(2019) America – Classic Album Collection: The Capitol Years
Review:
After seven albums in as many years, Dan Peek departed America, leaving Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell to carry on in the band the trio formed. The first release from the new duo line-up was 1977’s Live, but it also marked the end of an era as America’s final album on Warner Bros. Records. Following that LP, Beckley and Bunnell briefly retreated from the studio; the pair didn’t return with a new studio album for almost two years. When they did, it was at a new label: Hollywood’s venerable Capitol Records. America would stay on Capitol through 1985 for six albums, and now all six are being collected for the first time in a new box set due May 24. Classic Album Collection: The Capitol Years presents newly remastered versions of 1979’s Silent Letter, 1980’s Alibi 1982’s View from the Ground, 1983’s Your Move, 1984’s Perspective, and 1985’s In Concert in one deluxe, affordable package. Silent Letter – humorously titled as the band’s first album since the 1970 debut America to not feature a title beginning with the letter ‘H – reunited Beckley and Bunnell with George Martin, who had helmed every America album since 1974’s Holiday. Both writers contributed songs individually and collectively. “Foolin’” was a collaboration between Beckley and former Beach Boy Ricky Fataar, while the leadoff single, the uptempo rocker “The Only Game in Town,” was an outside composition courtesy of Lewis Anderson, Julie Didier, and Casey Kelly. The song “bubbled under” the Billboard Hot 100, but Beckley’s “All My Life” and Beckley and Bunnell’s “All Around” charted on the AC survey; the latter even earned tremendous popularity in Asia. Both of those AC hits are also included in their mono single versions as bonus tracks. For their ninth album Alibi, Beckley and Bunnell turned to producers Matthew McCauley and Fred Mollin, recently responsible for the Dan Hill hit “Sometimes When We Touch.” The album moved closer towards a smooth, modern AC sound, with familiar names like Waddy Wachtel, Leland Sklar, Steve Lukather, Pages (and later Mr. Mister)’s Richard Page, J.D. Souther, James Newton Howard, and Eagles’ Timothy B. Schmit among the personnel. Both members were once again active as songwriters, with additional material coming from Russ Ballard (“I Don’t Believe in Miracles”), John Batdorf and Sue Sheridan (“You Could’ve Been the One”) and a quartet of writers including Page (“I Do Believe in You”). “You Could’ve Been the One” also “bubbled under” while “Survival” became a hit in Italy. “You Could’ve Been the One” and follow-up single “Hangover” are both included in mono single versions. America (the country) would take notice of America (the band) with their third Capitol release. View from the Ground was helmed by Beckley, Bunnell, Russ Ballard, and Bobby Colomby (formerly of Blood, Sweat & Tears) and yielded the infectious worldwide hit “You Can Do Magic (penned and produced by Ballard) as well as “Right Before Your Eyes.” The Ian Thomas song produced by Colomby made it to the top 20 of the AC chart and also placed in the top 50 Pop. Russ Ballard also contributed “Jody” to the LP. View from the Ground welcomed guest writers and artists including Lost in Space star/cult pop hero Bill Mumy, Mark Isham, Christopher Cross, Carl Wilson, Steve Lukather, Jeff Porcaro, Steve Porcaro, Matthew McCauley, and Timothy B. Schmit. With its polished blend of pop and rock, View from the Ground re-established America in their home country as hitmakers, and “You Can Do Magic” added one more signature song to their already considerable roster. Before their next Capitol album, America provided voices for Jimmy Webb’s score to the animated film The Last Unicorn. They returned to Capitol with Your Move, reuniting the band with Russ Ballard. It was very much the producer’s album; he penned six of its eleven songs