Comments for America, America

The first album. The best album. The one I remember the most, album....

Simple, clean, pure and a very natural full wood sound. One of the best pop/rock albums ever - JL

It still amazes me that they created this at such a young age. How many recent high school grads can write and perform at this level. The album has great atmosphere, with evocative imagery and a rich, dark sound. I must admit that "The Pigeon Song" makes me laugh, which I don't think was Dewey's intention. But that's a minor complaint when there's such a great collection of songs.

I think this is a great album as well, and I get a little tired of critics lobbing criticism at it ("Too much Neil Young," "Bad lyrics," etc.) when they turn around and praise rap artists which fall off the edge of the earth, never to return from oblivion, months later. Critics can bark all they want at this fantabulous debut by an awesome group, but after twenty-five years their cacophony of baloney sounds a little hollow...

Undeniably the bands finest work. Every track is worth listening too over and over again. The guitar work on "Never Found The Time", "Three Roses" and "Here" is masterful. Dan Peek was at his best with "Rainy Day". "Pigeon Song" is a playful ending to the album but it takes away from the mood.

If not their bast, certainly one of their best! I too am tired of the Neil Young and CSN copycat critics. While I can hear some of Young's influence in HWNN I don't hear it on any other song on the album. Besides, if Dewey were really trying to imitate Young, he would have sung off key for at least a few notes.

The more time goes on the more I am amazed that these 3 young kids were able to produce an album of incredible songs & perform them at such a high level. The vocals & acoustic guitar musicianship are stunning. "Three Roses" is among my very favorites, but every song is very creative & the harmonies are wonderful. They definitely hit the ball out of the park with this one. It would have been impossible for most artists to even come close to this kind of effort their 2nd time out but that's what makes America so special. Everyone album since has been great. I hope they keep it up for many for many years to come.

One of the very few albums by which all country folk/rock needs to be judged (others would be "After the Gold Rush" by Neil Young; "Down Home" by Seals and Crofts, and of course the first CSN album) . The boys proved in one album that you could incorporate incredible harmonies (both instrumental and vocal) into songs simple enough for beginners to tackle and pick out on guitars and pianos. The very "fundamental" nature of this record is due to some extent to Dewey’s masterful use of that fundamental guitar 9th, the famous "E major 9th" so easy to find on that instrument. Certainly it is the basis of HWNN, one of the most fundamentally "resonant" songs ever. Hey, modern folk/rockers: why don’t you guys use some of these great harmonies in YOUR songs instead of the same-o same-o ones?? These are the nineties; and the boys were writing music in the early seventies far more harmonically advanced that you guys; and it’s the nineties!! It’s no big thing: just find that glorious E maj 9th and play it over and over again, let it resonate within you—and you’ll begin to understand not only the power of this record but the power of richer harmony.

This is the album that made me want to JAM with my Acoustic Guitar. So many great tunes, harmonies and a lot of music! Regardless of what the skeptics say, this incredible Debut album DID deserve them winning the Best NEW Artist Grammy of 1972. The first side alone blows the socks off most of todays so-called hitmakers.

I have a broad love of music covering a fairly broad range of music. I must say that "America" is my favorite album of all time (and has been since the first time I heard it in '72). I've lost count of the number of copies I've gone through in LP, 8-track, cassette, and now CD. I even own a British copy without "Horse With No Name" track on it that's in pristine shape (sorry, not for sale) plus another LP of it. I can even say that my audio system was built around this one album (especially my Thorens Centenial turntable/Ortofon MC cartridges and Revox B77 reel-to-reel). For those who still have a turntable (you can find copies of this LP through recycled record stores sometimes), I recommend try listening to the album slightly slowed down...it seems to take on a more haunting and, I think, more serious mood. To hell with the critics...I enjoy this one for the chords it strikes in me!

It's too bad that critics never gave these guys their due, especially after they debuted with such a great album at such a young age. Dewey Bunnell is a very underrated singer/songwriter and he shines on this album- unforgettable tunes with killer hooks. If I put this on, I am gonna listen to the whole damn thing. There is no other way. And they would only get better over the next two or three albums.

