America - Warner Bros Years 1971-1977 (2015) [8CD Box-Set] Re-up

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America - Warner Bros Years 1971-1977 (2015) [8CD Box-Set] Re-up

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A practical, no-frills clamshell box set celebrating the soft rock/folk-pop hitmakers' '70s heyday, the Warner Bros. Years 1971-1977 rounds up seven complete studio albums and one live LP. Comprised of America (1971), Homecoming (1972), Hat Trick (1973), Holiday (1974), Hearts (1975), Hideaway (1976), Harbor (1977), and America Live (1977), all of which were remastered in 2014, the collection is aimed squarely at completists. Like their closest sonic contemporaries Seals & Crofts, the trio of Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell, and Dan Peek was an unstoppable FM/AM radio force for the era, securing future classic soft rock staples like "Horse with No Name," "Ventura Highway,' "Muskrat Love," "Tin Man," "Lonely People," and "Sister Golden Hair," many of which were impeccably produced by George Martin. Really the only thing missing here is the group's 1982 comeback hit "You Can Do Magic," which would make Rhino's excellent 2000 Highway: 30 Years of America the better choice for casual fans, but longtime America devotees will appreciate having the new studio masters all in one place, as well as the neatly arranged original album art and inserts.

by James Christopher Monger, AMG

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America - Warner Bros Years 1971-1977 (2015) [8CD Box-Set] Re-up

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America - Warner Bros Years 1971-1977 (2015) [8CD Box-Set] Re-up

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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.

by David Cleary, AMG

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America - Warner Bros Years 1971-1977 (2015) [8CD Box-Set] Re-up

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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.

by David Cleary, AMG

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America - Warner Bros Years 1971-1977 (2015) [8CD Box-Set] Re-up

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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.

by Mike DeGagne, AMG

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America - Warner Bros Years 1971-1977 (2015) [8CD Box-Set] Re-up

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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."

by Mike DeGagne, AMG

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America - Warner Bros Years 1971-1977 (2015) [8CD Box-Set] Re-up

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Their 5th lp & 2nd with George Martin is a special one &I think a favorite with America fans. The songs are all excellent & somehow together form a warm, cohesive mood. The cd adds Dan Peek's "Simple Life", which is an excellent, nice outtake. The mega-hit here is "Sister Golden Hair" & "Daisy Jane". Dewey's "Company" is another highlight, a return to the breezy sound of his earlier hits.

by art moy, AMG

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America - Warner Bros Years 1971-1977 (2015) [8CD Box-Set] Re-up

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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".

~ wiki

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America - Warner Bros Years 1971-1977 (2015) [8CD Box-Set] Re-up

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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.

Though a major commercial disappointment compared to America's six previous albums, the album did reach number 21 on the Billboard album chart.[2] 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 "Now She's Gone" did get some airplay.

Despite the serene tone of the title and artwork, Harbor is more brooding and pessimistic than most of America's previous albums.

~ wiki

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America - Warner Bros Years 1971-1977 (2015) [8CD Box-Set] Re-up

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America Live is the first official live album by American folk rock duo America, released by Warner Bros. Records in October 1977. The album was recorded in July 1977 at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, California. It was the first to feature America as a duo, as Dan Peek had left the group for a solo career two months prior to the recording of this album. The album was produced by George Martin.

Commercially, the album performed poorly compared with America's other albums; it reached number 127 on the Billboard 200. No singles were released from this album.

~ wiki

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America - Warner Bros Years 1971-1977 (2015) [8CD Box-Set] Re-up

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