Let me preface this review by saying that I’ll never ever do a “greatest hits” or “best of” album review. It doesn’t mean that I won’t do a live album, which, of course, is cheating. And to make it worse, it is the release of a radio concert from the King Biscuit series. In honor of Independence Day, it is by the group America.

The King Biscuit catalog is as good as it gets, and those of us in our 40s remember the KBFH, usually on Saturday nights. The releases of these shows on CD are excellent, and the set lists do reflect the most popular singles that were played on the radio.

America’s west coast sound was mellow, but was done well. Their Grammy in 1972 for Best New Artist made them pioneers in the soft-rock genre. Gerald Beckley, Dewey Bunnell and Dan Peek (not with them during this tour) blended harmonies with great lyrics and guitars. Recorded live in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio in 1982, this was their “comeback” tour following up the success of the single “You Can Do Magic.” Songs from the show included “Tin Man,” “I Need You” and “Sandman.” A great live version of “Ventura Highway” shows up early in the concert, and it just gets better. The cover of “California Dreamin’” is weak, but the final set in this concert showcases their biggest hits such as “Here,” “Sister Golden Hair” and one of my favorites, “Horse With No Name.” Unfortunately “Lonely People” is absent from the album.

America (named because they were all sons of U.S. Air Force officers living overseas) last toured with Beckley and Bunnell in 2003. They occasionally play gigs on the West Coast.

Copyright 2005 Ad Media Inc.