If you like Mumford & Sons, thank... America

I think it's fair to say that the band America is best remembered (if they are remembered at all) for their 1972 AM radio hit "Horse with No Name," which is somewhat unfortunate, as that song has not aged as well as the rest of their catalog. That particular song sounds more trite and gimmicky now than it did when it was released, whereas the rest of their songs achieve a timeless blend of acoustic hooks and breezy vocal harmonies that evoke 70s-era California in the best possible way.

No song better illustrates their appealing folk-pop sound than "Ventura Highway," from their 1973 release Homecoming:



In this song, you hear a driving rhythmic insistence, complex minor-to-major chord progressions, a perpetual, jangly background guitar and beautiful vocal harmonies employed only on the choruses.

And if you're thinking any of that sounds familiar, it may have something to do with Mumford & Sons. Listen now to the ubiquitous "Little Lion Man" from their 2009 release Sigh No More:



Again you hear a driving rhythmic insistence paired with complex chord progressions. Again you hear beautiful vocal harmonies employed primarily on the choruses. And where America used a jangly, high-capoed guitar, Mumford & Sons famously uses a banjo to achieve the very same sound.

(It bears noting that America has influenced many bands that have come since. Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger cites them as a huge influence and even helped to produce their 2007 "comeback" album Here & Now.)

So if you like Mumford & Sons, remember... thank America.

Still got some work to do

So those who know this blog know of my total admiration for and adoration of Fountain's of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger - I've said it before but I'll say it again: I think he is absolutely the best pop songwriter and producer working right now.

So it shouldn't have come as such a surprise to find out that he was in charge of most of the music for the Hugh Grant/Drew Barrymore romantic comedy Music and Lyrics, especially since I specifically remember reading reviews at the time that mentioned how surprisingly good the music was from this otherwise mediocre movie.

I Netflixed it recently and completely agree with the reviewers - the music is surprisingly good (Schlesinger is no stranger to writing clever pop music for movies - prior to this, he wrote songs for the Josie and the Pussycats movie as well as the hit single from That Thing You Do! which went out to place in the actual Top 40 charts.)

But the best surprise to me was a track playing over the closing credits by the band America, whose comeback album Schlesinger was also producing around the same time as this movie came out. The track is called "Work To Do" and it's included on that album, called Here & Now (and also well worth checking out.)

But to hear it now, check out this movie montage of Music and Lyrics set to the song:

SO excited about this

I am lucky to have lots of friends who have great taste in music. One of them who is probably the most influential in opening my eyes to great music, both old and new, once told me a story about her best friend, who was a huge fan of the band America in high school. She was such a big fan that she wrote them a fan letter, and they were so past their prime and happy to have a high-school-age fan that they actually wrote back!

I'd like to think that experience had some influence on their decision to make an album with some of the hottest young musical talent out there right now. The album, called Here and Now, will be released Jan. 16 (one week from today!) and is produced by Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne and Ivy, who is, in my opinion, one of the greatest pop songwriters/producers alive today. Guest stars on the double-disc set include Ryan Adams and Ben Kweller and the track listing includes some interesting covers, including songs by (another fave of mine) My Morning Jacket and Nada Surf.

Stereogum has posted one of the tracks already, and I love it!

I'm so glad to see a talented band expanding musically and reaching a new audience -
I cannot wait for this release!

Update: To see some behind-the-scenes video of the making of the album, visit the official Web site. How cool to hear that Gerry Beckley is an equally big Adam Schlesinger fan!

Double update: Listen to three tracks from the new album at America's MySpace page!