When America discovered "America" and three guys named America, rock music changed. Too bad certain critics (I've never cared for Rolling Stone magazine since) couldn't see that this group was something special. Fans know otherwise, and this album is the key for many of us. The acoustical aspects of this album, with minimal percussion, make it unique in the group's long history. It's the only album that showcases their three-part harmony talents and their guitar-playing abilities simultaneously, made clearer by the lack of complex studio gimmicks. While I don't think it is America's best album, it's easily in the top 5 and remains a slice of Americana that has apparently fallen into the category of "nostalgia." Perhaps America will one day revisit its roots. Certainly, these roots have proved firm and strong.

This is one the best album's ever. Every time i listen to this CD i'm back in 1972 in my 67 Mustang" long live the 8 track" with Vic, Barney and Chris "where are you guy's-i'm looking for you" cruising and looking for chicks. Horse With No Name is one of the classic's of all time, Sandman,Pigeon Song and the rest all stand the test of time.......Russ

This album is unique in the band's discography. We fans will have to acknowledge that never again would the format be quite the same. That's the only problem with this creation. It was so stunning that we eagerly anticipated more of the same. If you are discovering this music as a young adult(or even younger)be informed that the subsequent albums make definitive transitions away from folk rock toward pop. This debut offers unsurpassed ear candy for lovers of acoustic six string lead with twelve string rythm arrangements. Indeed many of these songs could stand alone as instrumentals. This is the only America album where the acoustic guitars are the backbone. By the time George Martin takes the production helm for the fourth album (Holiday)the acoustic guitars have moved from the front to supporting roles. The first three albums are the richest for their acoustic flourish but Homecoming and Hat Trick were different enough in arrangement to leave the debut unique in it's sound. For me the up front acoustic guitars were the hook. As the band grew musically it became apparent that the style of their debut would never be revisited. That was a small let down considering all the great music that followed!

I first heard america in 1973 I was 13 & the album was Hat Trick. I brought every record as the were released & bought them all, even the crap that came out between 82-96. But this album has special value. I never realy listened to it because I always thought of the Hits and figured I''d heard the best, was I wrong! In 1989 I picked up the CD to complet my collection & with my buddy Jeff, who had ignored the record for the same reasons, we "premiered" the CD for ourselves. And we were blown away! Absolutely the best acustic rock album ever! Lush layered guitars behind beautiful harmonies, no wonder it one a grammy. When ever I need motivation to practise the guitar this is the inspiration! A true musical treasure!

I bought my first accoustic guitar at 17 in 1988 and that's when I was first introduced to AMERICA and their first album (I was into all the speed metal stuff at the time) and to this date it is still in my top 5 albums of all time. I,ve been playing for 14 years now and still trip on playing their songs and listening to them, The vocals, the chords, the moods, where can you get such rythm anywhere on an accoustic album. This will always stay a classic and I recommend it to anyone who as never heard it (apart from HORSE that everybody knows) LONG LIVE ACCOUSTIC GUITAR

Too good to miss.

A beautiful record in the best sense of that over-used term. A warm, rusticated musical feel, sublime harmonies and precocious, yearning lyrics. Lyrically, this material makes some of the group's later songwriting seem banal... but maybe that's only by contrast. Belongs in a time capsule.

I have to say this is the best album of all time out of all the musicians in the world!!

The debut album " America " , is the group's definitive recording, and the best they ever made. The guitar work is great and exciting, and the music has a fresh and vibrant feel to it. Call it an " up " and summer music - great L.P.!

A really beautiful Album,full of rich harmonies, some terrific acoustic guitar work and a batch of first class songs.This surely has to be acknowledged as a truly great first Album by a very underrated Band.How the critics could give this fine piece of work a hammering is just scandalous.

The CD of the debut album America still has not been digitally remastered ( at least in the U.K. ), and is vastly inferior sounding to the LP. The song Never Found The Time suffers from an audible drop-out in sound, which was never fixed!