Artist Spotlight: America

Although I always liked the song “A Horse with No Name,” I’ve also always tended to think of the band America in disparaging terms, to imply that whoever listened to them was hopelessly soft—as in, “Who, that guy? Eh. He probably rocks out to America.” They were like the mellow side of Neil Young… but lite. Way lite. Strictly for squares.

But I’ve tasked myself with due diligence for this retrospective listening project, trying to give everything a fair shake, and finding myself pleasantly surprised many a time. So I’ve checked out a decent amount of America, and found plenty to like. They’re still not about to make my Top 200 albums of the ‘70s, but they have some good stuff that’s a nice listen when you want to chill out a little. Fans of the 2000s band Midlake will recognize a forebear.

Here’s an LP-length playlist of the best of America I found. I’ve front-loaded it with more familiar songs to suck you in a little.