America - Albums Collection 1971-1977 (8CD) Japanese Remastered 2007

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America - Albums Collection 1971-1977 (8CD) Japanese Remastered 2007

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A light folk-rock act of the early '70s, America had several Top Ten hits, including the number ones "A Horse with No Name" and "Sister Golden Hair." Vocalists/guitarists Dewey Bunnell, Dan Peek, and Gerry Beckley met while they were still in high school in the late '60s; all three were sons of U.S. Air Force officers who were stationed in the U.K. After they completed school in 1970, they formed an acoustic folk-rock quartet called Daze in London, which was soon pared down to the trio of Bunnell, Peek, and Beckley. Adopting the name America, the group landed a contract with Jeff Dexter, a promoter for the Roundhouse concert venue. Dexter had America open for several major artists and the group soon signed with Warner Bros. Records. By the fall of 1970, the group was recording its debut album in London, with producers Ian Samwell and Jeff Dexter.

"A Horse with No Name," America's debut single, was released at the end of 1971. In January 1972, the song – which strongly recalled the acoustic numbers of Neil Young – became a number three hit in the U.K. The group's self-titled debut album followed the same stylistic pattern and became a hit as well, peaking at number 14. Following their British success, America returned to North America, beginning a supporting tour for the Everly Brothers. "A Horse with No Name" was released in the U.S. that spring, where it soon became a number one single, pushing Neil Young's "Heart of Gold" off the top of the charts; America followed the single to the top of the charts. "I Need You" became another Top Ten hit that summer, and the group began work on their second album. "Ventura Highway," the first single released from this collaboration, became their third straight Top Ten hit in December of 1972. In the beginning of 1973, America won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist of 1972.

Homecoming was released in January of 1973, becoming a Top Ten hit in the U.S. and peaking at number 21 in the U.K. America's essential sound didn't change with this record; it just became more polished. However, the hits stopped coming fairly soon – they had only one minor Top 40 hit in 1973. Hat Trick, the group's third album, was released toward the end of 1973; it failed to make it past number 28 on the American charts. Released in the late fall of 1974, Holiday was the first record the group made with producer George Martin. Holiday returned America to the top of the charts, peaking at number three and launching the hit singles "Tin Man" and "Lonely People." "Sister Golden Hair," pulled from 1975's Hearts, became their second number one single. That same year, the group released History: America's Greatest Hits, which would eventually sell over four million copies.

Although America's 1976 effort Hideaway went gold and peaked at number 11, the group's audience was beginning to decline. After releasing Harbor to a lukewarm reception, Dan Peek left the group, deciding to become a contemporary Christian recording artist. The group continued as a duo; their last Martin-produced record, Silent Letter, was released in 1979 to little attention. America returned to the Top Ten in 1982 with "You Can Do Magic," an adult contemporary pop number that featured synthesizers along with their trademark harmonies. "The Border" became their last Top 40 hit in 1983, peaking at number 33. After releasing America in Concert in the summer of 1985, the group continued to tour successfully into the '90s, resurfacing in 1998 with Human Nature.

The early part of the new millennium saw America release not only a handful of live albums as well as a holiday-themed studio recording, but also the exhaustive, career-spanning box set Highway, released in 2000. On the heels of this renewed interest, America were tempted back into the studio in 2006 by longtime fans and musicians Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne and James Iha of the Smashing Pumpkins. Although encouraging Bunnell and Beckley to stick to America's core sound, producers Schlesinger and Iha brought in younger musicians influenced by America to guest on the album, including Ryan Adams, Nada Surf, and others. Released in early 2007, Here & Now featured new material by America as well as covers written by bands heavily influenced by the soft rock pioneers. The duo of Bunnell and Beckley returned with the independently released covers album Back Pages in July 2011. That very same month, the duo's former bandmate Dan Peek died at his home in Missouri at the age of 60.

Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic.com

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America - Albums Collection 1971-1977 (8CD) Japanese Remastered 2007

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America's debut album is a folk-pop classic, a stellar collection of memorable songs that would prove influential on such acts as the Eagles and Dan Fogelberg. Crosby, Stills & Nash are the group's obvious stylistic touchstone here, especially in the vocal harmonies used (compare the thick chordal singing of "Sandman" and "Children" to CS&N's "You Don't Have to Cry" and "Guinevere") and the prominent use of active strummed acoustic guitar arrangements (contrast "Riverside" to CS&N's "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes"). America's intricate interplay of acoustic guitar textures is more ambitious than that of their influences, however. Performance quality is usually good, though on occasion sloppily executed or out of tune (especially on the openings to "Donkey Jaw" and "I Never Found the Time"). Lengthy instrumental introductions ("Donkey Jaw"), middle improvisatory interludes ("Here"), and closings ("Clarice") are frequently encountered. Most of these selections boast highly unusual and inventive chord progressions that work well without drawing undue attention to themselves. Lyrics are sometimes trite ("I need you/Like the flower needs the rain") or obscure ("He flies the sky/Like an eagle in the eye/Of a hurricane that's abandoned"), but the music more than makes up for any verse problems; only the odd "Pigeon Song" seems an unsalvageable misstep. Sound quality here has a covered, intimate feel that lends a ghostly aura to this release. Chart hits from this album include the spectrally loping "A Horse with No Name," the squarishly tuneful "I Need You," and the nervously dour "Sandman." Other highlights include the buoyantly charming "Three Roses," the yearningly lovely "Rainy Day," and the quietly ringing "Clarice." In spite of its flaws, this platter is very highly recommended.

Review by David Cleary, Allmusic.com

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Homecoming, America's finest album, refines and focuses the folk-pop approach found on their debut release. The songs here are tighter and more forthright, with fewer extended solo instrumental sections than before. The sound quality is clear and bright; the colorful arrangements, while still acoustic guitar-based, feature more electric guitar and keyboards. The performance quality is more assured, among the most urgently committed the group would ever put on vinyl. Verses are still sometimes banal and clunky ("You can't disregard your friends/But life gets so hard when you reach the end") or cryptic ("Sorry, boy, but I've been hit by purple rain"), but a number of the song subjects here exhibit a yearning sense of wanderlust and love of the outdoors that proves to be highly evocative and compelling (particularly on "Moon Song," "Ventura Highway," "California Revisited," and "Cornwall Blank"). Chordal progressions are sophisticated and contain many subtle surprises. A few new style wrinkles can be seen in the country-influenced "Don't Cross the River," the drivingly gutsy "California Revisited" (perhaps the hardest-rocking song the group would ever produce), and the hushed yet mildly funky "Head & Heart." Chart hits from this release include "Ventura Highway," "Only in Your Heart," and "Don't Cross the River," but each song here has something to recommend it. This top-flight album is a very rewarding listen.

Review by David Cleary, Allmusic.com

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America - Albums Collection 1971-1977 (8CD) Japanese Remastered 2007

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America's Hat Trick has the distinction of being the album that contained the first song that the band sang that wasn't theirs. Written by Willis Ramsey, the syrupy "Muskrat Love" only went as high as number 67 on the singles chart for America, but the Captain & Tennille managed to take it all the way to number four only three years later. The rest of Hat Trick failed to garner any hits and is a slight disappointment after the success of their self-titled debut in 1972, which harbored the band's first number one hit in "A Horse With No Name," and after Homecoming, their satisfying follow-up. Hat Trick peaked at number 28 on the album charts, faltering mainly because the songs lacked the cordial folk-rock melodies and mindful songwriting that prevailed on the earlier releases. "She's Gonna Let You Down" and "Rainbow Song" are the album's best cuts, but banal offerings such as "Green Monkey," "Willow Tree Lullaby," and "Molten Love" have Bunnell and Peek straying off course, sounding stale and musically feeble. The unsuccessful repercussions that evolved from Hat Trick both commercially and otherwise were not overlooked by the band, and they rebounded with 1974's Holiday, an album which yielded hits in "Tin Man" and "Lonely People," which both made Billboard's Top Five.

