Alibi is the ninth original studio album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 by American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 folk rock

Folk rock

Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...

 duo America

America (band)

America is an English-American folk rock band that originally included members Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell and Dan Peek. The three members were barely out of their teens when they became a musical sensation during 1972, scoring #1 hits and winning a Grammy for best new musical artist...

, released by Capitol Records

Capitol Records

Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...

 in 1980, see (1980 in music

1980 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1980.-January–March:*January 1**Cliff Richard is appointed an MBE by Elizabeth II.**The Zorros audition drummer Greg Pedley....

).

History

Although Dan Peek

Dan Peek

Daniel Milton 'Dan' Peek was a musician best known as a member of the rock band America from 1970 to 1977, together with Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell...

 departed America in 1977 after becoming a born-again Christian, remaining members Dewey Bunnell and Gerry Beckley

Gerry Beckley

Gerald Linford "Gerry" Beckley is a founding member of the band America.Beckley was born to an American father, and an English mother. He began playing the piano at the age of three and the guitar a few years later. By 1962, Beckley was playing guitar in The Vanguards, an instrumental surf music...

 decided to continue the group as a duo. They signed with Capitol Records

Capitol Records

Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...

 and released their inaugural album on that label, Silent Letter

Silent Letter (album)

Silent Letter is the eighth original studio album by American folk rock duo America, released by Capitol Records in June, 1979, .The album did not do well in the US, only reaching number 110 on the Billboard album chart...

, in 1979. Although Silent Letter was once again produced by legendary producer George Martin

George Martin

Sir George Henry Martin CBE is an English record producer, arranger, composer and musician. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle"— a title that he often describes as "nonsense," but the fact remains that he served as producer on all but one of The Beatles' original albums...

, the album failed to make a significant commercial impact.

Prior to their follow-up album on Capitol, Bunnell and Beckley amicably parted ways with Martin in an effort to try a new musical direction. For the new album, the group utilized two producers -- Matthew McCauley

Matthew McCauley (producer)

Matthew McCauley is an Emmy award winning composer and record producer, based in Los Angeles.Matthew McCauley is active in several sciences and is the cofounder of Ancient Egypt Research Associates which is based at the Harvard Semitic Museum.Established in 1985, AERA carries out excavations and...

 and Fred Mollin. While Silent Letter was recorded by Bunnell, Beckley and their backing band (Willie Leacox, Michael Woods, David Dickey and Jim Calire), Alibi would be a virtual roll-call of the burgeoning West Coast music scene. The recording was graced by musicians such as Timothy B. Schmit

Timothy B. Schmit

Timothy Bruce Schmit is an American musician and songwriter, best known for his work as bass guitar player and singer for Poco and the Eagles. Schmit has also worked for decades as a session musician and solo artist.-Early career:Raised in Sacramento, Schmit began playing in the folk music group...

, Waddy Wachtel

Waddy Wachtel

Robert "Waddy" Wachtel is an American musician, composer and record producer, most notable for his guitar work...

, Mike Baird, Lee Sklar

Leland Sklar

Leland "Lee" Bruce Sklar is an American musician, singer-songwriter and film score composer. A prominent bass guitarist, Sklar has contributed to thousands of albums as a session musician...

, Richard Page

Richard Page (musician)

Richard Page , is an American musician who is the lead singer and bassist of 1980's US band Mr. Mister and is now a songwriter and solo artist.-Early life:...

, Norton Buffalo

Norton Buffalo

Norton Buffalo was a singer-songwriter, country and blues harmonica player, record producer, bandleader and recording artist best known as a versatile exponent of the harmonica, including chromatic and diatonic....

 and Steve Lukather

Steve Lukather

Steve "Luke" Lukather is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger, and record producer best known for his work with the rock band Toto. Lukather has played with many artists, released several solo albums, and worked as a composer, arranger, and session guitarist on more than 1,500 albums...

.

Alibi, released in August 1980, was the first America album not to feature a picture of the band members on the cover. Instead, the cover sported a picture of a doll's head in the foreground of a desert landscape. Dewey Bunnell said he chose the picture while looking through the archives of acclaimed photographer Henry Diltz

Henry Diltz

Henry Stanford Diltz is a folk musician and photographer, who has been active since the 1960s....

. The album was also unusual in the era of vinyl

Gramophone record

A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...

 primacy in that it did not have numbered sides. Because the group and Capitol disagreed on which side would be side one, they agreed on a compromise: the sides would be labelled "Our Side" and "Their Side."

The album only peaked at number 142 on the Billboard album chart

Billboard 200

The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

 in the US but did better in other countries especially Italy. No singles charted in the US, but in Italy "Survival" was a number 1 hit and the whole album peaked at 4. "Hangover" did get some airplay.

Although Alibi was yet another commercial disappointment for America, the band's fortunes would dramatically improve with their next album, View From The Ground

View from the Ground

View from the Ground is the tenth original studio album by American folk rock duo America, released by Capitol Records in July 1982.This album marked a major comeback for a group that had been generally written off since Dan Peek's departure five years before...

(1982), which included the Top Ten smash, "You Can Do Magic."

McCauley would later produce several tracks on America's Perspective

Perspective (America album)

Perspective is the twelfth original studio album by American folk rock duo America, released by Capitol Records on September 21, 1984.- History :...

album in 1984, while Mollin returned in 2011 to produce America's cover album, Back Pages.

Reception

In his Allmusic review music critic Steven Thomas Erlewine noted the affect on the album of the departure of George Martin as producer. He wrote of the album; "Essentially, the album picks up where Silent Letter left off, meaning that it's a set of pleasant soft pop, but it's slicker and slighter than its predecessor... Alibi doesn't qualify as one of America's better latter-day efforts (even though it's certainly not one of their worst)."

Our Side (Side One)

1. "Survival"
2. "Might be Your Love"
3. "Catch that Train"
4. "You Could've Been the One"
5. "I Don't Believe in Miracles"

Their Side (Side Two)

1. "I Do Believe in You"
2. "Hangover"
3. "Right Back to Me"
4. "Coastline"
5. "Valentine"
6. "One in a Million"