HISTORY was released, a fantastic success & a great culmination of the first 5 years; of course AMERICA was still in its infancy. HISTORY continues to sell quite well today, around the world.

But now onto HARBOR. HARBOR contains a fantastic color photo insert, with happenings in Poipu, Kauai, Hawaii during the recording of the LP; included is a great (suitable for framing) poster of AMERICA in Anaheim stadium in July of 1976, hope you all have it. AMERICA was now in full tow with a sax/keyboard player (Jimmy Calire) & a percussionist (Tom Walsh); Willie Leacox on drums & David Dickey on bass were now veterans. In fact Mr. Michael Woods had joined the crew as chief equipment manager & for Michael the rest is history. Long gone were three guys on stools. AMERICA was now a very refined & polished musical institution. They played in premier concert venues in major cities around the world & were known for putting on very consistent high quality shows that always did justice to the original studio version of songs. This high quality was even more impressive when you consider the torrid tour schedule that AMERICA executed each year & which continues to this day. This is definitely a key point in understanding the framework by which AMERICA's well disciplined, work ethic reputation was built & continues. Rarely did AMERICA cancel a show due to illness or otherwise, they were always there for us. Of course once they were delayed & we had to listen to Poco, the lead-off band, play for close to 2 hours. But that's not so bad.

HARBOR is significant for many reasons. AMERICA had just come off of a very demanding world tour; one of the reasons they selected this idyllic setting was to gain some rest. Such a beautiful setting, DEWEY had very prolifically said, 'it's like going home, even though you've never been there'. Amid the fishing excursions, Catamaran rides, scuba diving, etc., a great LP was made. In fact some great technical obstacles were overcome by Sir George & his chief engineer Geoff Emerick by virtue of having to set up a world class recording studio in what was essentially a bungalow. In addition, Sir George became a bit unpopular at times, having to press for more hustle. Come on Sir George, at least allow for AMERICA'S Thanksgiving luau. A major reason is that it contains the greatest love song ever written - a very complicated acoustic piano piece titled SARAH by GERRY. As Sir George Martin once said, ' it's a song that displays tremendous emotion & not many people can write such a lovely ballad'. This song is a poetic & musical masterpiece; as with all masterpieces, they are largely overlooked by the current masses, too deep. Only the passing of time will thin the veil that shields modern hearts to the depth & breadth of what GERRY says & how he chooses to weave chords, melodies & words into a tapestry of feelings that penetrate heart & soul . In addition, SERGEANT DARKNESS by GERRY is a rather epic journey into feelings & thoughts that are probably too deep for the masses. Listen to the abstract MONSTER by GERRY, it is quite a great 6-string acoustic guitar song, for deep thinking. GERRY has said that MONSTER was the result of some difficult days being on the road, away from home. GERRY also contributed the rocking song, NOW SHE'S GONE, making excellent use of that double neck electric guitar, along side the single GOD OF THE SUN. Among DEWEY's contributions are ARE YOU THERE & POLITICAL POACHERS, all very strong. DAN PEEK's, DON'T CRY BABY is very strong - lyrically an outstanding piece of work, so is THESE BROWN EYES by DAN.

Well, this was the last new songs LP for Warners and DAN PEEK's final AMERICA LP. AMERICA had come a long way from those days together in their high school band, the Daze. Once again, the trio was no more. Disco & other more segmented genres were on the horizon & yes the music industry would become more complicated, with the mtv generation somewhere on the horizon. A new chapter in the book of life was on the horizon for the band we call, AMERICA. Oh, but do not despair, change is life & the best was yet to come.

Last Revised: 19 September 1997