AMERICA Enters the Billboard Albums Top 200 Chart at #52

AMERICA Enters the Billboard Albums Top 200 Chart at #52

Highest Album Debut in 30 Years

Critical Praise for 'HERE & NOW' Builds

NEW YORK, Jan. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Marking their highest album debut since 1977, AMERICA celebrates the release of their latest album HERE & NOW (Sony BMG/Burgundy Records), which entered Billboard's "Top 200 Albums Chart" at #52. The critically acclaimed double CD HERE & NOW is the group's 16th charting album and sold 14,399 copies in its first week in stores. This is their first Top 100 charting release since 1982. The band launched the album Monday, January 15 on the "Late Show With David Letterman," performing "Ride On" with two of the album's guests, Ryan Adams and Ben Kweller.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070124/NYW137 )

The two-disc HERE & NOW set features one CD of new studio recordings by AMERICA co-founders GERRY BECKLEY and DEWEY BUNNELL and was produced by James Iha (ex-Smashing Pumpkins) and Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne) plus a bonus CD of greatest hits material recorded at the XM Performance Theater. In addition to Schlesinger and Iha, special guests appearing on the new material include RYAN ADAMS, who plays on "Ride On," BEN KWELLER who joins JIM JAMES and PATRICK HALLAHAN of My Morning Jacket on a cover of their haunting acoustic tune "Golden," and IRA ELLIOT and MATTHEW CAWS of Nada Surf who join the group on their own rendition of Nada Surf's hit "Always Love."

AMERICA, who typically performs about 100 live dates a year, will be announcing Spring 2007 tour plans soon. For all the latest, check out www.burgundyrecords.com.

Check out the latest critical quotes on HERE & NOW:

"Founding Americans Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell enlisted collaborators with modern-rock cachet, from co-producers Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne) and James Iha (Smashing Pumpkins) to guests such as Ryan Adams and members of My Morning Jacket. But Beckley and Bunnell remain savvy and unself-conscious purveyors of wistful, gently buoyant pop and bring out the softer, sweeter side of their support team."

--Elysa Gardner, USA TODAY, 1/16/07

"Their collaboration works particularly well on the cover of My Morning Jacket's gorgeous 'Golden.' But America's original songs sound nearly as strong ... no denying the disk's unassuming vibe, or its attention to tunesmanship and harmony - two qualities not frequently heard in the rhythm-driven world of current pop."

--Jim Farber, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS, 1/14/07

"A pleasant folk-pop mix of light acoustic guitars and warm harmonies, the album sounds like vintage America, but fresh enough to slide onto the WBOS playlist. The pair remains a good vocal match, easily trading off singing and songwriting duties. They inject a welcome bit of humor into the mostly standard songs about love in all its stages, from chipper newness to knotty middle periods to conclusive ends."

--Sarah Rodman, BOSTON GLOBE, 1/16/07

"The harmonies are classic America, the melodic hooks of tracks like 'Love & Leaving,' 'Indian Summer' and 'One Chance' feel timeless. Overall, the best America album since the days when Beatles producer George Martin was producing them."

--Howard Cohen, MIAMI HERALD, 1/12/07

"The songs on Here & Now reprise America's trademark mellow '70s vibe, with luminous vocal harmonies and lots of acoustic guitar strumming. There's an airy desert feel in the stinging guitar licks on 'Ride On,' which Bunnell and Schlesinger co-wrote, and a wistful tone on Beckley's 'Look at Me Now' that would sound at home on one of America's early '70s records. The well-chosen covers don't stray far from the original arrangements, and Bunnell's genteel voice suits the subtle roots-rock flavor of My Morning Jacket's 'Golden.'"

--Eric Danton, HARTFORD COURANT (CT), 1/15/07

"America had a pure pop sensibility that few other artists could match in the mid-'70s. They're still writing melodies as memorable as those that climbed the charts way back then. The opening triptych--'Chasing the Rainbow,' 'Indian Summer' and 'One Chance'-- immediately establishes Here & Now as much more than a hackneyed comeback effort. This is lush, lustrous, layered stuff, the type that has long since gone out of style but never stopped sounding good. Iha and Schlesinger ... frame Beckley and Bunnell's pop gems in a manner that recalls the greatness of their earlier work without dating it as such."

