Customer Reviews

America

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Sure, there are inevitable comparisons to Crosby, Stills and Nash. They are unavoidable because anyone playing acoustic guitars and singing harmonies will bring them to mind.
Comparisons aside, this is one great album. Every time I listen to it, it's like another acoustic guitar lesson. The interplay and blending of the guitars is very inspiring. The songs are good and the singing is right on the mark. I didn't realize what a big influence these guys were until I picked this up on CD and started listening to it again on a regular basis.
If you like acoustic guitars this is a must have disc.

This is an outstanding album! It was a huge hit in 1972, spent five weeks at number 1 on the album charts, and went PLATINUM in the days when few albums did. While some of the lyrics may be trite (most of the songs were written while they were teenagers) the music is GREAT! If you love acoustic guitars, this album is a must. It includes their first number 1 hit single, Horse With No Name and another big hit I Need You. Several other songs received significant airplay on stations including Three Roses, Sandman, and Never Found The Time. The only weak song on the album is Pigeon Song. Highly recommended if you like acoustic guitar music!

One of the top selling debut albums of all time this is my favorite album of all time and has been so for more than 30 years. Sure, I love CSN, CSNY and Neil, but this album really isn't an imitation of those groups, just in the same genre; in my opinion there aren't enough albums in this genre! It's like saying no one else should play music using the electric guitar because Hendrix played it. Wouldn't that just make the selections in music just that much poorer? Face it, CSN and Neil did not invent the acoustic guitar, and though it was their trade mark, they rarely got down in their instrumental parts like this album does (I also rate Homecoming, and at times Hat Trick, as in this genre). To compare early America to them (and vice versa) is a compliment in my book. (I wonder what Neil thought of the first album?) I have owned 8 track, cassettes, 15 or more vinyl LPs (currently have two, including the original British LP without Horse!), 45s (Everyone I Meet Is From California was the flip side of the Horse 45 when it first hit the charts, so I will include it as another favorite tied to, but not on, this album), as well as CDs of this album... and I have never tired of it. For those who own the vinyl and have an adjustable speed turntable try slowing the RPMs down... the album will take on a more haunting sound. Other reviewers have done a good job of reviewing individual songs... my personal favorites from this album are Horse, 3 Roses, Here, and Donkey Jaw. It would definetly be at the top of my list of albums that would go with me to the proverbial deserted island.

America seldom gets the credit they deserve...yet amazingly their music never goes out of style..America's music..and this album in particular album sounds as fresh today as it did in 1972. You know the hits "Horse With No Name" "I Need You" and the electrifying "Sandman" (still a concert favorite)The careful listener will also notice two masterpices "Riverside" and "Three Roses" , which reintirate the innovation that Beckley, Bunnell, and Peek helped pioneer

"unplugged" long before it was cool. Another must have for any fan of music is Beckley's "Here" which is evidence that just because it's "unplugged" doesn't mean it can't rock. If you only can buy a few America albums...put this at the very top of the list. People today brag about harmony of current 90's groups. However, isn't remarkable that not only does Ameirca sing better than almost any of the current gropus..but they play of myraid of instruments and write their own songs!!!!!!! THe best part of the songs are great! Their is absolutely no filler on this record! Great stuff! (Guitar guys notice the chord progressions througout)

Hook laden guitar work, trippy lyrics, beautiful vocal harmonies. This record has it all. Despite alot of commercial success, America never got the respect. The first 3 albums (America, Homecoming, and Hat Trick) are acoustic rock masterpieces. Critics hated these guys and wrote them off as CSN ripoffs but the truth is nobody did this type of music better than America. Nobody.

I've been collecting the original America albums recently. Many are imports, but readilly available. I've also been reading up on the group and I've come to really appreciate this album. Why? This was music created by three very talented musicians and composers with "fire in the belly"- these songs were practiced in their car, this is prior to George Martin who would transform them into an extremely good pop music 1970's band. They were perfectionists in those days (George Martin would later encourage them to not be quite so "picky"). Horse with no name, I Need You and Sandman were well known to me and appreciated. Three Roses, never Found the Time, Donkey Jaw, etc. are all wonderful songs that I had never heard. I'd love to hear a good live version of the opening track "Riverside" - its a great song, but it feels like it needs to be longer than 3 minutes. The only song I don't like is Pigeon Song, but 11 great songs out of 12 is pretty good for three military kids in England trying to get their foot in the door. The America web-site gives a lot of very interesting information about the band. I'd skip all of the "Best of..." stuff and start collecting the original albums - you won't want to miss any of this if you get started.

