''America's Choice'' is the fifth album by the American

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...

band

Hot Tuna Hot Tuna is an American blues rock band formed in 1969 by former Jefferson Airplane members Jorma Kaukonen (guitarist/vocals) and Jack Casady (bassist). Although it has always been a fluid aggregation, with musicians coming and going over the ...

, recorded in 1974, and released in 1975 as Grunt BFL1-0820. The album was also released in

Quadraphonic Quadraphonic (or quadrophonic, also called quadrasonic or by the neologism quadio ortmanteau, formed by analogy with "stereo" sound – equivalent to what is now called 4.0 surround sound – uses four audio channels in which speakers are po ...

as Grunt BFD1-0820. The first of the "Rampage" trilogy albums (the others being ''Yellow Fever'' and ''Hoppkorv'') recorded by the now

power trio A power trio is a rock band format having a lineup of electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit, leaving out a dedicated vocalist or an additional rhythm guitar or keyboard instrument that are often used in other rock music bands that are quart ...

, it marked a major shift in musical direction by the group. With new drummer Bob Steeler, Tuna now performed in a predominantly hard rock style, leaving the earlier band's mixture of electric and acoustic material.

Songs

All but one of the tracks is penned by Kaukonen, with some help from Casady on "Funky #7". Despite its title, "Hit Single #1" was not released as a single.

Cover art

The album cover art depicts a box of laundry detergent, complete with dripping suds, labeled "America's Choice: Hot Tuna". The lettering and color scheme are loosely based on the style of

Tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...

. On one side of the detergent box, a contents label lists the musicians as the "active ingredients", and also says, "Pure, unadulterated sounds with amplified additives and the necessary polytonal ingredients to handle heavy loads." On another side of the box is a "warning" stating, "This album to be played at full volume for maximum effect."

Release

Released in May 1975, the album rose to No. 75 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' charts. Unedited extended live versions of "Invitation" recorded at the New York York Palladium November 26, 1976, and Santa Clara University May 28, 1977, are available. In 1996, RCA released the CD box set ''Hot Tuna in a Can'' which included a remastered version of this album, along with remasters of the albums ''

'', '' First Pull Up, Then Pull Down'', '' Burgers'', and '' Hoppkorv''.

Track listing

All songs written by

Jorma Kaukonen Jorma Ludwik Kaukonen Jr. (; ; born December 23, 1940) is an American blues, folk, and rock guitarist. Kaukonen performed with Jefferson Airplane, and still performs regularly on tour with Hot Tuna, which started as a side project with bassist ...

, except where noted.

Personnel

–

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

Jack Casady John William Casady (born April 13, 1944) is an American bass guitarist, best known as a member of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna. Jefferson Airplane became the first successful exponent of the San Francisco Sound. Singles including " Som ...

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

*Bob Steeler –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

Production

*Hot Tuna, Fishobaby – producer *Mallory Earl – producer, engineer *Bill Thompson – overseer *Pat Ieraci (Maurice) – production coordinator *Steve Mantoani – recordist *Jeffrey Husband – recordist *Michael Casady – equipment *Frank Mulvey – cover concept *Recorded and Mixed at Wally Heider's Studios, San Francisco *Mastered by Rick Collins, Kendun Recorders, Burbank

References

* {{Authority control Hot Tuna albums 1974 albums Albums recorded at Wally Heider Studios Grunt Records albums