Hat Trick (album)
Encyclopedia
__notoc__
Hat Trick is the third original studio album
by American
folk rock
trio America
, released by Warner Bros. Records
in 1973 (see 1973 in music
).
The album was a modest hit in the US, peaking at 28 on the Billboard album chart, although it failed to go gold, whereas the group's first two releases had platinum sales. It produced one minor hit single, "Muskrat Love
" which reached 67 on the Billboard singles chart and 11 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
Hat Trick is the third 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...
trio 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 Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
in 1973 (see 1973 in music
1973 in music
-January–April:*January 9 – Mick Jagger's request for a Japanese visa is rejected on account of a 1969 drug conviction, putting an abrupt end to The Rolling Stones' plans to perform in Japan during their forthcoming tour.*January 14...
).
The album was a modest hit in the US, peaking at 28 on the Billboard album chart, although it failed to go gold, whereas the group's first two releases had platinum sales. It produced one minor hit single, "Muskrat Love
Muskrat Love
"Muskrat Love" is a pop song by written by Willis Alan Ramsey and introduced on his sole album the 1972 release Willis Alan Ramsey; the song had its highest profile via a 1976 remake by Captain & Tennille...
" which reached 67 on the Billboard singles chart and 11 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
Reception
In his Allmusic review music critic Mike DeGagne wrote that the album faltered "mainly because the songs lacked the cordial folk-rock melodies and mindful songwriting that prevailed on the earlier releases. "She's Gonna Let You Down" and "Rainbow Song" are the album's best cuts, but banal offerings such as "Green Monkey," "Willow Tree Lullaby," and "Molten Love" have Bunnell and Peek straying off course, sounding stale and musically feeble."Track listing
- "Muskrat LoveMuskrat Love"Muskrat Love" is a pop song by written by Willis Alan Ramsey and introduced on his sole album the 1972 release Willis Alan Ramsey; the song had its highest profile via a 1976 remake by Captain & Tennille...
" (Willis Alan RamseyWillis Alan RamseyWillis Alan Ramsey is an American singer/songwriter, a cult legend among fans of Americana and Texas country. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama and raised in Dallas, Texas. Ramsey graduated from Highland Park High School in 1969, and was a prominent baritone in the High School's Lads and Lassies...
) – 3:06 - "Wind Wave" (Dewey Bunnell) – 2:55
- "She's Gonna Let You Down" (Gerry BeckleyGerry BeckleyGerald 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...
) – 3:41 - "Rainbow Song" (Bunnell) – 3:53
- "Submarine Ladies" (Beckley) – 3:13
- "It's Life" (Dan PeekDan PeekDaniel 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...
) – 4:00 - "Hat Trick" (Peek, Beckley, Bunnell) – 8:29
- "Molten Love" (Bunnell) – 3:10
- "Green Monkey" (Bunnell) – 3:38
- "Willow Tree Lullaby" (Peek) – 2:34
- "Goodbye" (Beckley) – 3:10
Performance
- Hal BlaineHal BlaineHal Blaine is an American drummer and session musician. He is most known for his work with the Wrecking Crew in California. Blaine played on numerous hits by popular groups, including Elvis Presley, John Denver, the Ronettes, Simon & Garfunkel, the Carpenters, the Beach Boys, Nancy Sinatra, and...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussion (except "Muskrat Love") - David Dickey – bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Henry DiltzHenry DiltzHenry Stanford Diltz is a folk musician and photographer, who has been active since the 1960s....
– banjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
("Submarine Ladies") - Billy HinscheBilly HinscheWilliam "Billy" Hinsche is an American musician who was part of the singing group Dino, Desi, & Billy. He has also provided backing vocals for Warren Zevon and toured with The Beach Boys. His sister, Annie Hinsche-Wilson-Karges, was married to the group's guitarist, Carl Wilson.- External links...
– background vocalsHuman voiceThe human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...
("Hat Trick") - Bruce JohnstonBruce JohnstonBruce Arthur Johnston is a member of The Beach Boys and a songwriter, remembered especially for composing "I Write the Songs". Johnston was not one of the original members of the band...
– background vocals ("Hat Trick") - Lee Keifer – harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
("Submarine Ladies") - Robert Margoliffe – synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
- Chester McCracken – congas
- Jim Ed Norman – arrangements, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
("She's Gonna Let You Down") - Tom ScottTom Scott (musician)Tom Scott is an American saxophonist, composer, arranger, conductor and bandleader of the west coast jazz/jazz fusion ensemble The L.A. Express.-Biography:Scott was born in Los Angeles, California...
– saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
("Rainbow") - Joe WalshJoe WalshJoseph Fidler "Joe" Walsh is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has been a member of three commercially successful bands, the James Gang, Barnstorm, and the Eagles, and has experienced notable success as a solo artist and prolific session musician, especially with B.B...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
("Green Monkey") - Carl WilsonCarl WilsonCarl Dean Wilson was an American rock and roll singer and guitarist, best known as a founding member, lead guitarist and sometime lead vocalist of The Beach Boys...
– background vocals ("Hat Trick") - Lorene Yarnell – taps ("Hat Trick")
Production
- Gerry BeckleyGerry BeckleyGerald 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...
– productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Dewey Bunnell – production
- Gary Burden – art directionCover artCover art is the illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book , magazine, comic book, video game , DVD, CD, videotape, or music album. The art has a primarily commercial function, i.e...
- Henry DiltzHenry DiltzHenry Stanford Diltz is a folk musician and photographer, who has been active since the 1960s....
– photographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film... - Lee Keifer – assistant engineer
- Dan PeekDan PeekDaniel 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...
– production - Michael Stone – engineer