Get ready for another ride down Ventura Highway. On July 17, Rhino will release the new 8-CD box set America: The Warner Bros. Years 1971-1977 collecting all of the studio and live albums released by the band for the Warner Bros. label: America (1971), Homecoming (1972), Hat Trick (1973), Holiday (1974), Hearts (1975), Hideaway (1976), Harbor (1977), and America Live (1977). Happily, we can report that every one of these albums will be presented in newly-remastered sound prepared in 2014!
The trio consisting of Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell and Dan Peek, three sons of U.S. Air Force officers stationed in the U.K., scored a big impression with 1972's self-titled debut which spent five weeks atop the U.S. album chart. (The album was actually a reissue itself; the 1971 edition was withdrawn when "A Horse with No Name" became a hit. When it was added to the LP, both album and band took off!) America was most clearly influenced by the rich harmonies and acoustic guitar sound of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, with some listeners even mistaking "Horse with No Name" for a Young song (to Neil's chagrin?). Besides Bunnell's cryptic equine paean, he offered the haunting "Sandman" while Beckley showed off his timeless melodic sensibility with "I Need You." The band's finest and most cohesive album, sophomore effort Homecoming, further established the group as a force with which to be reckoned. Bunnell's evocative "Ventura Highway" was another smash single while Peek's "Don't Cross the River" and Beckley's "To Each His Own" were equally mesmerizing.
After the modestly successful third album Hat Trick, a multi-album collaboration with the legendary producer George Martin ensued, and he expanded the band's sound with his trademark orchestration. The Martin/America teaming yielded further folk-pop smashes like "Sister Golden Hair," "Lonely People," "Tin Man" and "Daisy Jane." Peek made a surprise exit from America after 1977's Harbor, and the band moved from Warner Bros. to Capitol. The next major hit didn't come until 1982 when Russ Ballard of Argent supplied them with "You Can Do Magic." Bunnell and Beckley soldier on as America to this day; in 2007, they teamed with Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne for Here & Now, arguably their best album in decades. Fans of America got a treat earlier this year when the duo released Lost and Found on the band's own America Records label. This compilation features 10 previously unissued tracks recorded by Beckley and Bunnell between 2000 and 2011; it's available at America's concerts as well as at Amazon.com and Amazon U.K.!
The Warner Bros. Years 1971-1977 is housed in a clamshell case similar to Rhino's other complete box set releases, with each disc in an individual sleeve replicating the original album artwork. No additional booklet is included with the set. This set of new remasters from America is due on July 17, and can be pre-ordered at the links below!
America, The Warner Bros. Years 1971-1977 (Warner Bros./Rhino, 2015) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. TBD)
- America (1971)
- Homecoming (1972)
- Hat Trick (1973)
- Holiday (1974)
- Hearts (1975)
- Hideaway (1976)
- Harbor (1977)
- America Live (1977)
All track listings reflect original album sequences.
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Many of us have the Audio Fidelity AMERICA and HOMECOMING but it'll be great to get the others. I'm not an America expert, but were there no B-sides or other non-LP tracks that could have been included?
PS: HOLIDAY and HEARTS were issued in wonderful quad mixes back in the day. T'would be great to see those issued for us surround sound nuts!
"Everyone I Meet Is From California" is a b-side from the first album's sessions that should have been included. The song was later rearranged and re-recorded as "California Revisited" for the Homecoming album.
Did anybody ever reveal why they had all those titles beginning with "H"?
WK
The band Asia has had a lot of albums with titles beginning with "A."
Perhaps naming your band after a large geographic area causes alliterative album titles. Not small areas, though. Witness Chicago.
Chicago isn't a very good choice to make the point. Their album titles are even less inspired... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.... "Gee, what do you think the title of their next album will be?"
At least America put a bit more thought into the title of their next album which was called "Silent Letter"
Oh, I never said Chicago's album titles were "inspired." I said they weren't alliterative. I chose Chicago precisely because they have an easily recognized pattern of album titles, but not the same pattern as America's.
But, while you accuse Chicago of titling their albums "1,2,3,4,5," only two of their first five albums had numbered titles. The unbroken numbering streak began at 5 and ended at 11, resuming at 13 after "Hot Streets."
Joe -
One small mistake in your otherwise excellent article. Homecoming was the follow-up to the first album; Hat Trick was their third album.
For completeness they should have included Greatest Hits, which had George Martin remixes of several of the earlier tracks.
Thanks, Mark! Mea culpa! Had the chronology correct up top, and then reversed the two albums below. Too many Hs! 😉
It's great to hear a set like this is actually being "remastered" (at least, until we actually HEAR it, and hopefully it's GOOD remastering), so I won't nitpick too much. But I will nitpick about one thing:
B-sides, as mentioned, should be included on a set like this. And, in the case of America, they should've included the "History: America's Greatest Hits" set either on its own, or with the tracks as bonus tracks on the respective albums - specifically because these tracks were remixed by George Martin, and are largely the versions that've been played on Classic Rock radio since the dawn of the CD.
Just listened to some of the America albums set and the remastering is nothing to write home about. I had to turn the volume up three or four notches higher than I usually do in order to hear it better. There isn't a booklet in the set either. "Everyone I Meet Is From California" was originally the B-side of their first single "A Horse With No Name" and as far as I know it's their only non-album Warner Bros. track. It's a nice enough basic set of their Warner Bros. output if you don't have any of them on cd.