Homegrown
by Neil Young
  • Record Label: Reprise
  • Release Date: Jun 19, 2020
Metascore
88

Universal acclaim - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 21
  3. Negative: 0 out of 21
Buy Now
Buy on
  1. The Observer (UK)
    Jun 22, 2020
    60
    Separate Ways and Try are wounded but tender breakup songs, Kansas a gentle reflection on a one-night stand. An unremarkable band blues and an unlistenable finger-on-wineglass affair contribute little to an album that’s well-found but, like much of Young’s recent output, for the committed.

Awards & Rankings

20
#20 Best Album of 2020

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 30 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 30
  3. Negative: 1 out of 30
  1. Solidago
    Aug 29, 2020
    9
    Comfort music for the soul. Old-timey and timeless. A masterpiece out of the vault.
  2. StevenX
    Aug 24, 2023
    5
    The latest new old Neil Young project (I keep waiting for that album he recorded when he was five) isn't bad, but it's obvious why Young (or,The latest new old Neil Young project (I keep waiting for that album he recorded when he was five) isn't bad, but it's obvious why Young (or, according to legend, his friends) chose "Tonight's The Night" over this one all those years ago. It's more scattered and tentative - in several spots it seems Young puts in extra chords just to try to challenge himself, perhaps trying to keep the proceedings from sounding too much like the songs on "Harvest", and he doesn't always rise to the challenge, as it sounds like the vocals are under-rehearsed and just hoping for the best. Those extra chords also keep it from being a good upfront country album, outlaw or otherwise. Of the familiar tunes, only "Love Is A Rose" sounds classic, while the title track is sprightly enough but pales in comparison to the anthemic overload of the "American Stars 'n Bars" version. The highlights here are "Kansas", where Young and his guitar go it alone, with only his crying harmonica to add (perfectly) to the proceedings, like a slow-motion shooting star in the night sky, and "Vacancy", a "Tonight's"-style barn-burner and the most realized and longest track of the bunch. They are needed after the stoned-poet spoken three minutes of "Florida". Timing is a major problem here - more than once, quick fade-outs suggest that these songs are more demos than anything else. Were the songs that short, really, or were they stoned jams that ran quickly awry and needed truncating to salvage the best parts? By the time Young sings the blues tune "We Don't Smoke It No More", you sure as hell don't believe him. A few of these would have made good extra tracks on a "Tonight's The Night" reissue; the rest were probably unreleased before now for all the right reasons. The set ends with "Star of Bethlehem", a nonsensical repeat from the "American Stars And Bars" album, to pad out what seems half-padded already. Who knew the title "Journey Through The Past" would be an apt subject line for the latest output from a guy who even recently blazed new trails with nearly every release?… Full Review »
  3. nilsy
    Sep 8, 2020
    7
    Someone did a great job on the album art see it and you can guess what your going to get.
    Its casual, simple and relaxed.
    A nice change to    Someone did a great job on the album art see it and you can guess what your going to get.
    Its casual, simple and relaxed.
    A nice change to the 2020 standard    … Full Review »
See all user reviews »