The United States of America (album)

The United States of America was produced by David Rubinson, who also signed the group to Columbia Records. Rubinson previously knew members Joseph Byrd and Dorothy Moskowitz.[6] Creating the electronic sounds on the album was difficult because of the technical limitations.[6] Byrd recalled "the only available functioning keyable synthesizers were Robert Moog's at +$20,000. We were left with whatever sounds I could squeeze from three variable wave shape generators, modulating one another."[6] The oscillators were built for the group by Richard Durrett.[6] Electronic devices were used live and on the album to process other instruments and Moskowitz's voice.[6] Towards the end of the song "The American Metaphysical Circus", for instance, her vocals are distorted to the point of being almost unintelligible.[7]

The United States of America was released in 1968 by Columbia Records.[11] The album spent nine weeks on the Billboard albums chart in the United States, peaking at number 181 in May 1968.[6] It failed to chart in the United Kingdom.[6] Arguments between Byrd and the rest of his bandmates about the band's direction led the band to split up within months of the album's release.[12]

The United States of America was reissued on compact disc by Columbia in 1992 with two bonus tracks. In 1997, the album was reissued in the United Kingdom by Edsel Records.[13] On July 13, 2004, Sundazed Records reissued the album on vinyl and CD with a new album cover differing from the cover used for the original UK and Europe releases, and with the CD version containing 10 bonus tracks. Joseph Byrd claims to have had little input on the Sundazed reissue of the album. Byrd says he had been "interested in doing notes, and I figured this was a chance to get my voice heard – Dorothy and Rubinson had both done extensive interviews referring to me in unpleasant fashion (as justification for their coup, I imagine). I asked for $300 and got it. I've written elsewhere to you that Sundazed took out all references they found controversial, including one about Bill Graham."[14]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[11]
Mojo	[15]
Pitchfork	8.9/10[5]
Record Collector	[16]
Uncut	[17]

The United States of America was originally released to minimal press. "The tunes are infectious, the harmonies adventurous yet eminently satisfying. And the lyrics (which Columbia has wisely printed on the jacket) are the best thing of all", wrote Barret Hansen in his 1968 review for Rolling Stone. He nonetheless found that the album "falls short of being really satisfying" due to the band's musicianship being "not quite on a level with their ideas", noting: "The voices are flat and uninteresting, showing little technical or interpretive power. The instruments perform their assigned tasks adroitly, but all too mechanically."[3]

CBS Records released The Rock Machine Turns You On, the first budget sampler LP, in the UK in 1968. The song "I Won't Leave My Wooden Wife for You, Sugar" was included as the fourth track on the sampler and introduced The United States of America to a much wider audience.

Modern reception of the album has been very positive. Richie Unterberger of AllMusic deemed it "one of the most exciting and experimental psychedelic albums of the late 1960s" and compared some of the band's more hard-edged material to early Pink Floyd and the Velvet Underground.[11] He concluded: "Occasionally things get too excessive and self-conscious, and the attempts at comedy are a bit flat, but otherwise this is a near classic."[11] "The most ambitious, idiosyncratic debut album of 2004 is 36 years old," opened Mark Hamilton's review of the 2004 reissue for Dusted Magazine.[18] Pitchfork's Cameron Macdonald said that the album "still stands above the work of most of their Monterey-era, psych-rock peers", despite the presence of some dated electronic effects typical of "many electro-acoustic pieces from the analog years."[5] It is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[19] Classic Rock Magazine cited it as one of the "16 Best Psychedelic Rock Albums".[20]

The United States of America

• Joseph Byrd – electronic music, electric harpsichord, organ, calliope, piano, vocals
• Dorothy Moskowitz – lead vocals
• Gordon Marron – electric violin, ring modulator, vocals (on "Where Is Yesterday" and "Stranded in Time")
• Rand Forbes – electric bass
• Craig Woodson – electric drums, percussion

Additional musicians

• Ed Bogas – occasional organ, piano, calliope
• Don Ellis – trumpet (on "I Won't Leave My Wooden Wife for You, Sugar")

Technical staff

• Glen Kolotkin – remixing
• Arthur Kendy – remixing
• Richard Durrett – instrument design engineering
• David Diller – engineering
• David Rubinson – production

• Discogs listing of album formats
• Brief excerpt from promo film for "Coming Down"