and co-wrote a seventh with Bunnell, in addition to playing most of the instruments. But that co-written song, “The Border,” proved crucial. Bunnell rewrote and sharpened Ballard’s original lyrics into an irresistibly urgent cry that gave America another top 40 Pop and top 5 AC hit. “She’s a Runaway,” another highlight, featured harmonies from singer-songwriter Stephen Bishop. But the recording experience wasn’t the happiest for the bandmates as they became vessels for Ballard’s work and weren’t given full creative participation. Still, Your Move holds up well thanks to the strength of “The Border” and the band’s strong vocals. The final studio album in the upcoming box set is 1984’s Perspective, one of the band’s most radically different releases. The LP saw Beckley and Bunnell fully embracing the 1980s production ethos, with multiple producers (the returning Matthew McCauley plus Richie Zito and Richard James Burgess), and a soundscape of gleaming synthesizers and drum machines supporting their lustrous harmonies. Leadoff single “Special Girl” had been released earlier in the year by its writer, Eddie Schwartz, notching a success in Canada. America took it to the top 20 of the AC chart, and it also “bubbled under” the Hot 100; Meat Loaf’s subsequent version would become a chart entry in the United Kingdom. Second single “Can’t Fall Asleep to a Lullaby” welcomed the voice of another ’80s hero, Steve Perry, backing Dewey’s lead vocal. It reached the AC top 30. Perspective also offered Randy Goodrum’s “(It’s Like You) Never Left at All,” and a collaboration between Beckley and Jimmy Webb, “Stereo.” Perspective was followed in 1985 by In Concert, marking the second time America had concluded a label affiliation with a live album. The 10-track set was the band’s first album to be issued in the compact disc format. Recorded at Santa Barbara’s Arlington Theatre, it included renditions of “You Can Do Magic,” “The Border,” and “Survival” alongside Warner-era classics like “A Horse with No Name,” “Tin Man,” “I Need You,” “Sister Golden Hair,” and “Ventura Highway.” Classic Album Collection: The Capitol Years is housed in a clamshell case. This definitive survey of the band’s second period has been compiled by America’s archivist, Jeff Larson. It contains all six albums newly remastered by Andy Pearce, and a booklet containing an essay with reminiscences from the band.
Track Listing:
CD 1: Silent Letter
01.Only Game in Town
02.All Around
03.Tall Treasures
04.1960
05.And Forever
06.Foolin’
07.All Night
08.No Fortune
09.All My Life
1O.One Morning
11.High in the City
12.Only Game in Town (Mono Single)
13.All Around (Mono Single)
CD 2: Alibi
01.Survival
02.Might Be Your Love
03.Catch That Train
04.You Could’ve Been the One
05.I Don’t Believe in Miracles
06.I Do Believe in You
07.Hangover
08.Right Back to Me
09.Coastline
10.Valentine
11.One in a Million
12.You Could’ve Been the One (Mono Single)
13.Hangover (Mono Single)
CD 3: View from the Ground
01.You Can Do Magic
02.Never Be Lonely
03.You Girl
04.Inspector Mills
05.Love on the Vine
06.Desperate Love
07.Right Before Your Eyes
08.Jody
09.Sometimes Lovers
10.Even the Score
CD 4: Your Move
01.My Kinda Woman
02.She’s a Runaway
03.Cast the Spirit
04.Love’s Worn Out Again
05.The Border
06.Your Move
07.Honey
08.My Dear
09.Tonight Is for Dreamers
10.Don’t Let Me Be Lonely
11.Someday Woman
CD 5: Perspective
01.We Got All Night
02.See How the Love Goes
03.(Can’t Fall Asleep To A) Lullabye
04.Special Girl
05.5th Avenue
06.(It’s Like You) Never Left at All
07.Stereo
08.Lady with a Bluebird
09.Cinderella
10.Unconditional Love
11.Fallin’ Off the World
CD 6: In Concert
01.Tin Man
02.I Need You
03.The Border
04.Sister Golden Hair
05.Company
06.You Can Do Magic
07.Ventura Highway
08.Daisy Jane
09.A Horse with No Name
10.Survival
Media Report:
Genre: soft rock
Country: UK / USA
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits
