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America, History: America's Greatest Hits
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 LessonReviewed 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 obsoleteReviewed 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.
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