America - America

1971

Track Listing                                                  

1. Riverside                                      7. I need you         

2. Sandman                                      8. Rainy day

3. Three roses                                  9. Never found the time               

4. Children                                       10. Clarice                                  

5. A horse with no name                  11. Donkey jaw                                                   

6. Here                                            12. Pigeon song                                  

Band Members:   

Gerry Beckley - Vocals, guitar, bass, piano     Dewey Bunnell - Vocals, guitar      Dave Atwood - Drums

Dan Peek - Vocals, guitar, piano, bass                                   Ray Cooper - Percussion

Kim Haworth - Drums             David Lindley - Guitar          Produced By :  Ian Samwell                                       

Notes

This is the debut album for America.  When it was originally released the number one hit "A horse with no name" had not yet been recorded.  After the track was recorded the album was re-released with that track, helping the album to peak at number one on the Billboard charts.  Other notable hits are "Sandman" and the ballad "I need you".

Recommendations

If I didn't know this was America I would at times think this was a Crosby, Stills & Nash album.  It is primarily an acoustic album with nice three part harmonies and vocals.  If you are into the folk rock scene and are looking for some deep tracks that you may never heard you should totally give this a shot, it will not disappoint.

If you plan on purchasing America

Good luck finding this in stores.  I actually got my hand on this used for 5 bucks at a local used record store.  The disc was slightly scratchy and had an old orange looking case, which was an easy fix.  If you can't find it used like I did, you can purchase it at Cdnow.com for a reasonable price.

If you don't plan on purchasing America but want to hear some tracks from it

You can obviously get the big three from this album on any greatest hits package of theirs, but you would be really missing out on some good material.  Tracks such as "Three roses" and "Children" are nice tracks that you can't find anywhere else but here.  These tracks can be purchased at either Itunes or Napster.  For more suggestions for the band you can view my ideal compilation at my America Home Page.

My Top 5