So here it is, the legendary missing piece of one of NYs many puzzles. Pulled from release in 1975 as NY found it too personal. He was splitting from wife Carrie Sondgress and these songs where his response to that turbulent time in his life. The album sounds very much of its time. If it had come out in 1975 I expect it would have been considered a classic from that era. But Instead of Homegrown we got Tonight's the Night and after listening to Homegrown, I think we got the best end of the stick. For me, Tonight's the Night is a vastly superior record to Homegrown. The impact of Homegrown may have been lessoned by the fact that 5 of 12 tracks did show up in one form or another on Decade, Hawks and Doves, Ragged Glory and American Stars N Bars. I think if Homegrown was released in 1975 and Tonight's the Night was shelved and released in 2020, then the impact of hearing Tonight's the Night for the first time 45 years after it was shelved would be far greater than the first listen of Homegrown. Don't get me wrong, Homegrown is a good record, but it's not up there with NY's best.
By: Don Revie