1972 America Homecoming

Homecoming, America's finest album, refines and focuses the folk-pop approach found on their debut release. The songs here are tighter and more forthright, with fewer extended solo instrumental sections than before. The sound quality is clear and bright; the colorful arrangements, while still acoustic guitar-based, feature more electric guitar and keyboards. The performance quality is more assured, among the most urgently committed the group would ever put on vinyl. Verses are still sometimes banal and clunky ("You can't disregard your friends/But life gets so hard when you reach the end") or cryptic ("Sorry, boy, but I've been hit by purple rain"), but a number of the song subjects here exhibit a yearning sense of wanderlust and love of the outdoors that proves to be highly evocative and compelling (particularly on "Moon Song," "Ventura Highway," "California Revisited," and "Cornwall Blank")…

A practical, no-frills clamshell box set celebrating the soft rock/folk-pop hitmakers' '70s heyday, the Warner Bros. Years 1971-1977 rounds up seven complete studio albums and one live LP. Comprised of America (1971), Homecoming (1972), Hat Trick (1973), Holiday (1974), Hearts (1975), Hideaway (1976), Harbor (1977), and America Live (1977), all of which were remastered in 2014, the collection is aimed squarely at completists…

This five-disc, U.K.-only box set from summery, "alligator lizards in the air"-loving English folk-rock outfit America includes five of the group's biggest albums, including their 1971 eponymous debut, 1972 sophomore outing Homecoming, 1973's Hat Trick, 1974's Holiday, and 1975's Hearts, in their entireties.

This five-disc, U.K.-only box set from summery, "alligator lizards in the air"-loving English folk-rock outfit America includes five of the group's biggest albums, including their 1971 eponymous debut, 1972 sophomore outing Homecoming, 1973's Hat Trick, 1974's Holiday, and 1975's Hearts, in their entireties.

Originally comprised of Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell, and Dan Peek, America was one of the most successful groups of the 1970s. The band blended elements of folk and rock with distinctive three part harmonies…

America celebrates its half-centennial this year with a trio of compilations that follow the iconic Grammy-winning band to the top of the pop charts, across musical eras, and deep into the hearts of innumerable fans.