Alibi

by

America

Edit

I've been a fan of America for nearly 30 years (and never mind how that dates me). Their music got me through some tough times in high school in the 70's. "Alibi", released in 1980, is my favorite of any album they've ever released...and believe me, it's tough to top their "Homecoming" album. As long as I live, I will never, ever understand why "Alibi" wasn't a huge hit. There are at least 5 potential hit singles on it. "Coastline" is a showcase for Gerry Beckley's ethereal voice. "Survival" pairs meaningful lyrics with a bouncy melody. "Right Back To Me," "You Could've Been The One," and "Might Be Your Love" are just plain enjoyable. I think this is one of America's bouncier, more peppy albums. There's little here that's as deep or nebulous as, say, the song "Sergeant Darkness" (my all-time favorite America song) from the "Harbor" album. But "Alibi" sure is a whole lot of fun.

So, with a creepy cover these soft-rockers were pandering to the shock-rockers? Ha! Gerry Beckley probably hastily tried to put that doll back together with tears in his eyes after the photo was finished shooting, and I was surprised that this didn't come with a 'no dolls were hurting in the making of this album' guarantee!

Another thing Gerry Beckley did was make his wimpy pop music, you know, soft-voice, soft-guitars, lyrics about crying over a girl... hmm, definitely no Alice Cooper fans gonna be impressed by this. But that's fine, in his own way Gerry and Dewey perform with a lot of passion, even if a restrained one.

And even if the songs tend to be fairly similar, 'Alibi' sits between the 'big George Martin orchestra' era and the 'big synthesiser sound' era, and what does THAT all mean? That means 'Alibi' stripped down and plays to America's strengths. These songs are more of the soft-rock folk-rock that is their forte, allowing melodies and feelings to flow free, even if Dewey's 'rocking out' is more 'cute' than a show of masculinity. It wouldn't be our 'America' if it were any other way.

In fact, this is one of their best albums, if you can get past the fact it didn't sell much, rating ***1/2 (3.50)