America

America – Struttin’ Our Stuff (2004)
SACD ISO (2.0/MCH): 4,12 GB | 24B/88,2kHz Stereo FLAC: 1,24 GB | Full Artwork
Label/Cat#: in-akustik # INAK 5507SACD | Country/Year: Germany 2004 | 3% Recovery Info
Genre: Rock, Folk | Style: Folk Rock, Soft Rock, Acoustic

A few years ago, we looked at one of the many concerts in the German Ohne Filter TV series, one that features a different act each episode. In our case here, it was the Pop/Rock band America in their duo form that they have been in since 1979, when one of the three founding members departed. That was on DVD-Video. Now, after a year or so of promising to do no less than Super Audio CD versions of some of the programs in the series, Inakustik has issued the material in SACD under the title Struttin’ Our Stuff in a hybrid multi-channel disc. I have integrated that into the original review as follows.

At their peak in the 1970s, America was a fun Pop band that (thanks in part to some songs cut with Beatles’ producer George Martin), made some memorable songs that marked the era well. The original trio was Brit Dewey Bunnell and Americans Gerry Beckley and Dan Peek. This most popular configuration lasted until 1976, when Peek left for Christian music. Continuing as a duo, they made one comeback with the hit single You Can Do Magic in 1982, which was unlike the more acoustic sound they were known for. The comeback faded. Fast forward to 1999 (June 16th in particular) and they are still together, here in a concert for German TV’s Ohne Filter.

The set runs as follows, with the SACD version offering 2 more tracks than the DVD-Video.

(more…)

America – Hearts (1975) [Audio Fidelity 2016]
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 4.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 36:24 minutes | Full Scans included | 1,54 GB
or FLAC 2.0 Stereo (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | 37:04 mins | Scans included | 670 MB
Features Stereo and Quadrophonic surround sound | SACD Mastering by Steve Hoffman | Audio Fidelity # AFZ5 231

Hearts is the fifth original studio album by American folk rock trio America, released by Warner Bros. Records in 1975. The album was produced by legendary Beatles producer George Martin.

(more…)

America – Homecoming (1972) [Audio Fidelity 2015]
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 & DST64 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 34:00 minutes | Full Scans included | 2,78 GB
or FLAC 2.0 Stereo (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | 33:37 mins | Scans incl. | 590 MB
Features 2.0 Stereo and 5.1 multichannel surround sound | Audio Fidelity # AFZ5 204

Homecoming, America’s finest album, refines and focuses the folk-pop approach found on their debut release. The songs here are tighter and more forthright, with fewer extended solo instrumental sections than before. The sound quality is clear and bright; the colorful arrangements, while still acoustic guitar-based, feature more electric guitar and keyboards. The performance quality is more assured, among the most urgently committed the group would ever put on vinyl. Verses are still sometimes banal and clunky (“You can’t disregard your friends/But life gets so hard when you reach the end”) or cryptic (“Sorry, boy, but I’ve been hit by purple rain”), but a number of the song subjects here exhibit a yearning sense of wanderlust and love of the outdoors that proves to be highly evocative and compelling (particularly on “Moon Song,” “Ventura Highway,” “California Revisited,” and “Cornwall Blank”). Chordal progressions are sophisticated and contain many subtle surprises. A few new style wrinkles can be seen in the country-influenced “Don’t Cross the River,” the drivingly gutsy “California Revisited” (perhaps the hardest-rocking song the group would ever produce), and the hushed yet mildly funky “Head & Heart.” Chart hits from this release include “Ventura Highway,” “Only in Your Heart,” and “Don’t Cross the River,” but each song here has something to recommend it. This top-flight album is a very rewarding listen.

(more…)

America – America (1971) [Audio Fidelity 2013]
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 46:16 minutes | Scans included | 1,88 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans included | 886 MB
Mastered by Steve Hoffman | Audio Fidelity # AFZ-167

America’s debut album is a folk-pop classic, a stellar collection of memorable songs that would prove influential on such acts as the Eagles and Dan Fogelberg. Crosby, Stills & Nash are the group’s obvious stylistic touchstone here, especially in the vocal harmonies used (compare the thick chordal singing of “Sandman” and “Children” to CS&N’s “You Don’t Have to Cry” and “Guinevere”) and the prominent use of active strummed acoustic guitar arrangements (contrast “Riverside” to CS&N’s “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes”). America’s intricate interplay of acoustic guitar textures is more ambitious than that of their influences, however. Performance quality is usually good, though on occasion sloppily executed or out of tune (especially on the openings to “Donkey Jaw” and “I Never Found the Time”). Lengthy instrumental introductions (“Donkey Jaw”), middle improvisatory interludes (“Here”), and closings (“Clarice”) are frequently encountered. Most of these selections boast highly unusual and inventive chord progressions that work well without drawing undue attention to themselves. Lyrics are sometimes trite (“I need you/Like the flower needs the rain”) or obscure (“He flies the sky/Like an eagle in the eye/Of a hurricane that’s abandoned”), but the music more than makes up for any verse problems; only the odd “Pigeon Song” seems an unsalvageable misstep. Sound quality here has a covered, intimate feel that lends a ghostly aura to this release. Chart hits from this album include the spectrally loping “A Horse with No Name,” the squarishly tuneful “I Need You,” and the nervously dour “Sandman.” Other highlights include the buoyantly charming “Three Roses,” the yearningly lovely “Rainy Day,” and the quietly ringing “Clarice.” In spite of its flaws, this platter is very highly recommended.

(more…)