America - Homecoming

The Forest's founder has, of late, developed a compulsive obsession with the "healing powers of 70s soft rock." We hope he'll recover his senses soon, but until then I offer him this.

Their lyrics were about as stupid as anything ever produced in that decade ("The heat was hot"?! - Christ!), but their music - their bouncy, jaunty, wistfully optimistic music - could be pretty damned memorable. These three guys spent much of their youths overseas as army brats. That experience seems to have weasled its way into their melodies and adds a quality that embodies American expats' uniquely idealistic view of home. The music carries an intrinsic sense of homesickness (and by association nostalgia) for the ole USofA - the actual real estate; not the nation - that can be winning on a sunny afternoon with the top down cruising the PCH.

They had their freaking hits, but they were usually surrounded by crappy filler on their LPs. This is as close as they ever came to making a complete album. And it has Ventura Highway on it, which alone forgives a multitude of their sins.

So heal thyself, Forest boy, and then for God's sake, move on.

amg:

Homecoming, America's finest album, refines and focuses the folk-pop approach found on their debut release. The songs here are tighter and more forthright, with fewer extended solo instrumental sections than before. The sound quality is clear and bright; the colorful arrangements, while still acoustic guitar-based, feature more electric guitar and keyboards. The performance quality is more assured, among the most urgently committed the group would ever put on vinyl. Verses are still sometimes banal and clunky ("You can't disregard your friends/But life gets so hard when you reach the end") or cryptic ("Sorry, boy, but I've been hit by purple rain"), but a number of the song subjects here exhibit a yearning sense of wanderlust and love of the outdoors that proves to be highly evocative and compelling (particularly on "Moon Song," "Ventura Highway," "California Revisited," and "Cornwall Blank"). Chordal progressions are sophisticated and contain many subtle surprises. A few new style wrinkles can be seen in the country-influenced "Don't Cross the River," the drivingly gutsy "California Revisited" (perhaps the hardest-rocking song the group would ever produce), and the hushed yet mildly funky "Head & Heart." Chart hits from this release include "Ventura Highway," "Only in Your Heart," and "Don't Cross the River," but each song here has something to recommend it. This top-flight album is a very rewarding listen.

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