Homegrown
One night in the mid-1970s, Neil Young invited some musician friends to join him at the Chateau Marmont in Hollywood for a small listening party. He had not one but two finished LPs to share: *Homegrown* and *Tonight’s the Night*, which, since it happened to be on the same reel, was simply an added bonus. But in hearing them back to back that evening, Young had a change of heart. Written in the wake of his relationship with actor Carrie Snodgress, *Homegrown* was so personal and intense that it frightened him. He chose to release *Tonight’s the Night* in June 1975 instead, leaving most of *Homegrown* to sit in his vault for nearly five decades, unheard—a lost classic he described to his father as “great songs I can live without.” Released now as part of his ongoing Archives project, *Homegrown* sounds like a troubled extension to the folk and country rock of 1972’s *Harvest*, the best-selling album that year. For a listener, it’s a thrilling juxtaposition: one of the decade’s brightest (and most enigmatic) stars at the height of his powers creatively, while also at his most vulnerable personally. Much of what’s here is previously unreleased—the crunchy title track and “Star of Bethlehem” appeared on side two of 1977’s *American Stars ’N Bars*, “Little Wing” on 1980’s *Hawks & Doves*—but all of it still feels cathartic, alive with regret. The album opens with a goodbye, “Separate Ways” speaking directly to Snodgress and making devastating reference to their son Zeke (“Sharin’ our little boy/Who grew from joy back then”) above a mournful tangle of acoustic guitar, pedal steel, and harmonica. “Vacancy” offers anger and “Try” glimmers of optimism as well as vocal contributions from Emmylou Harris. Recorded as an acoustic duet with The Band’s Robbie Robertson before a CSNY show at Wembley, “White Line” is a highlight that Young would electrify later on with Crazy Horse for 1990’s *Ragged Glory*. “You were my raft and I let you slide,” Young sings, his voice weary. “It seemed like a long, easy ride/I was adrift on a river of pride.”
After 46 years, Neil Young unearths a lost but highly consequential album, a collection of humble, stripped-back love songs he began writing at what was arguably the artistic zenith of his career.
This cheery, commercial collection was ditched in favour of the darker 'Tonight’s The Night'. Today, it stands as proof of Young's endless talent
Recored in the Seventies, Neil Young's lost album 'Homegrown' is finally being released. It feels perfect right now.
At their finest, the songs here are as poignant as any of the legend’s most affective classics.
After 45 years, Young releases his desperately sad ‘lost’ album, while Legend throws himself out of his crooner comfort zone with impressive results
Back in the spring of 1975, Neil Young planned to release Homegrown, an album he completed at the start of the year, but he also had Tonight's the Night -- a rambling, heavy record cut back in 1973 -- ready to go.
Of the all the archival projects Neil Young has unearthed from the vault for his Special Release Series, the fabled Homegrown has been one o...
If you were to take a telescope and point it out into the clear night sky, you would see the stars, the moon, maybe a planet or two. While the visible light from these celestial bodies is, in reality, minutes-to-decades old, that does not diminish the glo
When I was at the height of my Neil Young obsession, around 2007, I bought it all. Every time I saw an album I didn’t have, I bought it. One album I
The album offers a homey, bittersweet charm largely unique to the troubadour’s legendary catalog.
Recorded after a relationship breakdown then never released, this mid-70s set has a pleasurable lightness of touch rather than big statement songs
A long-abandoned album shows the American rocker at his mid-1970s finest, but swamped by personal troubles and raw emotion
Release postponed in 1975 after break up includes some worthy additions to canon
The unearthing of the singer-songwriter's long-lost album turns up moments of pure gold, review by Barney Harsent