Definitive Dross (The Definitive America - America)

Member Name: fooyoo

Product:	The Definitive America - America
Date:	06/11/04 (383 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It finished

Disadvantages: Poor songs, Depressing

Sometimes when I am in my local library, I like to take a browse through their CD collection, and often I choose a wildcard, a band or an artist that I have never heard of just to see if I can widen my musical taste and knowledge in anyway. Last week, I chose this album, and had no idea how popular this band were, as I had never actually heard of them before, so I apologise in advance if I do not do them justice in this review!

This album is a greatest hits type collection, however unlike so many others which are released, this album does not contain anything new, so straight away will only appeal to die hard fans who want to own each and every album, or people who just like a few of their songs, and don’t want to have to wade through the rest of their music to listen to them.

First released in 1972, and included on many film soundtracks, ‘A Horse With No Name’ was probably the only track I had heard of from this band before I listened to this CD, and even then I couldn’t have told you their name. Not surprisingly, there is a country influence to the song, and that is a theme that carries on throughout the item to varying degrees.

‘I Need You’ is the most boring, repetitive and frankly morose song that I have heard in a long long time. It fades out to nothing, and had me scratching my head because even when I listened to it again, I just missed the point totally. ‘Sandman’ is not to be confused with Metallica’s ‘Enter The Sandman’, unless you want to be very disappointed. This is a guitar lead track, where again the lyrics are repetitive and monotonous.

‘Ventura Highway’ by all accounts is another well known and cherished song amongst fans of the band. It sounds very much like ‘Horse With No Name’, and I think for that reason, it is one of the more likeable tracks in the collection. ‘Don’t Cross The River’ ranks alongside Chris De Burgh’s ‘Don’t Blame The Ferryman’ in terms of quality and subject matter…..enough said I think!

‘To Each His Own’ reminds me of the theme music from ‘Cheers’. It is nice enough, but just lacks some grit and substance. This is all just too wishy washy for me, and ‘Only In Your Heart’ is in much the same vein, even though the band try hard to emulate the sound of The Beatles when they were at their best. ‘Muskrat Love’ is a song where the title did not fill me with much hope, and once again, I just hated the song. It sounds like a very amateur Bee Gees tribute act. The harmonies just don’t work, and the understated music needs to be beefed up if it is to make an impact.

I am not sure if the lead singer had a sore throat when he recorded ‘Rainbow Song’, but he sounds hoarse, and as if he is struggling to hit even the easiest of notes. In terms of 1970’s ballads, I have to concede that ‘She’s Gonna Let You Down’ is not too bad. It is melancholy, but the lyrics are more complex than any of the other songs that have gone before.

There is a distinct Spanish influence on the up tempo ‘Tin Man’, and it works quite well, resulting in quite a sultry and very listenable track, but very quickly, the cowboys ride back into town with the mundane ‘Lonely People’, which is quickly followed up with the horrendous ‘Sister Golden Hair’. The vocals on this are absolutely terrible, and it sounds like the singer is being gripped in a particularly sensitive part which has knocked his voice up an octave or two.

‘Daisy Jane’ is the girl the lead singer wants to go back home and find, and I can only hope she has left town and not stopped running, because if he catches her, she will suffer a long and painful death at the hands of his clichéd lyrics and warbling.

‘Woman Tonight’ is the most confusing song on the whole album, as one minute the singer thinks he is Mick Jagger, and then the next he has changed to Bob Marley. It is absolutely bizarre to listen to, and certainly not an experience I will be looking to repeat anytime in the near future.

‘Today’s The Day’ slows the tempo right back down, and settles into the mundane genre the band seem so content to churn out song after song. I admit I only listened to the whole album so that I could honestly review it on here, because otherwise I would have switched off long long ago.

After chasing Daisy, the singer moves his attention to ‘Amber Cascades’, which if I have read the song right is not actually a woman, but a body of water!!! ‘God Of The Sun’ goes back to the ‘Cheers’ style song, where the piano player skips across the keys, and the rest of the band try to harmonise with the lead singer, with less than impressive results!

Nearly there I promise, only 5 more songs to endure. Don’t sigh! You’re reading a couple of lines about them, I am the one having to endure listening to them!! ‘Political Poachers’ is the band showing that they have some social awareness, but again it just lacks any grit for me to take it seriously as any kind of commentary.

Apparently the band are still going strong, so I am sure their theme tune must be ‘Survival’. It is one of the few tracks which has any energy, and sounds like the band actually tried to make a good song. It is bizarre how so much rubbish can last through more than 3 decades.

Whilst listening to the dreary track, ‘The Last Unicorn’, it dawned on me that I am grateful for one thing with this album…..that it is not a double CD!!! This song sounds like it was written as the soundtrack for a Disney film, but rejected because it is just crap!!!‘You Can Do Magic’ and ‘The Border’ bring this boring experience to a predictable lacklustre ending, and I am very glad. Never again!!!!

There is a booklet inside the CD which gives a history of the band, but frankly after being subjected to their music, I had no desire to know how and when they got together, and the journey they have made together since. The music is very dated, and has not aged well at all, so I would not recommend you part with any of your hard earned cash to listen to this CD, but if you are still interested then try your local library or Ebay, and you may save some money.

Summary: