America follows up their much-hyped major-label 2007 comeback Here & Now by shifting to an independent imprint and covering favorite songs.
The move to an indie cleans up the production -- there’s not the old-school warmth that James Iha brought to it -- and lessens the scope, so apart from the touch-too-pristine surfaces, this sounds intimate and friendly.
There are no great surprises in the song selection, it’s heavily weighted toward classic songwriters like Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, and Brian Wilson, and has a selection from Schlesinger’s Fountains of Wayne, so the only surprises are tunes from the Gin Blossoms and the New Radicals, whose melodicism fits quite well here, and there are mild, subtle surprises within the arrangements, with Dewey Bunnell and Gerry Beckley turning these familiar tunes into something that sounds distinctly like America.
It’s comfortable and engaging without being complacent; it’s a visit with old friends that still can do something unexpected after all these years.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AmericaPaul Simon | America | Play | 03:40 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | A Road SongChris Collingwood, Adam Schlesinger | America | Play | 03:15 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | WoodstockJoni Mitchell | America | Play | 03:52 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | Caroline NoTony Asher, Brian Wilson | America | Play | 03:22 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | Someday We'll KnowGregg Alexander, Danielle Brisebois, Debra Holla | America | Play | 03:37 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | Sailing to PhiladelphiaMark Knopfler | America | Play | 04:57 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | Crying in My SleepJimmy Webb | America | Play | 04:41 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | Time of the SeasonRod Argent | America | Play | 03:39 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | On the Way HomeNeil Young | America | Play | 02:37 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | My Back PagesBob Dylan | America | Play | 04:24 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 11 | Something In The Way She Moves | America | Play | 04:21 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 12 | Til I Hear From You | America | Play | 03:45 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 46 mins | 105 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gregg Alexander | Composer |
| 2 | America | Primary Artist |
| 3 | Rod Argent | Composer |
| 4 | Tony Asher | Composer |
| 5 | Jaime Babbitt | Vocals |
| 6 | Larry Beaird | Banjo, Guitar (Acoustic) |
| 7 | Gerry Beckley | Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals (Background) |
| 8 | Danielle Brisebois | Composer |
| 9 | Pat Buchanan | Guitar (Electric) |
| 10 | Dewey Bunnell | Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals (Background) |
| 11 | Greg Calbi | Mastering |
| 12 | Chris Collingwood | Composer |
| 13 | Marshall Crenshaw | Composer |
| 14 | Henry Diltz | Photography |
| 15 | Stewart Duncan | Fiddle, Mandolin |
| 16 | Bob Dylan | Composer |
| 17 | Guy Fletcher | Engineer |
| 18 | Jeffrey Foskett | Vocals (Background) |
| 19 | Chad Griffith | Cover Photo |
| 20 | Paul Grosso | Creative Director |
| 21 | Tony Harrell | Harmonium, Organ, Piano, Synthesizer, Wurlitzer |
| 22 | Debra Holla | Composer |
| 23 | John Jarvis | Piano, Wurlitzer |
| 24 | Mike Johnson | Pedal Steel Guitar |
| 25 | Dmitri Kasterine | Photography |
| 26 | Andrew Kelley | Art Direction, Design |
| 27 | Mark Knopfler | Composer, Guitar (Electric) |
| 28 | Kyle Lehning | Engineer, Mixing |
| 29 | Mark Linett | Overdub Engineer |
| 30 | Joni Mitchell | Composer |
| 31 | Fred Mollin | Guitar (12 String Acoustic), Percussion, Producer, Synthesizer, Vocals (Background) |
| 32 | Greg Morrow | Drums, Percussion |
| 33 | Van Dyke Parks | Accordion |
| 34 | Larry Paxton | Bass |
| 35 | "Teenage" Dave Salley | Overdub Engineer |
| 36 | Adam Schlesinger | Composer |
| 37 | Paul Simon | Composer |
| 38 | James Taylor | Composer |
| 39 | Russell Terrell | Vocals (Background) |
| 40 | Jesse Valenzuela | Composer |
| 41 | Jimmy Webb | Composer |
| 42 | John Willis | Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric) |
| 43 | Brian Wilson | Composer |
| 44 | Robin Wilson | Composer |
| 45 | Neil Young | Composer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |