Don_Krider's Full Review: You Can Still Rock in America
Back in 1995, in the days before the nation united to fight terrorists, MCA Records did the unthinkable and put together a compilation of pop-rock entitled "You Can Still Rock In America."
The 10 tunes, all of which had been previously released, were tied together by a theme of pro-United States rock 'n' roll.
The CD cover of a guitar player, his back to the camera, strumming away in a gold tinted jacket with a United States flag on its back before a waving U. S. flag was the album's attention getter.
That cover alone won't sell an album, of course. What sells this record (usually in stores in the $5 to $10 range these days) are the artists and their songs.
Night Ranger:
The opening track, "(You Can Still) Rock In America," was a Top 10 hit for Night Ranger (written by lead singer Jack Blades and Brad Gillis) in 1984.
Despite the album's "America" theme and this tune being the title track, the song is mainly a guitar-powered rocker about a girl sneaking away from home to go to a rock show. Still, the chorus is the hook and a memorable one at that: "...you can still rock in America, oh yeah, so right..."
Eric Carmen:
Professional balladeer Eric Carmen used to rock out with The Raspberries in the 1970s, and his 1985 Geffen album, "Eric Carmen," included one rockin' track among its mostly ballad format, a wonderful gem called "American As Apple Pie."
Written by Carmen and Dean Pitchford (the team behind "Almost Paradise (Love Theme from 'Footloose')" and Carmen's 1988 smash "Make Me Lose Control"), "American As Apple Pie'" is a tune that should have been a single (especially for the Fourth Of July) but never was.
Produced by Don Gehman (of John Mellencamp production fame) with Mellencamp guitarist Larry Crane providing some John Cougar' guitar spark to the song's Beach Boys' overtones, Carmen sings:
"...every kid in the U. S. A. / is comin' out to play / it's American as apple pie / livin' hard, ridin' high / feelin' every minute like the 4th of July / go for broke / do or die / American as apple pie..."
Kim Wilde:
Kim Wilde took her "Kids In America" ("...we're the kids in America, whoa-ho...") to # 25 on the Billboard Magazine Top 40 Chart in 1982, but the song sounds more like British techno-pop, New Wave than rock 'n' roll (which, after all, is supposed to be the album's theme).
Glenn Frey:
Glenn Frey contributes "Better In The U. S. A."
Frey, lead singer of The Eagles, lifts a guitar riff from Chuck Berry and some honky tonk piano to power the tune he co-wrote with Jack Tempchin in 1984. For Frey, everything is "Better In The U. S. A.":
"...the Third World wonders which way's the best /we got freedom / we got soul / we got blue blue jeans and rock 'n' roll / and there ain't no choice / it's better in the U. S. A. ..."
The Hooters:
The Hooters (famed for their Top 40 hit "And We Danced") offer "Great Big American Car."
This Philadelphia-based group featured Eric Bazilian (co-writer of Joan Osborne's 1996 Grammy-nominated hit, "One Of Us") and Rob Hyman (co-writer of Cyndi Lauper's Top 5 hit "Time After Time").
Eric and Rob combined with songwriter Wendy Waldman to write "Great Big American Car" in 1993. The tune opens with some lovely Beatles' '67 psychedelia before progressing into an upbeat rocker about a guy loving a his car (while sounding like he might also be singing about the female love of his life):
"...and we'd ride right through the darkness / and sometimes we'd run too far / but the good times rode away too soon / in my great big American car..."
Asia:
Asia (a "progressive rock" band that was part of the '80s "super-group" movement (combining former members of already successful acts into one band) offers "Voice Of America."
The group went through numerous personnel changes, but featured Geoff Downes (ex-Buggles, ex-Yes), Steve Howe (ex-Yes) and John Wetton (ex-UK).
"Voice Of America" fits in the class of "Monster Ballad" --- this is a low point on this CD.
Dave Edmunds:
The album bounces back with Dave Edmunds' (famed for his Top 10 hit "I Hear You Knockin'") cover of Chuck Berry's "Promised Land". Also produced by the talented Mr. Edmunds, he sounds uncannily like Chuck Berry --- I can't recall any other artist performing a Chuck Berry song who sounds like Berry vocally (certainly not elvis Presley, who had a #14 hit with the tune in 1974; Berry's own version hit #41 in 1964).
Edmunds sings about a cross-country trip:
"I left my home in Norfolk, Virginia / California on my mind / straddled that Greyhound, rose him past Raleigh / on across Caroline..."
Chuck Berry:
Chuck Berry wrote and performs his "Back In The U. S. A." (later a hit for Linda Ronstadt), a #37 hit for him in 1959. A classic rocker, Berry is in peak form here, singing of his love of the United States:
"...looking hard for a drive-in, searching for a corner cafe / where hamburgers sizzle on an open grill night and day / yeah, and a juke-box jumping with records like in the U. S. A. / well, I'm glad I'm livin' in the U. S. A. / yes, I'm glad I'm livin' in the U. S. A. / anything you want, we got it right here in the U. S. A. ..."
The Blasters:
The Blasters try a bit of uptempo rockabilly on "American Music" ("...how the whole world digs that sound..."). A likeable performance, but not a great moment on this album.
Grand Funk Railroad:
Closing the album is Grand Funk Railroad's classic million-selling, #1 chart hit from 1973, the Todd Rundgren-produced "We're An American band."
As much a tune about life on the road and the joys of rock stardom, the tune stands as an anthem of American rock music, with an impossible to forget chorus:
"...we're an American band / we're coming to your town..."
Recommendation:
Overall, a fun album to listen to while driving around in your "great big American car" while you're "back in the U. S. A."
The tracks:
"(You Can Still) Rock In America" by Night Ranger; "American As Apple Pie" by Eric Carmen; "Kids In America" by Kim Wilde; "Better In The U. S. A." by Glenn Frey; "Great Big American Car" by The Hooters; "Voice Of America" by Asia; "Promised Land" by Dave Edmunds; "Back In The U. S. A." by Chuck Berry; "American Music" by The Blasters, and "We're An American Band" by Grand Funk Railroad.
The CD booklet:
Average, 8-page booklet. Track information is limited to artist, label, producer, songwriters and year of release data. Four of the artists have photos in the booklet.
Related artist websites:
Eric Carmen (official): http://www.ericcarmen.com
Dave Edmunds (official): http://www.daveedmunds.com
Chuck Berry (official): http://www.chuckberry.com
Night Ranger (official): http://www.nightranger.net/
Grand Funk railroad (official): http://www.grandfunkrailroad.com
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