--Peter Blackstock, NO DEPRESSION, January 2007

"It works. Bunnell and Beckley still sing beautifully, harmonize exquisitely, and revel in an irony-free celebration of strong songwriting, memorable melodies, smart lyrics and sturdy musicianship. The new America compositions are a lot like the old ones -- bittersweet, catchy, an immediate guilty pleasure to behold. 'Chasing the Rainbow' might've been recorded in 1975, such an unstudied, natural continuation of the America sound does it conjure. A cover of the My Morning Jacket hymn 'Golden' is gorgeous and convincing. Nada Surf's 'Always Love' is shimmering power-pop. There's not a dud in the bunch."

--Jeff Miers, THE BUFFALO NEWS, 12/29/06

"The trademark harmonies and signature acoustic guitar lines of Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell are all over Here & Now, but without sounding dated or coming across as a tired parody of themselves. 'Chasing the Rainbow' kicks things off, and qualifies instantly as a Gerry Beckley classic, while the lyrical imagery of 'Indian Summer' is enhanced by the distinctive vocal work of Dewey Bunnell. A wonderful cover of My Morning Jacket's 'Golden' lends an ethereal feel to the record, and 'Always Love' is silky smooth. Ryan Adams contributes some edgy guitar work to 'Ride On,' a true driving rocker; the touching 'This Time' ebbs and flows gently, and 'Walk In the Woods' brings Here & Now to a lovely conclusion."

--John Lynskey, HITTIN' THE NOTE, February 2007

" ... a comforting, autumnal collection of rootsy pop that invites comparison to Tom Petty's recent Highway Companion. Despite the title and modern production, the producers and guests don't force the duo into something it's not."

--Ray Hogan, STAMFORD ADVOCATE (CT), 1/11/07

"America's gentle take on My Morning Jacket's 'Golden' is a natural fit: With delicate vocals, acoustic guitars and a faint thread of steel guitar, it rivals any of America's biggest hits. Here & Now is an impressive, consistent collection of songs."

--Jim Abbott, ORLANDO SENTINEL, 1/12/07

"Schlesinger and Iha haven't messed with America's classic western soundscapes, but they have brought some new approaches to the sound that finds America sounding perfectly contemporary in 2007. Those well versed in America's music will recognize them from the first acoustic instrumental seconds of the album-opening Beckley beauty 'Chasing The Rainbow.' That song, along with the tougher Bunnell/Schlesinger composition 'Ride On' (with guitar courtesy of Adams) and Beckley's 'Look at Me Now,' rank right there with some of the band's best work from decades past. Yet it's refreshing to hear them tackle some material by other artists as well. Of particular note is 'Indian Summer,' which was primarily penned by Mark Rozzo of Maplewood, and the sweet-harmony-filled 'Always Love,' which was a hit for Nada Surf. America also turn in a smooth, dark and lonely rendition of My Morning Jacket's 'Golden.' But it wouldn't do them any good at all if the songs weren't there, and the good news is that the songs on this are refreshingly sturdy. They can't avoid sounding retro at times because they still sound like America. And maybe that's just what we all need a taste of this year."

--Kevin O'Hare, NEWHOUSE NEWS SERVICE, January 2007

"The performances are nearly flawless."
--John Wenzel, DENVER POST, 1/15/07

"Singer-songwriters Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell haven't coarsened their mellow glide for indie-scene cred. They remain committed to an unfashionably easygoing ideal."

--Mikael Wood, TIME OUT NEW YORK, 1/11/07

"The gentle strums and billowy harmonies are just the way you remember them."

--Gilbert Garcia, SAN ANTONIO CURRENT, January 2007

"The album's dozen songs-elegant, poignant ballads and earthy pop-rockers brimming with those same beautifully layered acoustic guitars and pretty vocal harmonies-will remind veteran fans of everything they ever loved about America."

--Joe Bosso, GUITAR WORLD ACOUSTIC, March 2007

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070124/NYW137
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Source: Sony BMG

CONTACT: Angela Salomon of Sony BMG, +1-212-833-8575,
angela.salomon@sonybmg.com

Web site: http://www.bmg.com/
http://www.burgundyrecords.com/

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