Homer - Grown In USA (1970)

Year: 1970 (CD 2002)
Label: Akarma Records (Italy), AK 210
Style: Hard Rock, Rock
Country: San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
Time: 45:29
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 283 Mb

Although Homer's sole and rare album is full of ideas and busy late-psychedelic/early-progressive rock instrumentation, it's a bunch of notions in search of a road map, and ultimately doesn't say much. Sometimes there's similarity to early-'70s British progressive rock in the occasional Mellotron, the multi-sectioned song structures, and the dynamic instrumentation. There are country and folkier touches (including steel guitar), though, which were rare in such British music, sometimes leaving a slight odd feeling of hearing Neil Young (an influence especially audible on "Dawson Creek") intersect with Yes and the Moody Blues. The lyrics sometimes have a verge-on-the-better-world hippie outlook that, while laudable on paper, comes across as kind of sappy. The hard-to-get-a-handle-on eclecticism isn't the problem so much as far more common shortcomings in these kind of psychedelic-era obscurities: a lack of strong songs or gripping originality, despite the undoubted competence of the playing and vocals. The 2002 CD reissue on Akarma adds two tracks from a non-LP 1970 single that are actually the best things on the disc. They have more of an early psychedelic feel than the LP and a tighter focus to the songs, which sound a bit like the kind of guitar-heavy, phased psychedelic pop the Amboy Dukes did on "Journey to the Center of the Mind," or early Spirit.
(allmusic.com/album/grown-in-the-usa-mw0000708988)
This is an extremely rare album in it's original vinyl format, though numerous reissues have made it infinitely more accessible. Though it is often mentioned in with other "psychedelic" rarities, I didn't really detect very much as far as true psych flavor on here. They have a superlative guitarist who provides plenty in the way of great, hard rock sounds. Male vocal duets often remind of the vocals from an album by a band known as Day Blindness. The real surprise here is their use of mellotron, a rare keyboard instrument seldom found outside of British progressive acts from the late 60s/early 70s. Usually, whenever this unique sound is detected in most rock releases, it gets instantly slapped with the "progressive" label. But there is nothing progressive about Homer's sound, for sure. Another addition to their sound is pedal steel guitar, something I am typically anathema to, but in this context I didn't find especially off-putting. Overall, it's a really strong album with not a weak track in sight. Psych fans should surely enjoy it, despite the fact that it isn't really psychedelic.
(rateyourmusic.com/music-review/tymeshifter/homer/grown-in-u_s_a-2/34938523)

01. Circles In The North (04:07)
02. Taking Me Home (03:52)
03. Dawson Creek (03:22)
04. Survivor (05:02)
05. In The Beginning (03:38)
06. Love's Coming (04:06)
07. Four Days And Nights 'Without You' (04:20)
08. Cyrano In The Park (06:38)
09. Lovely Woman (03:40)
10. Sunrise (Bonus) (03:05)
11. Dandelion Wine (Bonus) (03:32)

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