Review by Mike DeGagne, Allmusic.com

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America fully recovered from Hat Trick's dismal results with 1974's Holiday, with producer George Martin's influence rubbing off on both of the album's Top Five singles. With "Tin Man"'s wonderfully polished soft pop ease and the wispiness of "Lonely People," the band was able to recapture the same formula that put early hits like "A Horse with No Name," "I Need You," and "Ventura Highway" in the Top Ten. The difference with "Holiday" is that their light and breezy melodies and attractive folk-rock sound filtered through more than just the two hit tracks on the album. "Another Try," "Old Man Took," "In the Country," and even the cliché-sounding "Baby It's Up to You" contain a sturdy enough mixture of guitar and harmony to rise them above inessential filler, at least as far as America's material is concerned. Cuts like "Mad Dog" and "Hollywood" suffer somewhat from trite lyrics and a seemingly hurried compositional formula, but this album as a whole ascertained that the group was definitely showing their true potential once more. The album that followed Holiday, 1975's Hearts, showed even stronger improvement, taking the overly catchy "Sister Golden Hair" to number one and scoring a Top 20 hit with the Sunday morning frailty of "Daisy Jane."

Review by Mike DeGagne, Allmusic.com

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Hearts is the fifth original studio album by American folk rock trio America, released by Warner Bros. Records in 1975. The album was produced by legendary Beatles producer George Martin. This album was a big hit in the US, reaching number 4 on the Billboard album chart and being certified GOLD by the RIAA. It produced three hit singles: "Sister Golden Hair" went to number 1 on the Billboard singles chart and number 5 on the Adult Contemporary chart; and "Daisy Jane" which peaked at 20 on the Billboard singles chart and number 4 on the Adult Contemporary chart; and the funky "Woman Tonight" which reached 44 on the Billboard singles chart and 41 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Several other songs received radio airplay on FM stations playing album tracks including "Old Virginia", "Bell Tree" and "Midnight".

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Hideaway is the sixth original studio album by American folk rock trio America, released by Warner Bros. Records in April 1976. The album was produced by legendary Beatles producer George Martin. This album was a hit in the US, peaking at number 11 on the Billboard album chart and being certified Gold by the RIAA. It produced two hit singles: "Today's the Day", which reached 23 on the Billboard singles chart and went all the way to number 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for two weeks; and "Amber Cascades", which peaked at 75 on the Billboard singles chart and hit number 17 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Several other songs received airplay on FM stations playing album tracks, including "Jet Boy Blue", "Watership Down", "Don't Let It Get You Down" and "Lovely Night".

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Harbor is the seventh original studio album by American folk rock trio America, released by Warner Bros. Records in February 1977. It was the last to feature Dan Peek, who embarked on a solo Christian career shortly after the album's release. The album was produced by George Martin. This album was a hit in the US, reaching number 21 on the Billboard album chart. Three singles ("God of the Sun", "Don't Cry Baby" and the disco song "Slow Down") were released from the album but all failed to chart, although "God of the Sun" and "She's Gone" did get some airplay.

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America - Albums Collection 1971-1977 (8CD) Japanese Remastered 2007

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America Live marked the beginning of the group's history as a duo. Recorded at the last of a series of four shows at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles in July of 1977, with film music legend Elmer Bernstein conducting the orchestra and George Martin producing, the album closed out the group's original Warner Bros. contract and was mostly released for that reason, following the Harbor album and the departure of co-founder Dan Peek. Their ninth album in seven years (counting a greatest-hits compilation), it filled in a hole in the group's history and represented America surprisingly well, given the circumstances of its release. Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell are both in excellent voice, and one could hardly ask for a sharper or more balanced live recording. The expected mid-'70s hits such as "Tin Man," "Ventura Highway," and "Sister Golden Hair" (all brilliantly sung, and worth the price of the album) are here, and more modestly charting but highly personal tracks like "Amber Cascades" are represented as well, along with early classics like "I Need You" and "A Horse With No Name" (the latter done with a beautifully elegant yet restrained orchestral arrangement). One does wonder, however, if there were more to this show than the 14 songs represented on the original LP, which might make for a good CD expansion someday. On the other hand, given that Warner Bros. has never seen fit to release this album on CD anywhere but in Europe and Japan, that might be too much to hope for.

Review by Bruce Eder, Allmusic.com