| Your Move | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 3, 1983 | |||
| Recorded | 1983 | |||
| Studio | Abbey Road Studios (London, England); Criteria Studios (Miami, Florida). | |||
| Genre | Soft rock | |||
| Length | 41:07 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Producer | Russ Ballard | |||
| America chronology | ||||
| ||||
Your Move is the eleventh studio album by American folk rock duo America, released by Capitol Records on June 3, 1983.
In 1982, America experienced renewed commercial success with the hit album View From The Ground . Two of the tracks on that album, including the Top 10 single "You Can Do Magic," were written and produced by Russ Ballard. Desiring to maintain their commercial momentum, Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell turned to Ballard once again, this time to produce their entire follow-up album.
Beckley and Bunnell began work on the new album by trading songs with Ballard. The recording sessions, however, did not end up as planned. Beckley recalls:
"We thought we were involved in the process, but [when] we got over to London, [Ballard] had cut a lot of the songs that we had mixed, and it became apparent that it was going to be a kind of 75/25 thing, where most of the songs were going to be his. So we were very removed from this album. We did our best to sing these songs as good as we could, but even on the songs we wrote, he basically played all the instruments." [1]
This time around, it was America's input with Ballard that led to a hit single. One of the songs written by Ballard, called "The Border", had potential, but Bunnell was dissatisfied with its lyrics. "Because he was very British, [Ballard] had used some cliche lyrics that, to us as Americans, sounded incongruous," Bunnell remembered. "He was trying to get a desperado-type feel but used words like Pasadena . The lyrics just didn't get the whole border thing and that Mexicali feel that he was envisioning. I asked to rewrite it, and he was receptive, so I wrote a story about running away and trying to escape something." [2]
The album included a number of Ballard-penned ballads, including "She's A Runaway," "Tonight Is For Dreamers," "Honey," and "Don't Let Me Be Lonely," along with the upbeat "My Kinda Woman." "Cast The Spirit," which had originally appeared on Ballard's 1978 album At The Third Stroke, was a more hard-edged entry. Bearing lead vocals by Bunnell, it became the album's second single, but failed to make a dent in the charts.
Bunnell's sole composition for the album was the psychedelic-tinged "My Dear." The album ended with "Someday Woman," an acoustic-driven track written by Beckley, Bill Mumy, and Robert Haimer.
The album contains the cover version of the song "Your Move" which was originally sung by Doug Parkinson.
Your Move was first issued in the CD format in the United States by the now-defunct One Way Records in 1998.
The album cover features both band members playing chinese checkers near the ocean.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [3] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [4] |
The album was released in June 1983. "The Border", featuring Bunnell's reworked lyrics, strings by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and an energetic saxophone solo by Raphael Ravenscroft, hit number 33 on the Billboard singles chart - what would turn out to be America's last Top 40 pop hit to date. The single fared far better on adult contemporary radio, peaking at number 4. This even bettered "You Can Do Magic," which had peaked at number 5 on the adult contemporary charts the year before. However, lacking a major hit single, Your Move was unable to replicate the success of View From The Ground, peaking at number 81 on the Billboard album charts. With that, America's collaboration with Ballard came to an end.
Allmusic's retrospective review panned the album, asserting that it follows the trends of 1983 pop radio but fails to show any inspiration. They singled out "The Border" as the one strong piece on the album, concluding "There's a distinct lack of spark in the material, production, and performance". [3]
The song "Love's Worn Out Again" was a hit in the Philippines in the '80s and remains to be one of the known America songs in the country to this date.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "My Kinda Woman" | Russ Ballard | 3:08 |
| 2. | "She's a Runaway" | Ballard | 4:11 |
| 3. | "Cast the Spirit" | Ballard | 4:06 |
| 4. | "Love's Worn Out Again" | Gerry Beckley, Bill Mumy | 3:35 |
| 5. | "The Border" | Ballard, Dewey Bunnell | 3:59 |
| 6. | "Your Move" | Terry Shaddick, Steve Kipner | 3:19 |
| 7. | "Honey" | Ballard | 3:48 |
| 8. | "My Dear" | Bunnell | 4:23 |
| 9. | "Tonight Is for Dreamers" | Ballard | 3:20 |
| 10. | "Don't Let Me Be Lonely" | Ballard | 3:23 |
| 11. | "Someday Woman" | Beckley, Mumy, Robert Haimer | 3:51 |
America
Additional musicians
| Chart (1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US | 81 [5] |
America are a British-American rock band formed in London in 1970 by US artists Dewey Bunnell, Dan Peek, and Gerry Beckley. The trio met as sons of US Air Force personnel stationed in London, where they began performing live. Achieving significant popularity in the 1970s, the trio was famous for its close vocal harmonies and light acoustic folk rock sound. The band released a string of hit albums and singles, many of which found airplay on pop/soft rock stations.
