- Arthur Barrow -- bass (1984)

- Michael Boddicker -- synthesizers (1984)

- Gerry Buckley -- vocals, guitar, keyboards

- Dewey Bunnell -- vocals, drums, guitar

- Richard James Burgess -- drums, percussion, syndrums

  (1984)

- Jim Calire -- keyboards, sax (1979)

- Paulinho de Costa -- percussion (1984)

- David Dickey -- bass (1979)

- Nathan East -- bass (1984)

- Bill Elliott -- synthesizers\ (1984)

- Paul Fox -- synthesizers (1984)

- Craig Huxley -- synthesizers (1984)

- Paul Jackson Jr. -- lead guitar (1984)

- David Kemper -- percussion (1984)

- Phil Kenzie -- sax (1984)

- Willie Leacox -- drums (1979)

- Matthew McCauley -- synthesizers (1984)

- James Newton-Howard - synthesizers (1984)

- Dean Parks -- bass, guitar (1984)

- Dan Peek -- vocals, guitar

- Marcus Ryle -- syndrums (1984)

- MIke Woods -- lead guitar (1979)

- Tom Walsh -- percussion (1979)

- Ritchie Zito -- drums, percussion (1984)
 

- Dan Peek (solo efforts) 

Genre: pop 

Rating: *** (3 stars)

Title:  Silent Letter

Company: Capitol

Catalog: SO-11950

Year: 1979

Country/State: US 

Grade (cover/record): VG+ / VG+

Comments: still in shrink wrap

Available: 1

GEMM catalog ID: 4

Price: $5.00

Mind you, no America LP (including this one), is perfect.  That said, this was probably one of their better post-Dan Peek offerings.  In many ways 1979's "Silent Letter" reflected what amounts to a new start for the band.  Now officially a duo, they had a new label (Capitol), and a modestly modified sound.  With George Martin again producing (in London's AIR Studios), the shift in sound was subtle, but the addition of horns and more sophisticated arrangements gave tracks like 'And Forever' and 'Foolin'' a noticeable adult contemporary/light jazz sheen.  Mind you, on tracks such as the beautiful ballads 'All Around' and 'Tall Treasures' anyone coming of age in the '70s would have instantly recognized Beckley and Bunnell's close knit harmonies.  Curiously, at least to my ears the most rock oriented number 'Only Game In Town' (which happened to be the one non-original) and Bunnell's 'All Night' made for the LP's standout efforts.  So much for the good news.  To get to the good stuff you' had to slog through quite a bit of filler, including Beckley's irritating '1960', 'All My Life' and 'One Morning'.  Certainly not a classic LP, but a nice mid-career resurgence.  Elsewhere Capital tapped the album for a series of unsuccessful singles:

- 'Only Game In Town' b/w 'High In the City' (Capital catalog number P-4752)

- All My Life' b/w 'One Morning' (Capital catalog number P-4777)

- 'All Around' b/w '1960' (Capital catalog number P-4817)

"Silent Letter" track listing"

(side 1)

1.) Only Game In Town   (Anderson - Cohen - Didier - Kelly) - 4:10

2.) All Around   (Gerry Beckley - Dewey Bunnell) - 3:21

3.) Tall Treasures   (Gerry Beckley - Dewey Bunnell) - 3:12

4.) 1960   (Gerry Beckley) - 3:10

5.) And Forever   (Dewey Bunnell) - 3:10

(side 2)

1.) Foolin'   (Gerry Beckley - Ricky Fataar) - 2:52

2.) All Night   (Dewey Bunnell) -  3:19

3.) No Fortune   (Gerry Beckley) -  3:19

4.) All My Life   (Gerry Beckley) - 3:04

5.) One Morning   (Dewey Bunnell) - 2:13

6.) High In the City   (Gerry Beckley - Dewey Bunnell) - 3:00  

Genre: pop 

Rating: ** (2 stars)

Title:  Alibi

Company: Capitol

Catalog: SO-12098

Year: 1980

Country/State: US 

Grade (cover/record): VG+ / VG+

Comments: original inner sleeve

Available: 1

GEMM catalog ID: 5

Price: $5.00

Capital again tried to float a couple of singles with marginal results:

- 'Hangover' b/w 'One In a Million' (Capital catalog number P-4950)

- 'Survival' b/w 'One In a Million' (Capital catalog number P ????)

"Alibi" track listing:

(side 1)

1.) Survival

2.) Might Be Your Love

3.) Catch That Train

4.) You Could've Been the Girl

5.) I Don't Believe In Miracles

(side 2)

1.) I Do Believe In You

2.) Hangover

3.) Right Back To Me

4.) Coastline

5.) One In a Million

Genre: pop 

Rating: ** (2 stars)

Title:  Perspective

Company: Capitol

Catalog: ST-12370

Year: 1984

Country/State: US 

Grade (cover/record): VG / VG

Comments: minor corner wear

Available: 1

GEMM catalog ID: 6

Price: $5.00

It's funny how some album's just exude a certain era ...  1984's "Perspective" is one of those.  By the time it was released Gerry Buckley and Dewey Bunnell had long lost most of their audience (ever notice how many America albums show up at yard sales).  As a consequence the pair were growing increasingly desperate to latch on to a sound with commercial potential.  In this case that meant trying to bolster their patented soft rock moves with a arsenal of synthesizers and syndrums.  While it may have given the duo a then-cutting edge sound, today it sounds very '80s.  Relying on outside writers for the majority of material, nothing here was a major surprise.  Exemplified by tracks like 'We Got All Night', 'Special Girl' and '5th Avenue' the pair's trademarked harmonies and increasingly AOR moves remained intact, though sandwiched with those ever present synthesizers.  Interestingly, even though they weren't very good, the pair's efforts to toughen up their sound on material like 'See How the Love Goes' and '' were actually kind of enjoyable (in a goofy kind of way).  Perhaps because it harkened back to the pair's earlier sound Capital tapped the set for the single: 'Special Girl' b/w 'Unconditional Love' (Capital catalog number B-5398).

"Perspective" track listing:

(side 1)

1.) We Got All Night   (S Shiffrin - T Britten) - 

2.) See How the Love Goes   (S Shiffrin - T Britten) - 

3.) Can't Fall Asleep To a Lullabye  (Dewey Burnell - Steve Perry - B Mumy - R Haimer) - 

4.) Special Girl   (E Schwartz - D Tyson) - 

5.) 5th Avenue   (Greg Buckley) - 

(side 2)

1.) (It's Like You) Never Left At All   (Randy Goodrum) - 

2.) Stereo   (Greg Beckley - J Wood) - 

3.) Lady with a Bluebird   (Dewey Burnell - B Murry - R Haimer) - 

4.) Cinderella   (J Kimbal - D Vidal) - 

5.) Unconditional Love   (Gerry Buckley) - 

6.) Fallin' Off the World   (Dewey Burnell - B Mumy) -