Heritage: Home Recordings/Demos 1970-1973

by America

Overview

When America started out in 1970, the band's trio of singer/songwriters -- Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell, and Dan Peek -- were still teenagers, England-based Air Force brats and Neil Young fanatics blessed with a surfeit of creative ideas they scrambled to record on an almost daily basis. It was out of those exuberant early days that hits like the breezy "Ventura Highway" and "A Horse with No Name" (included here in a cappella form as a hidden bonus track) were born, launching the band to almost immediate icon status. The 2017 anthology Heritage: Home Recordings/Demos 1970-1973 documents those heady sessions when the band was working out its evocative folk-rock sound. These are raw demos of songs (some not yet complete) recorded for and during the release of the band's first three albums, 1971's America, 1972's Homecoming, and 1973's Hat Trick. Some, like 1970's "Riverside," are essentially finished pieces, and sound not too dissimilar to what made it onto the finished albums. In contrast, a track like 1972's "Wind Wave" finds the trio laying down a live, drummer-less, acoustic guitar and vocal-based rendition of the song. Unadorned by a full backing band and minus any studio sheen, one can fully imbibe just how much Crosby, Stills & Nash, and especially Young, influenced America. There are also tantalizing song fragments that never made it onto an album, like Beckley's sweetly attenuated multi-tracked harmonies on "When I Was Five." Particularly magical is the crisp early take on "Ventura Highway," bookended with studio chatter during which someone (Bunnell?) offers the understated assessment, "I think that one was better." Similarly engaging are the band's nascent readings of such well-loved songs as "Here," "Monster," and "Goodbye." ~ Matt Collar

Product Details

Release Date:	11/22/2018
Label:	Omnivore
UPC:	0816651017027
Rank:	72085

Tracks

1. Riverside [Demo - Chalk Farm Studios, 1970]
2. Here [Demo - Chalk Farm Studios, 1970]
3. James Holladay [Demo - Chalk Farm Studios, 1970]
4. How Long [Demo - Chalk Farm Studios, 1970]
5. Sea of Destiney [Demo - Chalk Farm Studios, 1970]
6. Rainy Day [Demo - Chalk Farm Studios, 1970]
7. Satan (Donkey Jaw) [Demo - Chalk Farm Studios, 1970]
8. When I Was Five [Demo - Buzz Studios, 1972]
9. Mitchum Junction [Demo - Buzz Studios, 1972]
10. Goodbye [Demo - Buzz Studios, 1972]
11. Wind Wave [Demo - Buzz Studios, 1972]
12. Ventura Highway [Early Take - Record Plant West, 1972]
13. Man of Pride [Demo - Buzz Studios, 1973]
14. Rainbow Song [Demo - Buzz Studios, 1973]
15. Monster [Demo - Buzz Studios, 1973]
16. A Horse with No Name (A Cappella) [Bonus Hidden Track]

Album Credits

Performance Credits

America   Primary Artist
Dewey Bunnell   Vocals,Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background)
Gerry Beckley   Bass,Piano,Vocals,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background),Guitar (12 String Acoustic)
Hal Blaine   Drums
Jeff Larson   Compiled
Dan Peek   Bass,Vocals,Harmonica,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background),Guitar (12 String Acoustic)
Joe Osborne   Bass

Technical Credits

Dewey Bunnell   Composer,Liner Notes
Gerry Beckley   Composer
Greg Allen   Art Direction,Photography,Design
Cheryl Pawelski   Project Assistant
Bill Mumy   Composer
America   Original Recording Producer
Henry Diltz   Band Photo
Jeff Larson   Archivist,Release Production
Dan Peek   Composer
Lee Lodyga   Project Assistant
Jim Morey   Representation
Michael Romanowski   Mastering
Audrey Bilger   Project Assistant
Dutch Cramblitt   Project Assistant
Gary Frank   Project Assistant
Brad Rosenberger   Release Production
Kyle Whitney   Representation