Homegrown
by Neil Young
  • Record Label: Reprise
  • Release Date: Jun 19, 2020
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
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  1. Jdiggity5
    Jun 21, 2020
    9
    As a life long Neil Young fan, this album surpassed my very high hopes for it. So rare in this day and age. This album has all the elements that make a classic Neil Young album, great guitar work, emotion that you can feel, and a touch of playfulness. This is one that wont disappoint anyone who has enjoyed Neil's music from this amazing era of classic albums. Easily in his top 5! Thanks Neil!
  2. DrBlahBlah
    Jun 19, 2020
    9
    A bit underwhelming at times, but the guitar work on several tracks are vintage Young, and the tender and bluesy tracks near the end recall his best introspective moments on albums like Harvest and On the Beach. Not quite a revelation, but a welcomed resurrection.
  3. jsleotta
    Jun 21, 2020
    9
    Incredible album from Neil’s creative peak in the early/mid 70s. Definitely lives up to the hype and is worth the 45 year wait. With the exception of “Florida”, a pretty flawless album.
  4. vitroladossousa
    Jun 25, 2020
    9
    It's Neil Young at his best. Great songs, easy listening and good vibrations. A great album
  5. Solidago
    Aug 29, 2020
    9
    Comfort music for the soul. Old-timey and timeless. A masterpiece out of the vault.
  6. 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 the 2020 standard
  7. Suttree
    Jun 24, 2020
    7
    Young was wise to release Tonight's the Night rather than Homegrown. While not the "lost masterpiece" of lore, Separate Ways and Try are quite good. While uneven, the album reminds listeners that Young wrote some very good songs back in his prime. Star of Bethlehem is a strong closer.
  8. 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, 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 theThe 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?… Expand

Awards & Rankings

20
#20 Best Album of 2020

Critic Reviews

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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
  1. Under The Radar
    Jul 8, 2020
    85
    The record is lovely. In many instances, it’s Young at his most signature. It’s sad that fans are only hearing it now—but at least it’s here.
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  2. Pitchfork
    Jun 24, 2020
    88
    Mostly, though, the Young we get here resembles the Young we already know: the one who we first met on his rootsy-yet-metaphysical 1972 breakout album, Harvest, then again later on Comes a Time, in 1978. ... When all is said and done, we’re left wanting more.
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  3. 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.
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