America – Homecoming

From London to Los Angeles

America’s second album has an apt title. After making their debut in London, Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell and Dan Peek recorded “Homecoming” at the Record Plant in Los Angeles in 1972. This time they produced themselves, with Bill Halverson and Mike D. Stone engineering. The change of location belongs to the story of a band whose name and music are readily associated with California, although the group began in England.

Bunnell’s “Ventura Highway” opens the record and offers the most familiar point of entry. It nevertheless belongs to an album with three songwriting members. Beckley and Peek contribute their own songs, voices and instruments. The shared musical identity emerges from those individual contributions, rather than the viewpoint of a single frontman.

Three writers and one British connection

“Ventura Highway” is followed by Beckley’s “To Each His Own” and Peek’s “Don’t Cross the River”. The opening three tracks therefore introduce all three writers. Later selections include “Moon Song”, “Only in Your Heart” and “Saturn Nights”. Keeping the writing credits in mind while listening offers a way to distinguish different approaches within a common instrumental and vocal setting.

Only one song comes from outside the band. John Martyn’s “Head and Heart” maintains a connection with British music. The album brings its new surroundings together with existing relationships and influences. Between the familiar opening and the closing number, there are enough less frequently encountered songs to reward approaching “Homecoming” as a complete record.

The photographer plays banjo

Henry Diltz is associated with America through his photography, but on “Don’t Cross the River” he also plays banjo. It is a small, telling detail. Alongside the trio’s guitars and vocals are instrumental colours that can be traced to particular contributors. Bassist Joe Osborn and drummer Hal Blaine also take part, while Gary Mallaber plays drums on “Till the Sun Comes Up Again”.

Try following the accompaniment first and returning to the vocals afterwards. Where does a guitar figure lead, and where do keyboards take over? When do three individual singers become different parts of a shared line? These questions make the arrangements easier to follow without reducing the album to a general image of sunshine, open roads and the West Coast. The musicians and their choices provide a more specific picture.

This edition

Analogue Productions lists “Homecoming” as AAPR 002-45 in the Acoustic Sounds 40 Series. Its ten tracks appear on two 180-gram LPs at 45 RPM, pressed at QRP and packaged in a Stoughton tip-on gatefold. The stated source is the original analogue master tape. No mastering engineer is named for this title, so credits attached to other America editions cannot be carried over to this release.

Michael 45 keeps the records in Germany and sends them from Hilden, so customers can obtain the edition without organising a personal US import or waiting for customs clearance.

Also on SACD: Homecoming

More by America: “America”

Customer question: Buying Analogue Productions records in Europe

Series: Acoustic Sounds 40th Anniversary – all 25 albums, recommendations and musicians

Musicians

Documented selection of participating musicians. Personnel may vary by track; this list does not claim to be complete.