America Horse With NO Name

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.

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.

America celebrates its half-centennial with '50th Anniversary: Golden Hits'. Fans embraced the group for simply being themselves: three gifted singer-songwriters with a love of soaring melodies, close harmonies, and honest expression. In the collection's liner notes, Bunnell says: 'There wasn't any contrivance in what we did'. Beckley adds: 'We didn't start out with some grand plan - it just turned into a soundtrack for so many people's lives. That's something that I treat with great respect'. This collection brings the core of America's recorded legacy together with choice rarities like an early studio recording of 'Ventura Highway', a live performance of 'Riverside', and an unreleased demo for the #1 hit 'Sister Golden Hair'. All of the band's Top 10 singles are included here: 'Horse With No Name', 'Ventura Highway', 'Tin Man', 'Lonely People', and more.

America may be best-known for "A Horse With No Name" but they had a number of hits right into 1982. These weren't just Top 100 hits, but songs that remained staples of soft rock and oldies stations for years: "I Need You," "Ventura Highway," "Tin Man," "Lonely People," "Sister Golden Hair," and "You Can Do Magic," all well-crafted, melodic, memorable gems. Rhino's three-disc box set Highway: 30 Years of America proves that much, but if that's all that it did, it wouldn't be recommended over a hits collection.

America's debut album is a folk-pop classic, a stellar collection of memorable songs that would prove influential on such acts as the Eagles and Dan Fogelberg. Crosby, Stills & Nash are the group's obvious stylistic touchstone here, especially in the vocal harmonies used (compare the thick chordal singing of "Sandman" and "Children" to CS&N's "You Don't Have to Cry" and "Guinevere") and the prominent use of active strummed acoustic guitar arrangements (contrast "Riverside" to CS&N's "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes"). America's intricate interplay of acoustic guitar textures is more ambitious than that of their influences, however…

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.