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Holiday
America

Warner 2808
Released: June 1974
Chart Peak: #3
Weeks Charted: 53
Certified Gold: 10/30/74

Dan PeekDewey BunnellGerry BeckleyMore than any other group of the Seventies, America -- in both its British and U.S. periods -- has epitomized the stiff, soulless side of California pop. After pretending to be Neil Young for an album, America developed an identifiable sound based on acoustic guitars, minor keys and nasal harmonies. To the group's credit it now has chosen to expand its style rather than play out a rather limited hand.

On Holiday America has looked to the Beatles for inspiration, going so far as to enlist the services of George Martin as producer and arranger. It was a good move: The tracks are dominated by piano and strings rather than guitars, giving the harmonies a soft, billowy base, and the album as a whole sounds more solidly prepared than the group's earlier LPs. And Martin hasn't done this well in five years.

But the key to America's surprising coming of age is the material, particularly the four songs and one instrumental peice by Gerry Beckley. Beckley seems to have switched his composing instrument from guitar to piano; his melodic songs are given momentum by simple, syncopated keyboard parts. "Baby It's up to You" has the most memorable melody the group has recorded and is surely one of its most durable tracks as well. "Mad Dog" and "What Does It Matter" betray a debt to McCartney's more wistful work in their tunes, lyrics and vocals. That's another plus: Beckley has learned to sing with style.

Dewey Bunnell's songs, while still containing much of the old America sound, are greatly enhanced by Martin's adventurous arrangements. Dan Peek is the most erratic of the three, but he, too, is starting to write strong melodies to go with often callow lyrics. Holiday is not a work of genius by any means but it will surprise those people -- and there are more than a few -- who gagged on "Ventura Highway" and "A Horse with No Name."

- Bud Scoppa, Rolling Stone, 9-26-74.

Bonus Reviews!

It's becoming evident that America are as good or as bad as the man producing the albums. This is the best album they've made in quite a long while, and the thanks must go to the lovely, clear and highly intelligent production work of ex-Beatles producer George Martin. America went back to England to record this LP, and perhaps the combination of the English studio, the English producer and the return to the original home of their creative genious has made their whole sound gel beautifully. This is not an acoustic album as much as it is a sound experience. Fusing three innocent, youthful voices with string arrangements we haven't heard since the Beatle LPs of the late Sixties, the effect is not only pleasing, it's encouraging. Martin was always a genius with strings, and this is one of the best examples of orchestration within the realm of soft rock I've heard in ages.

Dan Peek, Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell have been progressing quite nicely as songwriters. They started as child prodigies three years ago; now as they grow their music continues to expand with them. It's still very easy to differentiate between their writing styles, there is no way that an America aficionado could confuse the writing style of Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell. On "Mad Dog," Beckley gets into some musical nostalgia that goes nicely with the Bonnie and Clyde costumes on the cover. On "Hollywood," Dewey Bunnell's distinctive vocal tones, which have grown and expanded to include a lower and a higher range than we were accustomed to in the past (he doesn't sound like Neil Young anymore, gang) sings backed by street noises and a guitar that plays a gently pulsating bossa nova beat. If you were missing America's old whimsy and romanticism, Gerry Beckley chimes in with a song called "Baby It's Up To You." But even on this type of track Martin has added a professionalism and a depth that the band has never had before, even in the starkness of their classic first album back in 1971.

Dan Peek's contributions are all strong this time too. "You" features some rather strange horns reminiscent of "Penny Lane" as well as a catchy 'doo-wah' chorus and some excellent three poart harmony work which is, of course, the boys' best feature.

My favorite track on the album is a Bunnell composition called "Old Man Took." It has a haunting melody line and an arrangement that's really staggering. Vocally, it's one of the best performances the band has ever delivered.

America's latest album has a very Sixties feel to it. This is not an insult. What it means is the vocals are crisp and clear, everyone's singing on tune, the orchestrations are there to enhance the work rather than to drown it out and the material is pop of the highest quality. Musically the band has come a long way. Vocally they're getting better all the time. Mr. Martin, it's a pity you weren't around for the last three albums; this is one band who could've used you all along.

- Janis Schacht, Circus, 10/74.

America do not make many changes in their approach or material, but there is no real reason why they should, having been one of the more successful groups of the past several years. In evidence here are the low key, tight harmony cuts that have become their trademark. Material that comes off best seems, oddly enough, to deal with the downtrodden or with rather unhappy subjects. Instrumental arrangements are excellent, with strings and horns placed just enough to the rear of the guitars and drums to offer support rather than interference. Should be another major LP for the band. Best cuts: "Another Try," "Lonely People," "You."

- Billboard, 1974.

Did you know that "Cause never was a reason for the evening... or the tropic of Sir Galahad"? Well, I didn't either, but it's the sort of thing one learns from America's lyrics. El deepo, huh? Someone talked George Martin, no less, into producing and arranging this, and what George did puts America into perspective about as well as anything could. What George did was take some leftover Sgt. Pepper arrangements off the back burner, making America more tuneful-sounding than usual -- and making it painfully clear that this is strictly a place for second hand ideas. It does no real harm, and at least George can say now that he, too, has been to the desert on a horse with no name. Just think of America the way you would think of bubblegum if Kahlil Gibran wrote the baseball (or rock-and-roll) cards....

- Noel Coppage, Stereo Review, 11/74.

 Reader's Comments

Stevart

Hmm? Their first album is timeless folk-rock! Imitating Neil Young...? Jesus H. have you got problems. Michael Herr in KUBRICK speaks about critics having to come up with another superlative, pejorative, another "take". Well, I didn't gag on Ventura Highway or A Horse with No Name, though Bangs did choke on his erudite vomit, someone whom you seem to be emulating. Happy choking Bud.

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