Homecoming (America album)
| Homecoming | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by America | ||||
| Released | November 15, 1972 | |||
| Recorded | 1972 | |||
| Genre | Folk rock | |||
| Length | 33:06 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Producer | America | |||
| America chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Homecoming | ||||
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Homecoming is the second studio album by America, released on November 15, 1972 through Warner Bros. Records. Acoustic guitar-based, with a more pronounced electric guitar and keyboard section than their first album, their second effort helped continue the band's success, 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 AC 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".
For this album and the next six throughout the next five years, the group traditionally chose titles beginning with the letter "H" (The self-titled debut album became unofficially included in this distinction when fans started referring to it as the "Horse With No Name" album when that track was added to later pressings)
Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
In his AllMusic review music critic David Cleary called Homecoming "America's finest album" and despite citing sometimes banal lyrics, wrote that "each song here has something to recommend it. This top-flight album is a very rewarding listen."[1]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 and Heart" | John Martyn | 3:49 |
| 9. | "California Revisited" | Peek | 3:03 |
| 10. | "Saturn Nights" | Peek | 3:31 |
Personnel
- Dan Peek - guitar, keyboards, vocals
- Gerry Beckley - guitar, keyboards, vocals, bass guitar on "Till the Sun Comes Up Again" and "Head & Heart"
- Dewey Bunnell - guitar, vocals, percussion on "Head & Heart"
- Joe Osborn - bass guitar
- Hal Blaine - drums, percussion
- Gary Mallaber - drums and percussion on "Till the Sun Comes Up Again"
- Gary Burden - art direction, design
- Henry Diltz - photography, banjo on "Don't Cross The River"
- Bill Halverson - engineer
- Lee Herschberg - mastering
- Chuck Leary - assistant engineer
- Mike Stone - engineer
Charts
Album
| Year | Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | US | 9 |
| AUS | 17 | |
| UK | 21 | |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | "Ventura Highway" | US[2] | 8 |
| US AC | 3 | ||
| AUS | 28 | ||
| UK | 43 | ||
| 1973 | "Don't Cross the River" | US | 35 |
| US AC | 23 | ||
| AUS | 94 | ||
| "Only in Your Heart" | US | 62 | |
References
- 1 2 Cleary, David. Homecoming > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
- ↑ "America : Allmusic : Billboard Singles". AllMusic. Retrieved April 2, 2015.