Comments for America, Perspective

Despite it's poor performance, this album is very well done. America tries alittle new coupled with their same great songwriting. "Lady With A Bluebird" and 5th Avenue are particularly nice....

Nice guest vocals on this too, including Steve Perry of Journey on "Can't Fall Asleep, & Timothy B. Schmit of the Eagles on Cinderella. Stereo is a great cut too, co-authored by Jimmy Webb

PERSPECTIVE is AMERICA'S contribution to the blending of modern, keyboard based, digital creations. Musically innovative & quite penetrating lyrical content is the hallmark of this superb artistry. AMERICA's efforts are representative of a couple of creative guys who are a long way from running out of new ideas & creations. Don't miss this one !!

I'm afraid I just don't appreciate America as a MOR synth-pop band. When I heard this album, I thought they might have lost their touch. This album in particular is a rejection of the acoustic sound which was so successful for them.

Trivia: This is the only Warner/Capitol album by America which doesn't feature a song later released on a live album. That's a shame, because there are some pretty good songs on this effort, but understandable because of all the technology which went into making it. The Steve Perry co-writing credit on "Can't Fall Asleep To A Lullaby" is significant because Dewey was later featured in Perry's "Oh, Sherrie" video the same year (1984). Note that "See How The Love Goes" is a cover of a 1982 Pointer Sisters song. Last note -- hopefully when "Perspective" gets released on CD later on in 1997, One Way Records will spell "Lullaby" correctly!! (It is spelled "Lullabye" on the album's one and only pressing on record.)

I was diappointed when I first heard this album. It just didn't sound like America. Most of Dewey's songs just don't fit his style. Gerry has some pretty good songs though.

Once again, I agree fully with mollenta.nimitz. This was America's poorest LP. It sounded like an afterthought. There are a few quality tracks such as "Special Girl" (which should have been included on "Encore") and "Unconditional Love" (which sounded a little too much like "Never Be Lonely". I loved this LP because it was done by America, however I felt the production and technology was too much. Although I must say I was impressed with the meshing of America and Journey (Steve Perry). That was a surprise. As was seeing Dewey Bunnell on the "Oh Sherrie" video.

This album is finally available on CD as a French import. You should be able to get it from any place that carries European imports.

I Love this one!!! "We Got All Night", even though it's virtually a Gerry Beckley Solo tune should've made the charts. I know that the AMERICA purists had trouble with this album, but for some reason I've always enjoyed it. It's not 100% perfect, but it ranks up there as one of my favorite L.P.s. "5th Avenue", "Unconditional Love" and(Sorry Dewey) "Special Girl" are among the strong tunes. Thank God it's on C.D.!!!

On the face of it, a depressing prospect. A synth-pop album from America?? I hated the idea. Mostly I hated the idea because I believed that Gerry B. and Dewey had a gun to their backs, figuratively speaking. Remember, if you will, that Capitol in the early 80s seemed no longer to trust America's own creative impulses. After a couple of commercial stiffs - the underappreciated "Silent Letter," for example - they paired the boys up with Russ Ballard and scored a hit with "You Can Do Magic," a tune on which Gerry and Dewey did nothing but add their vocals. "Perspective" seemed to me to be yet another pandering, record-company driven effort to make America the Top 40 hit makers Capitol had invested in and believed they should be. The inclusion of the "hot" Steve Perry and an obligatory reggae tune just seemed like more covering of all the commercial bases. And I don't think the record benefited from all the outside songwriting collaborators. So why is it that, somehow, this LP ended up being so engaging despite itself? "We've Got All Night" is a charmer, "See How the Love Goes" also hooks you in, and "Special Girl" is one of the finest tunes they've recorded in any genre. "Fifth Avenue" and "Lady With a Bluebird" also work quite nicely, and the wintry "It's Like You Never Left at All" somehow sticks in the mind. This LP remains a spotty but enjoyable one, which is why I just added a CD of it to my collection. Yes, "Unconditional Love" is a smidge weak and, although some may think it's blasphemous, I find the Stever Perry-ized "Can't Fall Asleep to a Lullabye" a little tough to take. Who knows if the boys really wanted to ditch acoustic guitars in favor of synths and drum machines or if the record company was saying, "Hey guys, you're not making it, so it's time to try something new?" All I know is, the LP captures a certain mood and still holds up after all these years. It's not what I would tell anyone to remember America for, but it's worth having. Ironic, then, that "Perspective" stiffed commercially. I guess if the record company was trying to manufacture a hit, it miscalculated badly. These A&R guys never learn.

One of my least favorite cd''s. Not the sound I was used to and as a whole didn''t seem to flow as well as the others. However there are some standout tracks, "Can''t Fall Asleep To A Lullabye", and "Stereo" are my favorites.

I think this is their weakest album ever. It sounds like a soundtrack for a cheap B movie.

Experimental album featuring mid-80`s synth-rock sound.Produced by Matthew McCauley, Richie Zito, and RichardJames Burgess.

Although I will agree with those who say Perspective hurt America commercially by running counter to their accepted acoustic style, as a one-off shot at synthesized pop music it holds up nicely. It's hard to tell how much Dewey and Gerry were behind the decision to go digital (evidence shows Gerry had a lot to do with it), but it makes for a fascinating comparison to their traditional sound. Songs like "We Got All Night," "Can't Fall Asleep To A Lullaby," "5th Avenue," and "Lady With A Bluebird" stand up well against other songs of the period. If you hate the '80s, skip the rest of this review and dust off your CSNY and Seals & Crofts albums. If you're like me, and you appreciate what the '80s had to offer (at least the early '80s), then perhaps you'll agree. "See How The Love Goes" could have been a disastrous foray into dance music, but Dewey carried it off well. "Special Girl," though, seemed a bit weak, especially for the album's first single. Perspective may not be America's best album, but it is definitely worth a listen, and far better than many people have made it out to be. As the production is very sophisticated, a listen on the headphones is highly recommended to get a full sense of the album's atmosphere. A careful listen brings out very sensual keyboard layerings, especially on "Can't Fall Asleep To A Lullaby" and "5th Avenue." Perhaps America's greatest success - and biggest limiting factor - is that they have been able to carefully define their sound and their niche so well that every album is expected to be similar to the last. The key to enjoying Perspective is to put aside what you THINK it should be and listen to it for what it IS.

To me perspective is a capitol records album they wrote most of the songs on that. However it is not to bad but they just didn't use an acoustics.