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Forums :: America Fan Blog :: Raw, Vibrant and A Little Intense..

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Poster: johnc
Message:
Bluey, you’re right about George Martin’s impact on America’s recording process. The first album was produced by Ian Samwell (and Jeff Dexter), but the trio self-produced the next two. When I interviewed Samwell back in 1998, he said the band was full of ideas and wanted to make their debut sound like Sgt. Pepper. Samwell advised them they couldn’t reproduce that sound on stage, and their raw, acoustic sound was great as it was. Boy was that good advice! Homecoming was definitely more intricately produced than the first album, with synthesizers, and a more upfront rhythm section, but it still had a good deal of the emphasis on acoustic guitars and atmospheric harmonies. Hat Trick went even further into sonic experimentation, with strings, more keyboards, overlapping vocals, tap dancing, blowing bubbles, and Joe Walsh’s searing electric guitar. The band said it took months to record that album, because if the sound wasn’t just right, they’d re-record the track. They also said they were tired and worn out by the experience. I can see that. Hat Trick is certainly one of my favorite America albums, but it’s more for hardcore fans. The sonic playfulness came at the expense of crafting a hit track (no pun intended). Hat Trick was the only studio album prior to Harbor not to have a track break the Top 40. I can understand why the trio wanted to avoid another Hat Trick experience. So they went with George Martin, who told them to focus on bringing fully-realized songs into the studio, and he could put the finishing touches on them. He taught them to mix takes so they didn’t have to record again when the winning elements were already on tape. Certainly it worked out well. “Tin Man” and “Lonely People” were big hits, and Holiday was a strong seller. I don’t want to disparage Holiday. I love that album; it has rich textures and songs that get to the point without being overindulgent. This may have been what they wanted to record at the beginning before Ian Samwell talked them out if it. But I also mourn a little bit the path not taken. What if America’s fourth album had been a return to the mystical chimes of “Clarice” rather than the rough cowbell in “In The Country”? What if they had a guitar jam like “Here” or “Moon Song” rather than the more Beatlesque “What Does It Matter”? After Hat Trick, America’s music remained top notch, but it surrendered a moody, mystical quality in exchange for a more direct pop approach. For better or for worse, George Martin has his fingerprints all over that change in direction.

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