We continue our look back the music of 50 years ago……
They were called the “poor man’s CSN”. They were derided for what many saw as the vacuous lyrics of their first hit single and yet the band America…made of of three American military kids living overseas has a number of pleasures on the debut Lp “America” released in 1971.
Dewey Bunnell, Gerry Beckley and Dan Peek were the sons of US Air Force personnel stationed in England and formed a band while still in school. They recorded this LP and it was released in England and other European Countries in late 1971 without the tune called ‘The Desert Song” later to be dubbed “A Horse With No Name.” That was added to all later versions of the LP after it became a hit in the United States.
The band’s early sound concentrated on a wall of acoustic guitars layered to sound like a guitar army and occasionally one of the guys would pick out some tasty solo’s as well. That sound grabs you from the opening track “Riverside”. And of course there were the harmonies. The three voices melded seamlessly and sound really good on tunes like “Three Roses”, “Never Found The Time” “Children “and “Here”. There are worse things than emulating that CSN sound.
David Lindley contributes some electric and steel guitar on “Rainy Day” a song that could have easily found a home on “Harvest”.
All three guys wrote and sang the songs. All three played their acoustics with Beckley and Peek chiming in on keyboards and bass.
Are all of the songs too mellow? Maybe…although “Sandman” has a bit of underlying menace to it.
They would get more uptempo on future LPs but the harmonies and acoustic sound would never be far away. This is a solid debut and if you like harmonies and acoustic guitars, you should love it
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