American composer Charles Ives, particularly the melody "Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean" often referenced by Ives. Electronic devices were used live as well as on the band's recordings, to process other instruments and Moskowitz's voice as well as providing their own musical textures, and the lyrics written by Byrd for some of the songs were markedly political. After Agnello's departure, the group's self-titled LP, produced by David Rubinson—who had previously worked with Byrd and Moskowitz in New York—was recorded for Columbia Records. The United States of America LP was released in early 1968, but failed to find much commercial success on its original release. The band toured the U.S. East Coast, followed by a number of performances in the Southwest U.S., with mixed success, including shows with The Troggs, The Velvet Underground and at Bill Graham's Fillmore East. However, the group rapidly fell apart over creative and other differences as well as what Byrd saw as a lack of record company support. There was disagreement between Byrd, Marron and Bogas over musical direction, with Marron's promotion of lighter material conflicting with Byrd's vision for the band. There were also tensions between Byrd, Moskowitz and Rubinson, with Byrd claiming that Rubinson forced him out in order to promote Moskowitz as a solo artist; for his part, Rubinson described Byrd as a "control freak... a very, very difficult person to deal with." Byrd subsequently commented: "The idea was to create a radical experience. It didn't succeed. For one thing, I had assembled too many personalities; every rehearsal became group therapy. A band that wants to succeed needs a single, mutually acceptable identity. I tried to do it democratically, and it was not successful." The album was later described by rock critic Richie Unterberger as "a near classic", "a tour de force (though not without its flaws) of experimental rock that blended surprisingly melodic sensibilities with unnerving blasts of primitive synthesizers and lyrics that could range from misty romanticism to hard-edged irony. For the relatively few who heard it, the record was a signpost to the future with its collision of rock and classical elements, although the material crackled with a tension that reflected the United States of America itself in the late '60s." Though the album had limited success in the US, it was more highly regarded in the UK and Europe, where it has been cited in recent years as