Your Move

by

America

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Even though, as other reviewers have already pointed out, this 1983 release includes a lot of input from British producer/arranger/performer and co-writer Russ Ballard, he did a good job of bringing out the best of AMERICA on "Your Move". Who can really blame Gerry Beckley & Dewey Bunnell for giving Russ Ballard another try, after his production "You Can Do Magic" provided them with a huge hit a year before?

Overall, "Your Move" is one of the better AMERICA albums - way better than the uneven 1984 release "Perpective". The standout track "The Border" has all the classic AMERICA elements, as have a handful of other good selections like "Cast the Spirit" or "My Kinda Girl", while two or three weaker tracks clearly show that Gerry B. & Dewey B. were not overly involved in the production. Singer Stephen Bishop adds some nice harmony vocals, by the way.

Too much Ballard and not enough America. I guess after the success of the Russ Ballard written "You Can Do Magic" the previous year, they figured if a little Ballard is a good thing, more Ballard would be even better! They were wrong. This is one of their weaker albums. America (Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell) only wrote or co-wrote 4 of the songs while the bulk are Ballard songs. It does contain some good songs including their last top 40 hit, "The Border" from 1983, and I also like "Tonight is for Dreamers" and "She's a Runaway." But as a whole, this was a letdown after their excellent "View from the Ground" album.