America: Greatest Hits History

History was the first of a few greatest hits albums by America, an American folk (kinda) rock band. America was a trio that produced several catchy and now classic songs that have seemingly withstood the test of time. Unlike other folk-rock acts from the 70s, America has realized an occasional resurgence in popularity. This is most likely from other artists remixing their songs or adding riffs from America’s classic songs into theirs. No matter the reason, America remains as one of the enduring folk-rock bands from the 70s.

The album was produced by longtime Beatles producer George Martin and was America’s only multi-platinum record, reaching number 3 on the Billboard album chart. Martin remixed many of the tracks for this record, making this record more appealing to the audiophile than their earlier records that originally introduced these songs to the world. This record contains all seven of America’s chart toping songs up to the release of this album.

Many of the remixed tracks, such as "A Horse with No Name" and "I Need You", feature a more prominent bass. 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" include the addition of a fiddle not heard in the original recording.

The 1975 US pressing is an acceptable pressing and one that plays well on an audiophile system. The music is better than I remember as a kid, and clarity of vocals is excellent. The pressing is reasonably quiet, and the musical depth on the remixed songs is better than the original recordings.

TRACK LIST
1. A Horse with No Name
2. I Need You
3. Sandman
4. Ventura Highway
5. Don’t Cross the River
6. Only in Your Heart
7. Muskrat Love
8. Tin Man
9. Lonely People
10. Sister Golden Hair
11. Woman Tonight

If you can find a clean version of this record, pick it up. It probably won’t cost much, and it is certainly a better investment than some of the newer greatest hits compilations released in the last few years. 💵

💰 Invest
💵 Consider
💸 Pass