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EMITT RHODES - "THE AMERICAN DREAM" - A&M SP4254 (1970)
Although this album may have been a contractual obligation, there is no doubt that Emitt Rhodes did not take the task of recording "The American Dream" lightly.  After disbanding his first group, the Merry-Go-Round, Rhodes still owed A&M Records another album.  Several new sessions were held, and along with a few old tracks such as the remarkable "You're a Very Lovely Woman", they make up the body of this fine, if fragmented album.  "Mother Earth" is without a doubt one of Rhodes' McCartney-influenced masterpieces, led by a strident 12-string acoustic guitar and a masterful lead vocal.  For the first (and possibly only) time in his career, Rhodes utilized session musicians, but he used the very best.  Awesome playing from Hal Blaine, Larry Knechtel, Drake Levin, Joel Larson, and others lift this track and others to a level of greatness.  This album may be seen as a sort of a warm-up for Rhodes' brilliant, self-recorded Dunhill albums.
The album was originally released in 1970 with a picture frame-type cover and different photo.  This is the re-issue of the same album in 1971, but with a different cover.