History: America's Greatest Hits

History: America's Greatest Hits

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Editorial Reviews

America, History: America's Greatest Hits

Customer Reviews

America Plays Well-Crafted Pop/Folk-Rock!

Reviewed by Chappa, 2009-05-22

This old Greatest Hits package includes twelve selections from the following albums: the self-titled debut (1971), "Homecoming" (1972), "Hat Trick" (9173), "Holiday" (1974), and "Hearts" (1975). It was produced by George Martin who is remembered today for his work with the Beatles although he has worked with many notable artists including Jeff Beck, Cheap Trick, and UFO among others. The group is composed of three official members who play guitar and sing lead or backing vocals: Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell, and Dan Peek. All songs included were written by one of them on his own, the exception being the cover of "Muskrat Love".

The three guys show great songwriting that incorporates different styles into their pop formula. From Bunnell's mind come the band's biggest hits for example their folk-rock debut single "A Horse With No Name" featuring great vocal harmonies, the mid-tempo "Sandman" (killer rhythm guitar here), "Ventura Highway" (great lead guitar line), and "Tin Man" (cool bass line in the chorus).
The songwriting talent of Beckley is showcased in the excellent ballad "I Need You" (it has a Beatles Abbey Road-era feel), another ballad called "Only In Your Heart" which features a backward electric guitar solo at the end, the country sounding "Sister Golden Hair" (one of my favorites!) and a third ballad with great piano work "Daisy Jane".
Last but not least, Dan Peek shows his songwriting skills in another country flavored song that's another one of my favorites with amazing harmony vocals plus some banjo as well: "Don't Cross The River", the Neil Young sounding "Lonely People" with its prominent harmonica and the slightly funky sounding "Woman Tonight".
Completing the selection is the band's take on the Captain & Tennille number "Muskrat Love" that finds the band in a jazzier mode.

So which one of the three is the band's best songwriter? Well...I'd say all three are the best! If you are into well crafted pop with folk-rock/country leanings, just take a listen to this! I'm pretty sure you'll think its great! If you want to dig a little deeper, you should try the "Complete Greatest Hits" CD that has 22 tracks instead!
Thanks for taking the time to read!
Later...

My History Lesson

Reviewed by Luis, 2009-03-28

Being a child of the 80's the 70's always seemed bland and stuffy. One day I lugged my guitar to work and a co-worker knocked out some beautiful chords and warm lyrics. I was impressed and asked who the artist was and the name of the song. He said "Lonely People", by America. So it was not long before I got ahold of a copy, and went with this greatest hits. There's alot here and a good entry into not just "America" but into that 70's groove.

Mary, have you seen better days?

Reviewed by Andre M., 2008-10-16

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.

A 70's classic, but now obsolete

Reviewed by A Fan, 2006-07-24

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.

Why was this released?

Reviewed by Lonnie E. Holder, 2006-06-06

America is the definition of middle of the road pop/rock from the early 70s. Music was headed in all kinds of interesting directions in the 70s, and while interesting is good, sometimes you want to hear a catchy mellow tune, perhaps with an occasional flavor of the psychedelic. We've reached the definition of America.

America had some excellent music in the period covered by this CD, formerly a vinyl album. They held their own against a host of hot artists, including the likes of Elton John, The Doobie Brothers, and Chicago. They did it by having lyrics and tunes easy to remember and sing, and yet, their music usually was more than just throw away tunes. Even the much-reviled "Muskrat Love" was well done, though poor lyrics well-done are still poor lyrics. You might wonder what they were thinking when they did that song.

Where's the psychedelic? Better go back and listen to "A Horse with No Name" and "Ventura Highway." These deceptively mellow songs include lyrics like:

After nine days I let the horse run free
'Cause the desert had turned to sea
There were plants and birds and rocks and things
There was sand and hills and rings

And:

'Cause the free wind is blowin' through your hair
And the days surround you daylight there
Seasons crying no despair
Alligator lizards in the air

I love the imagery of these lyrics; they sound descriptive of the southwest and southern California in particular, and yet they are not. Sort of the in and out familiarity of "The Talisman" and "Black House" by Stephen King and Peter Straub. I am not saying their songs are depressing, they just seem to me to sometimes evoke the in and out of phase feeling that King and Straub tried to communicate in those two books; sometimes here, sometimes in another world so similar to ours and yet profoundly, weirdly different.

In spite of the one bump in the road ("Muskrat Love"), these three guys wrote and sang many excellent songs. "A Horse with No Name," "Ventura Highway" and "Sister Golden Hair" always throw me back to the early 70s every time I hear them on the radio. The rest of the music on this CD includes the greatest hits of America in the early 70s plus. If you've ever liked an America song, you'll enjoy this CD.

Why four stars? Well, one big reason. As has been pointed out elsewhere, America kept on making music after 1975, so they had other hits. Since a CD can hold more than 70 minutes of music, and this CD has about 40 minutes, I guess I want to know where the other 20+ minutes of music went. Well, the answer is in a more comprehensive CD called "America: The Complete Greatest Hits."

One then has to answer why this CD even exists given that there is a CD that includes all these songs plus another 10. Even stranger, this CD is a re-release of the same CD released in 1990. I suppose if you are a purist and you want to own all of America's released Albums then you'd have to get this one. However, if you aren't a purist, move on to the more comprehensive CD and leave this one alone. The more comprehensive CD is only slightly more expensive. This CD is only worth it if you can get it really cheaply.