Posted on 11/30/2015 1:13:45 AM PST by WhiskeyX
History: America's Greatest hits 1975
(Excerpt) Read more at youtube.com ...
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
History: America's Greatest Hits is the first compilation album by American folk rock trio America, released by Warner Bros. Records in 1975. It was a success in the United States, reaching number 3 on the Billboard album chart and being certified multi-platinum by the RIAA. It has also been certified 6 times platinum by ARIA for shipments of 420,000 copies in Australia.[2]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History:_America%27s_Greatest_Hits
Ping
Pong... First real concert I went to that didn’t have “Philharmonic” or “School” in the name of the band...
For later enjoyment
Being of this vintage, my heyday musically speaking, I appreciate this muchly.
Track listing
Side 1
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. “A Horse with No Name” Dewey Bunnell 4:10
2. “I Need You” Gerry Beckley 3:04
3. “Sandman” Dewey Bunnell 4:08
4. “Ventura Highway” Dewey Bunnell 3:22
5. “Don’t Cross the River” Dan Peek 2:30
6. “Only in Your Heart” Gerry Beckley 3:16
Side 2
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. “Muskrat Love” Willis Alan Ramsey 3:02
2. “Tin Man” Dewey Bunnell 3:25
3. “Lonely People” Catherine Peek, Dan Peek 2:27
4. “Sister Golden Hair” Gerry Beckley 3:16
5. “Daisy Jane” Gerry Beckley 3:07
6. “Woman Tonight” Dan Peek 2:19
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History:_America’s_Greatest_Hits
Some of my favorite music always, good ole America.
Great. Now I have “Tin Man” back in my head.
I fail to understand the appeal of “A Horse With No Name.” To me, the lyrics make no sense, yet it was probably the bestselling record of 1972.
Heard Tin Man being played in the grocery store last week. I had forgotten how much I loathe that song.
Remixed tracks
The first seven tracks of the album, having been recorded prior to producer George Martin’s involvement with the group, were remixed by Martin for this release, with several notable differences from the original mixes. Some of the remixed tracks, such as “A Horse with No Name” and “I Need You”, feature a more prominent bass. A voice can briefly be heard in the background of “A Horse with No Name” about two minutes into the track - this voice is not on the original recording.
The pitch on “I Need You” is slowed a quarter tone from the original version. “Sandman” runs about one minute shorter than the original mix. On “Ventura Highway”, Dewey Bunnell’s lead vocal is double-tracked and the guitars have significantly more reverb. “Don’t Cross the River” adds a fiddle not heard in the original recording.
Due to the commercial success and enduring popularity of this album, over time the remixed versions of America’s hits on History have become as recognizable in popular culture as the original singles themselves.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History:_America’s_Greatest_Hits#Remixed_tracks
Re: A Horse With No Name
The song has received criticism for its banal, oddly phrased lyrics, including “The heat was hot”; “There were plants, and birds, and rocks, and things”; and “’Cause there ain’t no one for to give you no pain.”[7] Penn Jillette asked the band about their lyrics, “there were plants, and birds, and rocks, and things” after a show in Atlantic City, where America opened for Penn & Teller.
According to Jillette, their explanation for the lyrics were that they were intoxicated with cannabis while writing it.[8] In a 2012 interview, Beckley disputed Jillette’s story, saying, “I don’t think Dew was stoned.”[9]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Horse_with_No_Name#Reception
______________________________
A Horse With No Name - America
On the first part of the journey
I was looking at all the life
There were plants and birds and rocks and things
There was sand and hills and rings
The first thing I met was a fly with a buzz
And the sky with no clouds
The heat was hot and the ground was dry
But the air was full of sound
I’ve been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can remember your name
‘Cause there ain’t no one for to give you no pain
La, la
After two days in the desert sun
My skin began to turn red
After three days in the desert fun
I was looking at a river bed
And the story it told of a river that flowed
Made me sad to think it was dead
You see I’ve been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can remember your name
‘Cause there ain’t no one for to give you no pain
La, la
After nine days I let the horse run free
‘Cause the desert had turned to sea
There were plants and birds and rocks and things
there was sand and hills and rings
The ocean is a desert with it’s life underground
And a perfect disguise above
Under the cities lies a heart made of ground
But the humans will give no love
You see I’ve been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can remember your name
‘Cause there ain’t no one for to give you no pain
La, la
Despite the song being banned by some U.S. radio stations (including one in Kansas City, Missouri) because of supposed drug references to heroin use,[5] the song ascended to number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and the album quickly reached platinum status.
The song charted earlier in the Netherlands (reaching number 11) and the UK (reaching number 3, the band’s only Top 40 hit in the country[6]) than it did in the United States.
The interpretation of the song as a drug reference comes from the fact that the word “horse” is a common slang term for heroin.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Horse_with_No_Name#Reception
IMO, their best by far...
America - Sister Golden Hair (with lyrics)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rxgGVIrDqY
Sister Golden Hair - America
Well I tried to make it Sunday
But I got so damn depressed
That I set my sights on Monday
And I got myself undressed
I ain’t ready for the altar
But I do agree there’s times
When a woman sure
Can be a friend of mine
Well, I keep on thinkin’ ‘bout you
Sister golden hair surprise
And I just can’t live without you
Can’t you see it in my eyes?
I been one poor correspondent
And I been too, too hard to find
But it doesn’t mean
You ain’t been on my mind
Will you meet me in the middle
Will you meet me in the air?
Will you love me just a little
Just enough to show you care?
Well I tried to fake it
I don’t mind sayin’
I just can’t make it
Well, I keep on thinkin’ ‘bout you
Sister golden hair surprise
And I just can’t live without you
Can’t you see it in my eyes?
Now I been one poor correspondent
And I been too, too hard to find
But it doesn’t mean
You ain’t been on my mind
Will you meet me in the middle
Will you meet me in the air?
Will you love me just a little
Just enough to show you care?
Well I tried to fake it
I don’t mind sayin’
I just can’t make it
“To me, the lyrics make no sense, yet it was probably the bestselling record of 1972.”
See:
A Horse with No Name
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[....]
Development
[....]
Reception
If I was into acid, the song would probably make perfect sense.
If I was into acid, the song would probably make perfect sense.
My take on the lyrics goes something like this:
You’re a late 19th Century or early 20th Century Westerner. You get a new and unfamiliar horse with no name from the stable in the last town or the last ranch before going into the vast American desert. You don’t know the horse. The horse doesn’t know your habits. You and the horse are starngers to each other. You are alone in the desert. As the days in the hot desert go by the clear hot skies, the dry river bed, and the horse with no name provide no break in the loneliness of it all. After reaching the desert sand dunes, the horse with no name cannot go further and you release it into the desert, so you are now just that much more lonely. The waves of the desert dunes like the ocean waves cover much and leave the surface desolate and lonely. Beyond the desert is the city. The city is paved. The people do not love the ground upon which the city sits, and they do not love the people under the ground. The city too is a lonely place for the traveler who was in the desert with a horse with no name...Loneliness [country western style of she/he gone and left me lyrics tradition]
Heard Tin Man being played in the grocery store last week. I had forgotten how much I loathe that song.
<><><
Sister golden hair is worse. JMO.
Perhaps the only band more disappointing was Craig Fullers post Pure Prairie League band with Eric Kaz - American Flyer.
Pure folk rock bubblegum.
And PPL’s first two records (Bustin’ Out was their 2nd) are still on my iPod.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.