SACD America – Homecoming

Homecoming as a hybrid stereo SACD from Analogue Productions’ Acoustic Sounds 40th Anniversary Series, mastered to DSD from the original analogue master tape. All ten tracks play in one sequence – from “Ventura Highway” to “Saturn Nights”.

From London to Los Angeles

America’s second album has a fitting title. After making their debut in London, Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell and Dan Peek recorded Homecoming at the Record Plant in Los Angeles in 1972 – producing themselves this time, with Bill Halverson and Mike D. Stone engineering. A lovely twist for a band so closely associated with California, even though it began in England.

Bunnell’s “Ventura Highway” opens the album and is the most familiar way in. But this is an album with three songwriters: Beckley and Peek bring their own songs, voices and instruments, and the shared identity grows from those individual contributions rather than from a single frontman.

Three writers and one British connection

“Ventura Highway” is followed by Beckley’s “To Each His Own” and Peek’s “Don’t Cross The River”, so the first three tracks introduce all three writers. Later come “Moon Song”, “Only In Your Heart” and “Saturn Nights” – keep the writing credits in mind and you’ll hear the different approaches within one shared sound.

Only one song comes from outside the band: John Martyn’s “Head & Heart”, a connection back to British music. Between the famous opening and the last song there are plenty of less familiar gems – reason enough to enjoy Homecoming as a complete album.

The photographer plays banjo

Henry Diltz is known for his photographs of America, but on “Don’t Cross The River” he also plays banjo – a small, wonderful detail. Bassist Joe Osborn and drummer Hal Blaine take part too, while Gary Mallaber plays drums on “Till The Sun Comes Up Again”.

Try following the accompaniment first and the vocals afterwards: where does a guitar figure lead, where do the keyboards take over, and when do three individual singers become parts of one shared line? These questions bring the arrangements to life – far beyond a general picture of sunshine and open roads.

The hybrid stereo SACD from Analogue Productions

CAPR 002 SA is a hybrid stereo SACD from Analogue Productions’ Acoustic Sounds 40th Anniversary Series. According to the publisher, it was mastered to DSD from the original analogue master tape. The SACD layer plays on SACD-capable players, the CD layer on any conventional CD player. The disc contains the ten tracks of the original album.

You order from Michael 45 in Germany. We arrange the US import and ship from Hilden.

More from the series: Acoustic Sounds 40th Anniversary Series

Also in another edition: Homecoming

More SACDs by America: America

Customer question: Buying Analogue Productions records in Europe

Musicians

Documented selection of participating musicians. Personnel may vary by track; this list does not claim to be complete.