America's self-titled debut album is a fine collection of folk-rock songs. The album was spurred on by the success of the number one hit "A Horse With No Name", which is a 70's AM gold classic. The album has other solid efforts including the trippy "Sandman" and the gorgeous ballad "I Need You" which was another top ten hit, peaking at number nine. "Donkey Jaw" has some great acoustic guitar work and "Rainy Day" is another pretty song. The album also reached number one on the charts.

America's self-titled first album is likely the best effort the group ever had. The cohesive mix of songs (excluding the worn-out "A Horse With No Name" which was NOT included on the first release, but was added later by studio executives hoping to sell more albums from its inclusion following the song's hit status as a single) was unmatched by any of the group's subsequent efforts. Moreover, the quality of the original recording, mixing and mastering was extraordinary for a freshman effort, especially from a heretofore unknown group of *almost* teenage guys. Unfortunately, the Friday Music release, whether due to the mastering efforts of Joe Reagoso or others, is HORRIBLE! The sound is reminiscent of that produced when singing through a toilet paper tube - pinched, flat, and lifeless. To confirm that it was this release and not the master tapes from which it was spawned, I compared it to the original Warner Bros. first-pressing, green label release, which I also own. The original release contains all the detail, life, and genuine good sound for which the album shines. If you like this album, and you like it on vinyl, DON"T BUY THE FRIDAY MUSIC RELEASE. Instead, find a good used original copy. You'll be glad you did.

Oof! This album is just so good. Forget the overplayed hits like Sandman and Horse With No Name. The real stuff lies down in the soft underbelly of Sides 1 and 2 (Anybody remember sides? - Robert Plant). Three Roses - what a song; so simple, so economic, so beautifully sung and played. Clarice, which explodes into a chorus which is, like, out there. And WHAT is that he is singing on Pigeon Song? Have you checked the gruesome words on it? That guy makes Hannibal Lecter look like Big Bird out of Sesame Street. America was always an inviting band for me, promising lazy, sunny days in the grass in a place where the clock stopped in 1967. America have stood the test of time; changing trends and currents couldn't stop the indomitable messrs. Bunnell, Peek and Beckley, whose subsequent releases made the 80s and 90s a much nicer place for a lot of people. Breathy harmonies, unhurried acoustic guitars. Quite reminiscent of the Crosby, Still and Nash thang. But if I had to choose between this and C, S & N I would go with this N-E-TIME. This may be the best, but it is certainly the purest America album. The PUREST America album. Everything right down from the cover to the reverb on the snare is just so laid back. A classic album package like Genesis's Trick of the Tale, Weezer's debut album or Hunky Dory. OK. It's got its flaws, but when you're in there with the music, you don't really give a tinkers about that, anyway, do you?

They never topped their debut album. It's fresh sounding and bubbling with energy and consistently great songs. Sophisticated acoustic guitar interplay on just about every track, and as tight as Fleetwood Mac on Rumours. Stunning 3 part harmonies abound, every one contributes good material, minimal drums and bass nevertheless groove out effectively on tracks like "Sandman". These songs sound like they were worked on with real enthusiasm and intensity. The drugginess that characterized a lot of music of the time is largely absent here - just simple folk tunes, somewhat reminiscent of Neil Young's vocals at times, but the songwriting approaches the Beatles, Hollies, Moody Blues. The production isn't absolutely primitive - the songs are sprinkled lightly with studio experiments like the ghostly background vocals in 'Here', the strange guitar solo in 'Sandman', and the atmospheric rhodes piano of 'Clarice', the congas in "Three Roses". There is a bit of a narrow focus to the album - all the songs are very much in the same vein, with keyboards leading to a few departures in their style in 'Never Found The Time' and 'Clarice'.