Customer Reviews

America Live

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Not bad, but I thought it was over produced. Goerge Martin tried to make it sound like a studio album, using an orchestra to back the band. This causes America to lose some energy and makes them sound more like a night club act than a classic rock band. Though it does provide some insight into how George Martin would have handled America's early hits had he produced them. His arangement of Horse With No Name is very interesting.

Contrary to the official review, this was recorded after Dan Peek had left the band and not before. This was their first album as a duo and it is not bad, but I agree that it was over produced by George Martin. It was America's first commercial flop, failing to crack the Billboard Top 100 Albums chart in 1978 despite including live recordings of many songs that had been big hits just a few years ealier. I think they would have been better off without the backing orchestra and tried for a more "classic rock" style performance which was more typical of their live shows.

Great songs with very different, but incredible, arrangements.
Having seen other concerts at The Greek, I can only imagine the incredible how the orchestra looked behind the band.

Sound quality is good, but shows some drawbacks of early technology. Enjoy it!

OK, I admit that I was a huge fan of America but only had two of their LPs back in the day. Their debut from 72 and this live album. I played this one the most because I got tired of hearing the same songs from their debut over and over for about 5-6 years, until America Live came out. This is the first album featuring the two-man lineup of America (Dan Peek found Jesus and decided to follow after him.... not a bad choice but Peek's voice and harmony are missed).
This recording is not as stripped down as their debut. This was, to my knowledge, George Martin's last hurray with America and he left no production value untouched. If this were a "in concert" recording of a studio album it would have been America's Sgt. Pepper Live and On Stage!
A lot of interesting arrangements and versions of familiar songs done differently. Horse with No Name will never sound the same to me after hearing it here.
I give it 4-stars because of the nostalgic value of owning a record I had when I was a teenager.