Customer Reviews

HOLIDAY

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the perfect blending of America with george Martin and the result is a very fine album that has aged well. The lush string orchestration will remind many folks form my era (the 1960's) of the Beatles. But George Martin had to have something to work with didn't he, and I don't think he would have taken on this new band in the 1970's unless he felt there was something there that was worth his efforts. Sure, everyone loved Tin Man and Lonely People, but this album has so much more. Another Try is one of the very best songs the group ever perfomed, and Glad to See You features George Martin's fine orchestration. Mad Dog, Old Man Took and Hollywood are fine songs. I'd personally rate this as a tie with their second album right behind their first. I also like Hearts and Hideaway, but this one is a little better, in my opinion.

Who else but American can typify the easy go lucky flavor of the seventies. Bright, melodic tunes; cryptic and interesting lyrics; and a sense of harmony. Truly these guys were overlooked by many as just a folk group who sang a stupid song about a horse with no name. Aw, shucks, guys. You weren't listening. This album is one of their finest. "Tin Man" "Ol Man Took," "Hollywood," "Lonely People" are prime examples of good solid writing and an understanding of what their audience wanted. I always found them refreshing---always interesting---and I still listen to their albums. Great music for a summer party!

"Holiday" is the only album I ever bought while just rummaging around a record store. While at UT-Austin, the LP was being played at a shop on the Drag and every cut caught my ear. I purchased it on the spot. The two successful singles ("Tin Man" and "Lonely People") are the least consequential tunes on the album. "Another Try" is terrific and I courted my wife with "Baby It's Up to You." George Martin's influence is felt from the opening cut, the beautiful/haunting "Minature" one of the best instrumentals ever. This is the America album to own; I think it's superior to any "Greatest Hits" compilations.

This was one of the few albums I really wanted on CD but could not find. I even had Tower Records try to order an import, and they failed -- miserably! They never even called me to say they couldn't get it. So, I actually bought software, a SoundBlaster Audigy sound card, and an old receiver with a phono preamp to burn my own copy from vinyl.

The merger of the Beatles producer, Sir Geroger Martin, and America produced a pop masterpiece. This album really gives America's first album a run for the money as America's best album. Where America's earlier work fell into the accoustic folk rock category, with this album they moved well towards the realm of accoustic pop.

The influence of Sir George is very apparent, particularly in the instrumentation, which includes piano, horns, violins and other orchesteral embelishments which were not incorporated in America's earlier albums. The songs are also more personal and introspective, which gives the album an intimacy lacking in America's earlier works.

OK! I have to mention it. The album had two hits -- "Tin Man" and "Lonely People." But, I consider "Old Man Took," "Another Try," and "Hollywood" to be better work.

Enjoy! Pop may never get this good again.

Of all the albums released by America, Holiday still withstands the hands of time. Though only producing 2 hits (Tin Man and Lonely People) it's still worth the listen. While Minuture is an instrumental that might be the intro to the Holiday LP, like Welcome To the Music is to the album The Guitar Man by Bread (another great album). Some of the selections on this CD...such as, Another Try, Glad To See You, Mad Dog and Baby, It's Up To You, could have easily been Top 40 hits. No wonder they're one of the 70's best soft rock groups.

Soft rock at its best! Their first collaboration with legendary Beatles producer George Martin. The album is very nicely done and was a big hit in 1974. Features the hits Tin Man and Lonely People. Best album tracks are Another Try, Baby It's Up To You, Hollywood, and In The Country. Highly recommended!

After 2 great albums, America hit a slump with "Hattrick" which was experimental but moved too far away from what fans were expecting resulting in disappointing sales but they rebounded well here with the great decision to enlist the aid of legendary ex-Beatles' producer George Martin whose influence is obvious throughout this album. One of my favourite America tracks "Tin Man" is here and while this album is not as consistently strong track-wise as say "Homecoming" it is still a very strong album and ranks among their best ever. Fans are in for a treat with this mini-lp replica sleeve (mlps) release as it has been well designed and assembled with a beautifully done inner sleeve that closely resembles the original vinyl version and also includes a 12-page booklet containing all the lyrics in both English and Japanese. There are no filler tracks here as every track is very strong and has a nice flow throughout the album. Importantly, the sound quality is also very good having been remastered well.

Great content, good mlps design and good sound quality makes this an easy review.

Highly recommended!

This was legendary Beatles producer, Sir George Martin's first collaboration with America. America brought in Martin to handle production after the disappointing commercial performance of their third album, Hat Trick the previous year. This album was a big hit in the US in 1974, peaking at 3 on the Billboard album chart, sold a million copies, and has some of Martin's best production work! The album contains two of America's biggest hits, Tin Man and Lonely People, which still get airplay more than 30 years after their release. It also contains several album tracks that received significant airplay during the mid-70s including: Baby It's Up To You, and Another Try (both of which probably would have been top 40 hits had Warner Brothers had the good sense to release them as singles). Simply a solid performance by America and George Martin!

Unlike other CD releases of Holiday, this import release, while pricey, has the original original album cover which had the title Holiday at the top of the cover in the center.

It is a crime that it took so long for this CD to be released in the US! It was a big hit in 1974, sold a million copies, and has some of legendary Beatles producer, Sir George Martin's best production work! The album contains two of America's biggest hits, Tin Man and Lonely People, which still get airplay nearly 30 years after their release. It also contains several album tracks which received significant airplay during the mid-70s including: Baby It's Up To You, and Another Try (both of which probably would have been top 40 hits had Warner Brothers had the good sense to release them as singles). Simply a solid performance by America and George Martin! A forgotten treasure from the 70s!

When I first heard this album on oldest my brother-in-law's turntable, this was some of the best music that I ever heard. MINIATURE is a excellent instrumental beginner, and then follows DEWEY'S acoustic classic TIN MAN. I also still think of the movie THE WIZARD OF OZ when I hear this song. MAD DOG, ANOTHER TRY and WHAT DOES IT MATTER are great piano ballads by GERRY BECKLEY that also include an orchestra. The orchestra on MAD DOG has a great 1930s or 1940s feeling to it. Plus, I also love his acoustic ballad BABY IT'S UP TO YOU, especially with the repeated harmony vocals of DAN PEEK AND DEWEY BURNELL. HOLLYWOOD is a great song by DEWEY, with the acoustic and electric guitar riffs, and especially with the HOLLYWOOD ruch hour traffic in the background. However, his acoustic ballad OLD MAN TOOK that features an orchestra, piano by GERRY OR DAN, and the harmony vocals has a more mellowed out feeling. DAN'S piano rockin' IN THE COUNTRY is a outstanding closing song with his singin', piano and guitar riffs. Plus, the sound of DAN'S guitar reminds me of NEIL YOUNG. YOU is a excellent piano ballad by DAN, but I love his other piano ballad GLAD TO SEE YOU a whole lot better because of the arrangement of the song, including the orchestra. It also happens to be one of my favorite songs on this album. On the other hand, their music would sound a whole lot better if either DAN or GERRY would have played the mellotron, in place of the orchestra. My most favorite song on this album is DAN'S LONELY PEOPLE, written with his wife CASSIE, with the blending sounds of DAN'S 12-string and DEWEY'S 6-string guitars, along with GERRY's piano riffs, harmony vocals, and DAN's lead vocal and harmonica. It is so cool how GERRY and DAN reprised their roles as the 2 multi-instrumentalists, like on their debut album. I am so delighted that I have this album that is one of my favorites on cd. Furthermore, I love to play BABY IT'S UP TO YOU and LONELY PEOPLE on my 12-string acoustic guitar.