(Classic Rock / Pop-Rock / Soft Rock) America - History (America's Greatest Hits) - 1975, FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

To their detractors, they were Crosby, Still, Nash and Young Lite, but nonetheless, this premature career retrospective of soft-rock icons America holds up extremely well against most pop records of the early to mid-'70s. In part, that's due to ex-Beatles producer George Martin, whose considerable studio expertise nudged country-ish tunes like "Sister Golden Hair" as close to power pop as they were feasibly going to get. But the fact is that America had a genuine knack for crafting catchy, radio-ready singles, and this album offers just about all of them, including the Neil Young-esque "Horse With No Name," and the genuinely lovely "Ventura Highway."
America: Gerry Beckley (vocals, piano, bass); Dewey Bunnell (vocals, 6-string guitar); Dan Peek (vocals, 12-string guitar). Additional personnel: Henry Diltz (banjo); Joe Osborne, David Dickey (bass); Kim Haworth, Ray Cooper, Dave Atwood, Hal Blaine, Willie Leacox (drums, percussion); Chester McCracken (congas); Venetta Fields, Clydie King, Jessica Smith (background vocals). Producers: Ian Samwell, Jeff Dexter, America. Compilation producer: George Martin. Engineers include: Robin Black, Ken Scott, Geoff Emerick.

At a Glance
Formed: 1970
America are an Anglo-American folk-rock three-piece formed in London in 1970 by multi-instrumentalist/vocalists Gerry Beckley and Dan Peek and singer/guitarist Dewey Bunnell. America are most famous for their No.1 single "Horse with No Name".
The band released their self-titled debut album in 1971, but this had to be repackaged and re-released the following year after the success of the single "Horse with No Name", which was not included on the original release. The single propelled the band to worldwide success.
The re-released version of the album went platinum and produced another successful single, "I Need You". Following a move to the US the band released their next album, Homecoming, which included the Top 10 single "Ventura Highway" and helped earn the band the Best New Artist Award at the Grammys.
Their 1973 Hat Trick album was not as successful but they managed to co-opt former Beatles producer George Martin to work on the follow-up Holiday. Martin put his stamp on the album, adding strings and brass to the sound, and America made it back into the Top 10 singles charts with "Tin Man" and "Lonely People". Their next album, Hearts, produced the No.1 single "Sister Golden Hair", but this was to mark the beginning of the band's commercial decline.
After a few years, during which the band were well below their commercial peak, changes in personnel and musical style paid off in 1982 with View From the Ground. The album featured contributions from Beach Boy Carl Wilson and Argent's Russ Ballard. It made the Top 50, while the single "You Can Do Magic" took the band into the Top 10 of the Billboard charts. The next album, the Ballard-produced Your Move, had another hit single "The Border", but album sales failed to match their previous releases.
America are now being name checked and recognized by a new generation of artists. Janet Jackson used the "Ventura Highway" riff in her 2002 hit single "Someone to Call My Lover", and the band collaborated with Fountains of Wayne frontman Adam Schlesinger on their Here and Now album released in 2007.
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5.0 out of 5 stars - A 70's classic, but now obsolete, July 24, 2006
By: A Fan (VA)
This was a must have album when it was released in 1975. It was a big hit (peaking at number 3 on the Billboard album chart) and was one of the biggest selling albums of the 70's, selling more than 5 million copies. Every song on here is good and was a hit, however this collection has become obsolete since the release of America's Complete Greatest Hits. Every song on this CD is on Complete Greatest Hits, plus 10 more songs.
The only reason to buy this CD is to get the George Martin remixes of their early hits. Legendary Beatles producer Sir George Martin did not start producing America's music until their 4th album "Holiday". When this album was released, Martin remixed the hits from their first 3 albums (Horse With No Name, I Need You, Sandman, Ventura Highway, Don't Cross The River, Only In Your Heart, and Muskrat Love). So they do sound a little different on this CD than on any other. I actually prefer the original mixes on most of them, except for Don't Cross the River. Martin adds a fiddle to the song and it really works well. So unless you are a hardcore America or George Martin fan who has to have every mix of a song, you would be better off buying America's Complete Greatest Hits CD.
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3.0 out of 5 stars - Nice set, since updated, February 19, 2005
By: Tim Brough "author and music buff" (Springfield, PA United States)
The surprising thing is just how many of these light weight acoustically based ditties made the top ten in the band's heyday. Even more so is just how well many of them have held up. The CSN&Y sound alike of their first hit, "Horse With No Name," brought them their first attention. A lot of folks were shocked that this trio was actually a couple of American Army brats (Dan Peek and Gerry Beckley) who had teamed up with Londoner Dewey Bunnel and made songs out of homesickness. They began to include some jazzy flavors to the songs (like the banjo in "Don't Cross The River") and a willingness to explore other songwriters, like "Muskrat Love." It was the harmonies that were what made some of the finest songs by America such standouts, like "Sister Golden Hair." The lyrics were frequently poetic and imagistic ("alligator lizards in the air," "spinning round smoke glass, stain bright colors," etc), adding a somewhat psychedelic flair to several of the earlier songs.
If you're searching for a collection of America hits, the one to own is Rhino's "Complete Greatest Hits." It will sit next to your Eagles, Cat Stevens and Seals & Crofts CDs from the seventies quite nicely.
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5.0 out of 5 stars - Mary, have you seen better days?, October 16, 2008
By: Andre M. "brnn64" (Mt. Pleasant, SC United States)
If you get this title (a lyric from "Only In Your Heart"), you'll love this CD. The section of the song where they repeatedly chant these lyrics in a multitracked crescendo will send chills down your spine.
Those of us who were 70s children who recall hearing a lot of this stuff on AM radio stations on our way to school in the mornings will cherish this. Even if you weren't there at the time, it's still pretty mellow music that goes down good.
Songs such as "A Horse With No Name," "Only In Your heart", "Daisy Jane" (the similarities between this and Janet Jackson's "Let's Wait Awhile" a decade later was said to have provoked an out of court settlement), and "Sister Golden Hair" are laid backed, acoustic-guitar and vocal harmony based easy-listening folk-rockers that's ideal music for long drives on sunny days or relaxing after work as the sun goes down. One reviewer has compared this to CSNY. I never thought about this, but it's true, minus the politics.
"You can't disregard your friends/"Cause life gets so hard when you reach the end" (From "Only in Your Heart").
In either case, simply put it's just good music. Enjoy.

Exact Audio Copy V0.99 prebeta 5 from 4. May 2009
EAC extraction logfile from 6. July 2010, 17:43
America / History: America's Greatest Hits
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