Homecoming
Studio album by America
Released November 15, 1972
Recorded 1972
Genre Folk rock, progressive rock
Length 33:06
Label Warner Bros. Records
Producer America
Professional reviews
* Allmusic 4/5 stars link
Homecoming is a 1972 (see 1972 in music) album by America. Acoustic guitar-based, with a more pronounced electric guitar and keyboard section than previous releases, Homecoming helped launch the career of America, and includes one of their best known hits, "Ventura Highway".
Homecoming peaked at #9 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart and was certified platinum by the RIAA. It produced three hit singles: "Ventura Highway" which peaked at #8 on the Billboard singles chart and #3 on the Adult Contemporary chart; "Don't Cross the River" which hit #35 on Billboard and #23 on the Adult Contemporary chart; and "Only in Your Heart" peaked at #62 on Billboard's Pop singles chart. Several other songs received radio airplay on FM stations playing album tracks including "To Each His Own", "California Revisited", and "Cornwall Blank".
Review by David Cleary
Homecoming, America's finest album, refines and focuses the folk-pop approach found on their debut release. The songs here are tighter and more forthright, with fewer extended solo instrumental sections than before. The sound quality is clear and bright; the colorful arrangements, while still acoustic guitar-based, feature more electric guitar and keyboards. The performance quality is more assured, among the most urgently committed the group would ever put on vinyl. Verses are still sometimes banal and clunky ("You can't disregard your friends/But life gets so hard when you reach the end") or cryptic ("Sorry, boy, but I've been hit by purple rain"), but a number of the song subjects here exhibit a yearning sense of wanderlust and love of the outdoors that proves to be highly evocative and compelling (particularly on "Moon Song," "Ventura Highway," "California Revisited," and "Cornwall Blank"). Chordal progressions are sophisticated and contain many subtle surprises. A few new style wrinkles can be seen in the country-influenced "Don't Cross the River," the drivingly gutsy "California Revisited" (perhaps the hardest-rocking song the group would ever produce), and the hushed yet mildly funky "Head & Heart." Chart hits from this release include "Ventura Highway," "Only in Your Heart," and "Don't Cross the River," but each song here has something to recommend it. This top-flight album is a very rewarding listen.
Track listing
1. "Ventura Highway" - (Dewey Bunnell) 3:32
2. "To Each His Own" - (Gerry Beckley) 3:13
3. "Don't Cross the River" - (Dan Peek) 2:30
4. "Moon Song" - (Bunnell) 3:41
5. "Only in Your Heart" - (Beckley) 3:16
6. "Till the Sun Comes Up Again" - (Beckley) 2:12
7. "Cornwall Blank - (Bunnell) 4:19
8. "Head & Heart" - (John Martyn) 3:49
9. "California Revisited" - (Peek) 3:03
10. "Saturn Nights" - (Peek) 3:31
Personnel
* America - Guitar, Piano, Producer
* Dan Peek - Guitar, Piano, Vocals
* Hal Blaine - Percussion, Drums
* Gerry Beckley - Bass, Guitar, Piano, Vocals (tracks 6 & 8)
* Dewey Bunnell - Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Drums, Vocals (track 8)
* Gary Mallaber - Percussion, Drums (track 6)
* Gary Burden - Art Direction, Design
* Henry Diltz - Banjo, Photography
* Bill Halverson - Engineer
* Lee Herschberg - Mastering
* Chuck Leary - Assistant Engineer
* Joe Osborn - Bass
* Mike "Clay" Stone - Engineer
Released November 15, 1972
Recorded 1972
Label Warner Bros. Records
Producer America
Review by David Cleary
Homecoming, America's finest album, refines and focuses the folk-pop approach found on their debut release. The songs here are tighter and more forthright, with fewer extended solo instrumental sections than before. The sound quality is clear and bright; the colorful arrangements, while still acoustic guitar-based, feature more electric guitar and keyboards. The performance quality is more assured, among the most urgently committed the group would ever put on vinyl. Verses are still sometimes banal and clunky ("You can't disregard your friends/But life gets so hard when you reach the end") or cryptic ("Sorry, boy, but I've been hit by purple rain"), but a number of the song subjects here exhibit a yearning sense of wanderlust and love of the outdoors that proves to be highly evocative and compelling (particularly on "Moon Song," "Ventura Highway," "California Revisited," and "Cornwall Blank"). Chordal progressions are sophisticated and contain many subtle surprises. A few new style wrinkles can be seen in the country-influenced "Don't Cross the River," the drivingly gutsy "California Revisited" (perhaps the hardest-rocking song the group would ever produce), and the hushed yet mildly funky "Head & Heart." Chart hits from this release include "Ventura Highway," "Only in Your Heart," and "Don't Cross the River," but each song here has something to recommend it. This top-flight album is a very rewarding listen.
* America - Guitar, Piano, Producer
* Dan Peek - Guitar, Piano, Vocals
* Hal Blaine - Percussion, Drums
* Gerry Beckley - Bass, Guitar, Piano, Vocals (tracks 6 & 8)
* Dewey Bunnell - Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Drums, Vocals (track 8)
* Gary Mallaber - Percussion, Drums (track 6)
* Gary Burden - Art Direction, Design
* Henry Diltz - Banjo, Photography
* Bill Halverson - Engineer
* Lee Herschberg - Mastering
* Chuck Leary - Assistant Engineer
* Joe Osborn - Bass
* Mike "Clay" Stone - Engineer