the full, amplified sound of a seven-piece band.

His performance Thursday was a glowing snapshot of a 30-year musical career. It spanned his early songs with Buffalo Springfield, the pioneering country-rock of Poco, the less-satisfying tunes of the Souther-Hillman-Furay trio and his recent solo work as a secular and Christian singer-songwriter. By evening’s end, Furay had unearthed various hybrids incorporating rock, folk, country, bluegrass and pop.

He treated old hits including “On the Way Home,� “Pickin’ Up the Pieces,� “Kind Woman� and a jubilant “It’s a Good Feelin’ to Have� with the reverence they deserve, and the crowd in the nearly sold-out house was primed to sing along with him and backing vocalists Ed Edwards and Brenda Harp.

The unknown element was how Furay would fare with listeners hearing the gospel material for the first time. As it turned out, there was cause to rejoice. Delivered with conviction and sheer joy, the three selections were the heart and soul of the 90-minute presentation. For Furay, it’s his music of today. And anyone, regardless of their religious orientation, had to admire the passion with which he sang these words from “Wake Up My Soul�: “Wake up my voice, let the world hear me say/You are worshiped and exalted, here today.�

Rock and religion have always been uneasy partners, a fact to which Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Al Green and Bob Dylan all could attest. Furay left Poco in 1989 after just three weeks on the road to promote its “Legacy� reunion album, unable to reconcile the minister’s life with rock ‘n’ roll’s rebellious side.

Now, Furay says he’s thrilled to have the two intertwine. “The Bible says, ‘If you delight yourself in the Lord, He will give you the desire of your heart,’ � he offered. “I serve the Lord, and there is no music I’ve made that I’d ever be ashamed of singing. I don’t feel inhibited singing any of ‘em. . . . None have any false motives or pretenses.�

For Furay, 52, what’s important is the uplifting, life-affirming quality of his songs, whether new or old, righteous or rockin’.

“I’ve had people say, ‘Richie, I don’t know how you can write a sad song and make it still feel so good,’ � said Furay, who earlier this year co-wrote with John Einarson “The Story of Buffalo Springfield--for What It’s Worth.� In May, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.

“My music’s about hope and making people feel good. Ya know, we live in some pretty heavy times. I think people need to have that breath of fresh air in the midst of all this burden that everyone seems to carry these days.