America is 'Here & Now'

Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell suffer no delusions of grandeur. They're working musicians in a band called America that dusts off a dozen or so decades-old songs a hundred nights a year in exchange for a steady paycheck. Beckley and Bunnell are dedicated to their craft, and clear about their place in the popular culture. They know exactly why America -- high priests of soft rock in the '70s but hardly a blip on the radar since -- is back on a major label for the first time in 20 years.

"When word got out we were hooking up with Adam, a lot of people thought that was a good move," says Beckley.

Adam is Adam Schlesinger of the power-pop group Fountains of Wayne, and one of the people intrigued by the pair's unlikely alliance was Pete Ganbarg. Ganbarg is the A&R executive who oversaw Santana's 1999 smash "Supernatural," a collection of collaborations with pop stars that catapulted Santana back into the mainstream. For the past year Ganbarg has been guiding America's new project, which looks a lot like the indie-rock version of Santana's comeback: Featured guests on "Here & Now" include Ryan Adams, Ben Kweller, Jim James, and Patrick Hallahan of My Morning Jacket; Ira Elliot and Matthew Caws of Nada Surf; and Mark Rozzo of Maplewood. Schlesinger and Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha coproduced the album, a two-disc set of new recordings and live tracks released today by Burgundy Records, a new adult-leaning division of Sony BMG.

"Carlos [Santana] influenced a whole generation of musicians who were eager to work with him on 'Supernatural,' and America influenced a lot of important young musicians who wanted to give something back, too," says Ganbarg. "But that's where the similarities end."

Indeed, where Santana's musical credibility was never in doubt, America's artistic legacy is less than sterling. Breezy folk-rockers like "Ventura Highway" and "Sister Golden Hair" tend to be viewed as lightweight -- especially compared with the work of peers like Crosby, Stills & Nash and Jackson Browne. "A Horse With No Name," with its unabashed echoes of Neil Young, was both a massive success and a serious blow in an era when authenticity (or perceived authenticity) was the valued currency.

"In 1971 there was this huge, intact Southern California rock scene and we were the young upstarts," recalls Bunnell, who formed the band in London with Beckley and Dan Peek (now a solo Christian-pop artist), all sons of US Air Force officers stationed in the United Kingdom. "We popped on the charts at number one with a single that sounded like Neil Young, and, well, we weren't objectively viewed. We were marginalized, labeled as jumping on others' coattails."

But 35 years later, image is a nonissue for a new generation of pop musicians inspired by America's dulcet melodies and pristine harmonies.

"I think for a lot of us involved in this record, we weren't really old enough to know America's place in the pop landscape," says Schlesinger. "Those songs stand up. They don't sound dated. Gerry and Dewey are great songwriters, underappreciated songwriters. We didn't want to soup it up. We wanted to bring out the classic America sound, without sounding retro."

The seeds for the project were planted more than two years ago, when Beckley -- who says Fountains of Wayne's 2003 album "Welcome Interstate Managers" was in heavy rotation on America's tour bus -- e-mailed Schlesinger to say that he was a fan. A correspondence flourished, and the two musicians began sending songs back and forth. Eventually they found time to sit down and write together, recording a pair of songs that landed them the deal with Burgundy.

"Both Adam and James took a leap, said 'We're up for this, we think these guys have something,' and that gave the project the push it needed," says Beckley during a recent three-way conference call. "Without that I'm not sure a major would have committed again."

From the start, the concept included plans to collaborate with contemporary artists. Ganbarg brought the My Morning Jacket song "Golden" to the table; front man James, a lifelong America fan, jumped at the chance to play on the track. Maplewood, a young folk-rock band that names America as a primary influence on its website, happened to be recording at Stratosphere Sound (co-owned by Iha and Schlesinger) at the same time as America; singer-guitarist Rozzo wrote (and played on) "Indian Summer" especially for the project. Schlesinger suggested a cover of Nada Surf's "Always Love"; guitarist Caws and drummer Elliot were asked to shake a token tambourine at the session but ended up featured players on the track.

"I really like the Fleetwood Mac-y production," says Caws. "There's an ease and a sweetness to it. I sometimes wonder if people who grew up in the '70s are a little calmer than other generations because they grew up with this ear candy."

At 54, Beckley, a longtime Los Angeles resident, and Bunnell, who lives in Land O' Lakes, Wis., certainly bear this out. More than half the tracks on disc one of "Here & Now" are new Beckley and Bunnell compositions, and both the songs and the songwriters are as mellow as ever. Still, the pair is excited about the prospect that hipster colleagues will boost America's profile outside the nostalgia circuit. They're tracking pre-orders on Amazon.com and marvel that America is making its debut appearance on "Letterman." The show was scheduled to air last night.

"I really feel like wheels are starting to turn," says Bunnell.

"The signs are good," Beckley adds. "But Dewey and I have kids, and when you get to this point you start to think about a legacy, and the priority is are you doing something you're proud to hang your name on? We think this is good work. We think this is win-win."

Is this also, for a pair of soft-rock survivors, vindication?

"We don't need vindication," says Bunnell. "But if it shows we're troupers, trying to stay current and not phoning in our parts, so be it."

Joan Anderman can be reached at anderman@globe.com. For more on music visit boston.com/ae/music/blog.