Though only existing as a band for no more than two years, The United States of America crafted one of the most poignant and sonically adventurous albums of the late sixties. Though born out of the same ideals of the summer of love and the ideas that influenced other contemporary West Coast rock bands, the U.S.A can nevertheless boast few musical peers.
United States of America - Joe Byrd
The United States of America were formed by keyboardist, composer and electronics pioneer Joe Byrd in 1967. While in High School Byrd had played in various rock and country groups in his native Kentucky, and also took a turn playing the vibes for a student jazz band. Instead of pursuing a musical scholarship at Standford, Byrd moved to New York where he immersed himself in the underground avant-garde music scene, earning international renown for his own compositions.
Upon his return to the West Coast, Byrd started to write music full-time, centered around the aesthetic of an avant-garde rock group. He enlisted Dorothy Moscovitz (vocals), Gordon Marron (electric violin), Rand Forbes (bass) and Craig Woodson (drums) to help realise his new musical vision. Their sole album was cut in 1967 and released on CBS in 1968.
The Album
Though the album gained minimal acclaim upon its release, it has since been regarded as one of the most influential and experimental albums of the late sixties. For one the U.S.A eschewed the use of the electric guitar, the central instrument of all rock bands of the era, in favour of keyboards and electronics. Their sound blended such a wide scope of musical genres, including avant-garde, psychedelic, jazz and blues, that it’s almost impossible to pigeon-hole.
The album runs the full gamut of musical styles, from straight up space rock (the simply stunning “Garden of Earthly Delights”), to Jazz inflected comedy (“I Won’t Leave My Wooden Wife For You”), to dreamy psychedelia (“Clouds”) to the subtly political ("Love Song for the Dead Che").
Byrd’s left of centre political ideals are all over this album, nowhere more apparent than in his satirical choice of the group’s name. That’s not to say that this album is all fire and furious political statement, rather Byrd tended to use subtly (albeit the blatantly titled “Love Song for the Dead Che”), conveying his politics through clever lyrical and musical ideas.
For example the opening track “The American Metaphysical Circus” begins with a collage of patriotic marching songs played over each other, each bleeding into the next, creating a horrific cacophony which points towards a sense of dystopian insanity.
For all their musical inventiveness, the U.S.A sadly split up months after releasing their album due to differences of musical direction. Even though each of the band members went on to record high quality music either on their own or with other groups, the U.S.A album is still the benchmark of their respective careers.
Much thanks, therefore, must go Stateside for re-releasing this gem of an album and bringing Byrd's musical vision back into the light.
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