Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Been "with" Neil as a follower and fan since pretty much the beginning and I own everything he's released. Here we have "Homegrown," an album recorded in late 1974/early 1975 and originally intended for released in late spring 1975... but it was scrapped. Neil has decided to release it now, 45 years later. It may help to know the background. The preceding 5 years were tumultuous and impactful for Neil. After the demise of Buffalo Springfield, he started his solo career, joined Crosby Stills & Nash (to form Crosby Stills Nash & Young), and suddenly found himself a "superstar." The huge unprecedented success of "Harvest" (1972) took him by surprise and, by his own admission, did a number on his head. The next 3 years are usually recounted by historians as the "Ditch Years" (as in, he was in the ditch) because he released some less-than-stellar albums (according to critics and the album-buying public). I disagree about those albums, but I was just one fan. In 1973, Neil went on a disastrous tour that almost killed him, and he released a grungy, sloppy live album called "Time Fades Away" (*I* happen to like it!). That same year, as a result of the drug-related deaths of two close friends and colleagues, he and his musician buddies recorded a tequila-fueled all-nighter sloppy album called "Tonight's the Night" that is full of pain and emotion. The band did a less-than-well-received series of concerts of that album at the Roxy in LA. His record company began to worry. Neil held on to the "Tonight's the Night" tapes. In 1974, Neil did a more conventional album, "On the Beach," which to my ears is one of the best things he ever did. It's full of pain, too, but it's a slick, well-produced album that grows with every listening. However, the public didn't buy it. It was too strange. So, at the end of the year, Neil set about recording THIS album, "Homegrown," because his label, Reprise, wanted something "more like 'Harvest'". He gave them what they wanted, and "Homegrown" was set to be released in spring '75. Then Neil played both "Tonight's the Night" and "Homegrown" for friends of his, namely members of The Band. They all unanimously said, "Don't release 'Homegrown'-- 'Tonight's the Night' is the stronger album." So that's what he did, much to Reprise's chagrin. "Tonight's the Night" was released in late spring 1975, and "Homegrown" became the "lost album." Four of the tracks on "Homegrown" were released on subsequent albums. Both "Homegrown" and "Star of Bethlehem" appeared on 1977's "American Stars 'n' Bars." "Love is a Rose" appeared as an "unreleased track" on the compilation album "Decade" (1977). "Little Wing" showed up on 1980's "Hawks and Doves." The rest of the Homegrown album remained unreleased, until now. So how is it? It is indeed "middle of the road" material for Neil... It's good, it's listenable, it's an album I'll treasure along with his other stuff... but it's clear that he made the right call in 1975 by releasing "Tonight's the Night" instead. That album is stark, brilliant, an open wound, a look into Neil's soul. Maybe a lot of people don't like it because it's harsh and sounds like a bunch of guys drunk on their butts and trying to make music. The thing is, they do make music, and it's powerful. "Homegrown" is safe, pleasant stuff. "Star of Bethlehem" (w/ backing vocals by Emmylou Harris) may be the highlight, and it's surprising it wasn't released as a single at the time. But of course, we got that song on "American Stars 'n' Bars." I'm happy that Neil finally released "Homegrown," just as he did "Hitchhiker" (another unreleased album from 1976 that came out in 2017). Neil calls these his "Special Release Series." There will be more. In the meantime, if you're a Neil fan, "Homegrown" fills in an empty slot in the Neil Young Chronology. If you like your Neil in the soft rock/singer-songwriter/semi-country mode that was "Harvest" or "Comes a Time," then you'll like "Homegrown."