In Concert 1972 (Acoustic)
1972-11-15 (Los Angeles) & 1972-1-1
( date uncertain-Bergen, Netherlands)
Whisky A-Go-Go, West Hollywood, CA
Bergen, Netherlands
FM Broadcast recordings, very good quality
New upgraded versions with improved quality! Now available in both Lossless (FLAC) and upgraded mp3 (320 kbps) Updated 04/17/15
I am a huge fan of the early years of the band America (mainly 1971-1974). Their first 3 albums are all great, and their first album, in particular, is one of my top ten all-time favorites. When the trio of Dewey Bunnell, Gerry Beckley, and Dan Peek, who were all kids of career U.S. military personnel stationed at an Air Force Base near London, became a band they took the name of the homeland they barely knew, America. When they burst on the American music scene in 1972 with their scintillating acoustic guitar interplay, strong songwriting, amazing harmony vocals, and their brilliant debut album (America, 1971), I was mesmerized. Buoyed by the hit singles, ‘Horse with No Name’ and ‘I Need You’, the album also became a #1 Hit (ironically, the singles are actually among the weakest tracks on the album – the very best songs, such as ‘Rainy Day’, ‘Donkey Jaw’, ‘Here’, ‘Never Found the Time’, ‘Riverside’, etc. were rarely heard either on radio, or in concert from these guys). They followed this up with the almost equally strong Homecoming (1972), featuring the excellent ‘Ventura Highway’, ‘To Each His Own’, and ‘Only In Your Heart’, among others. Next came the also very good, but very under-appreciated album Hat Trick (1973). Hat Trick produced no hits (only the regrettable single ‘Muskrat Love’) and did not sell nearly as well as the previous albums, but was a very solid album, their most versatile and ambitious to date. Perhaps because of the relative failure of Hat Trick, the group, who had self-produced both Homecoming and Hat Trick, decided to bring in a well-known producer for their next album, the legendary George Martin, of Beatles fame. Although this union was highly successful (at least at first), resulting in smash hits like ‘Tin Man’, ‘Lonely People’, ‘Daisy Jane’, and ‘Sister Golden Hair’ over the next couple albums, I still believe the group lost their way when they teamed up with George Martin in 1974. George made them into a much more slick, highly polished maker of hit pop records, and the scruffy trio with the shimmering acoustic guitars, stellar vocal harmonies, and somewhat rough-around-the-edges recording style was effectively gone for good. Their sound was never the same again, giving way to studio musicians, slick arrangements, lush orchestration, and layers of sound. By 1977, their songs had become increasingly tired and lackluster. Then Dan Peek left, which as far as I’m concerned ended the group (No disrespect to Dewey and Gerry, who continued on as America, but without all 3 voices, songs, and guitars together, it is just not America). Anyway, I still love those early seventies years of America. Unfortunately, there are almost no available live recordings from those years, either official or unofficial. Most of the available concerts come from the later years, after Dan had left. There are a few shows from the Martin years with all three present (1975-1977), but not many. I would love to find some shows from around 1973 (which is when I first saw them), when they were featuring songs from all of their first 3 albums, but alas, there are none I know of. However, I have found this one boot from 1972, featuring a couple of short radio shows of the original group performing just with their acoustic guitars and vocals. This was just after Homecoming was released, and in addition to songs from the first 2 albums, this also features some never released songs and an Arlo Guthrie cover. Unfortunately, the short sets are very similar, thus there are 5 songs that are repeated between the 2 shows. Also, although these are from radio broadcasts, the initial recordings I had were pretty good, but not that great (somewhat muddy sound, guitar leads not clear, minor speed fluctuations). Fortunately, more recently, alternate, much improved recordings of these broadcasts have become available. So, now, I am able to offer these improved upgraded versions of these shows, in both lossless and upgraded mp3 (320) (Originally, I only had these available as 192 kbps files). As far as I know these are among the only recordings of the group from this period (along with the longer 1972 Philly show, also available here), so it is quite precious and wonderful to hear.
Tracklist
01. Radio DJ intro
02. Riverside
03. Sandman
04. I Need You
05. Submarine Ladies
06. Don't Cross The River
07. Three Roses ->
08. Comin' Into Los Angeles (Arlo Guthrie Cover)
09. Living Isn't Really Giving (unreleased song) ->
10. Rain Song (unreleased song)
11. Horse With No Name
12. Don't Cross The River
13. I Need You
14. Look Up Look Down (unreleased song)
15. Three Roses/Comin' Into Los Angeles
16. A Horse With No Name
17. Everyone I Meet Is From California
18. Sandman
tracks 1-11 - 1972-11-15, Whiskey A-Go-Go, West Hollywood, CA
tracks 12-18 - 1972-01-01 (date questionable), Bergen, The Netherlands - Dutch radio show
Upgraded recording, improved quality from version previously available (alternate source).
New Updated Links! (08/31/21)
FLAC - America_1972 Radio Sets_LA&Netherlands_upgraded-FLAC.rar
mp3 - America_1972 Radio Sets_LA&Netherlands_upgraded-mp3.rar