Homecoming is the second studio album by America, released on November 15, 1972, through Warner Bros. Records. Acoustic guitar-based, with a more pronounced electric guitar and keyboard section than their first album, their second effort helped continue the band's success, and includes one of their best known hits, "Ventura Highway".
"California Dreamin'" is a song written by John Phillips and Michelle Phillips in 1963 and first recorded by Barry McGuire. The best-known version is by the Mamas & the Papas, who sang backup on the original version and released it as a single in December 1965. The lyrics express the narrator's longing for the warmth of Los Angeles during a cold winter in New York City. It is recorded in the key of C-sharp minor.
"A Horse with No Name" is a song by American folk rock trio America. Written by Dewey Bunnell, it was released on the Warner Bros. label, in late 1971 in Europe and early 1972 in the United States. The song was met with commercial success and topped charts in Canada, Finland, and the United States. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on March 24, 1972. The song was quickly added to a rerelease of the bands' debut studio album, America. The song is a staple of the group's discography and one of their most popular.
Russell Glyn Ballard is an English musician.
Daniel Milton Peek was an American musician, singer, and songwriter, best known as the co-founder of the band America and a "pioneer" in contemporary Christian music.
Hat Trick is the third studio album by the American folk rock trio America, released on Warner Bros. Records in 1973. It peaked at number 28 on the Billboard album chart; it failed to go gold, whereas the group's first two releases had platinum sales. The album produced the single, "Muskrat Love", which reached number 67 on the Billboard singles chart and number 11 on the adult contemporary chart. That song would become a much bigger hit for Captain & Tennille three years later.
Holiday is the fourth studio album by the American folk rock band America, released on the Warner Bros. Records label in June 1974. The album was produced in London by longtime Beatles record producer George Martin, the first of seven consecutive albums he produced with America.
Hearts is the fifth studio album by American folk rock trio America, released by Warner Bros. Records in 1975. The album was produced by long-term Beatles producer George Martin, the second of seven consecutive albums he produced with America.
Harbor is the seventh studio album by American folk rock trio America, released by Warner Bros. Records in February 1977. It was the last to feature Dan Peek, who embarked on a solo Christian career shortly after the album's release. The album was produced by longtime Beatles producer George Martin, the fifth of seven consecutive albums he produced with America.
Alibi is the ninth studio album by American folk rock duo America, released by Capitol Records in 1980.
Perspective is the twelfth studio album by American folk rock duo America, released by Capitol Records on September 21, 1984.
In Concert is the second official live album by American folk rock duo America, released by Capitol Records in July 1985. This was the sixth and last release by America on the Capitol Records label and was the first America album ever issued on the budding compact disc format. This was America's first album that failed to chart. No singles were released from the album.
The Complete Greatest Hits is the fourth principal major label greatest hits album by American folk rock duo America, released by Rhino Records in 2001. This is the first compilation to feature all 17 of the group's Billboard Hot 100 singles. The album was intended to update and expand upon History: America's Greatest Hits. It includes two new tracks released exclusive to this collection. This was the group's first album to chart since 1984's Perspective, reaching No. 152 on the Billboard albums chart.
View from the Ground is the tenth studio album by British-American folk rock duo America, released by Capitol Records in August 1982.
"Ventura Highway" is a 1972 song by the band America from their album Homecoming, written by Dewey Bunnell.
"You Can Do Magic" is a song by singer-songwriter Russ Ballard that was recorded as a 1982 single by folk rock duo America from their album View from the Ground.
"I Need You" is the second single by the band America from their eponymous debut album America, released in 1972. The song was written by Gerry Beckley.
"The Border" is a song written by Russ Ballard and Dewey Bunnell and performed by America. The song appears on their 1983 album, Your Move.
All Things Are Possible is the solo debut album by Dan Peek after his departure from the popular soft rock band America. The album was released in 1979 and was a hit on contemporary Christian music radio stations. It was released by Pat Boone's label Lamb & Lion Records and was produced by Chris Christian, who also helped with the songwriting and contributed acoustic guitar and backing vocals on the album.
