The United States Of America
The United States Of America

THE REVIEW

A brief and elusive history is that of the USA, a fleeting shooting star that traversed the crowded skies of late '60s psychedelia, overshadowed in brightness by much more combative peers, yet left a persistent trail, incredibly followed decades later by a myriad of artists. The only legacy left by them is represented by this self-titled LP dated 1968, after which the band quickly disbanded due to irreconcilable internal disputes.

The unique characteristic of the USA, a musical project headed by Joseph Byrd, a student of John Cage in early '60s New York, is the total unfamiliarity of each member with rock music. Dorothy Moskowitz (singer and partner of Byrd) was also in the world of avant-garde music, the drummer specialized in African percussion, the bassist and violinist were virtuosos of "modern-music." With such premises, it seems a miracle that these folks managed to compose and assemble a work that is simultaneously so visionary and accessible, reworking the structural bases of rock not from within (as Beefheart may have done) but rather from an external, transcendent point of view, also delivering lyrics that are nothing short of venomous toward American society of the time. This choice (like the sarcastic choice of their name) didn't help their relationship with the record label, nor in terms of marketability.

Structured as a concept album, with tracks flowing one into the other, the album strikes and confounds right from the opening of "American Metaphysical Circus": the Sgt Pepper-style intro, complete with a town band, seems to herald calm bucolic atmospheres. Dorothy's distorted voice and Byrd's gurgling ring modulator whistle change the emotional coordinates of the album, and when we learn that "in the next room they are torturing a canary", we understand why the price to pay to continue listening "is our mind".
If the beginning is closer to the musical avant-garde frequented by the group, other episodes fit more into the rock spectrum: the almost garage-style "Hard Coming Love", which alternates melodic singing with bursts of unidentified analog instruments, the sublime "The Garden Of Earthly Delights", introduced by the organ and the usual ring modulator (the album's absolute protagonist and bearer of altered states of consciousness), driven by a twisted bass line and Moskowitz's "Slickian" voice, the circus-like and fiercely sarcastic blues of "I Won't Leave My Wooden Wife For You, Sugar", the syncopated rhythm of "Coming Down" and the overt tribute to Eleanor Rigby in "Stranded In Time".

The other side of the coin consists of minimalist, gentle, and dreamlike tracks among which stands out a "Where Is Yesterday", opened by a churchlike Agnus Dei, and "Love Song For The Dead Che", a declaration of (political) intent that speaks for itself. The vaudevillian verve of the opening is revisited in the final "The American Way Of Love", six minutes plus where all the album's facets are blended: reverberations ignite brass marches, doo-wop transforms into futuristic cut-ups of the various tracks on the album, concluding with Byrd ironically repeating "How much fun it's been!".

A final note that reiterates the critical nature of the work, a piece that stands alone in the diverse psychedelic landscape of the time, and that should be preserved as a precious relic for future generations.