Hand Sown ... Home Grown

Hand Sown ... Home Grown is a studio album by American singer Linda Ronstadt. It was originally released by Capitol Records in March 1969. Although Linda Ronstadt, Stone Poneys and Friends, Vol. III credited Ronstadt, Hand Sown ... Home Grown was the first studio album that solely credited her. The album consisted of 11 tracks, many of which were covers that fused the country rock and folk genres. The album received a positive response from critics following its release.

Background and recording
Linda Ronstadt had become successful as part of the folk trio the Stone Poneys (which also included Bob Kimmel and Kenny Edwards). In 1967 they had a top 20 single with the song "Different Drum". Then, Edwards and Kimmel left the Stone Poneys in favor of other professional opportunities. Ronstadt had no choice but to have a solo career. Capitol Records wanted to invest in Ronstadt's solo career as well. Ronstadt was unsure what to record or perform live because Kimmel composed the songs Ronstadt sung part of the Stone Poneys. Ronstadt remembered the country music of her childhood and began experimenting with it. Her country origins would be the center of Hand Sown ... Home Grown.

Ronstadt was told that she was "too country for the rock [radio] stations and too rock for the country [radio] stations". According to Ronstadt herself, she looked "for musicians who could play songs that had come out of Nashville but with a California twist". She teamed up with producer Chip Douglas who previously worked with The Monkees and The Turtles. Douglas helped Ronstadt mix both genres together for the album project.

Content
Hand Sown ... Home Grown consisted of 11 tracks. Several of the tracks were covers including "Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line" (Ronstadt's was reworked as "Only Mama That'll Wall the Line"). The song was reworked by a Nashville publishing company so Ronstadt could sing it from a woman's perspective. Two Bob Dylan covers were also included: "Baby, You've Been on My Mind" and "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight". Randy Newman's "Bet No One Ever Hurt This Bad" was also featured, which was initially on Newman's self-titled album. The album also included a version of the John D. Loudermilk country song "Break My Mind". Another cover was the country song "Silver Threads and Golden Needles". Ronstadt would later re-record the song for a separate album.

Release, critical reception and singles
Hand Sown ... Home Grown was released by Capitol Records in March 1969. It was Ronstadt's first studio album that was credited entirely to her. It was distributed by Capitol as a vinyl LP, containing six songs on "side 1" and five songs on "side 2". Two singles were spawned from the album: "Baby You've Been on My Mind" and the "Long Way Around".

Following its release, it was reviewed by Billboard who commented that Ronstadt "has lost of none of the excitement she generated while with the Stone Poneys". Rolling Stone called it "a distinctive, if not unique, approach to country music as rock." Giving it three stars, AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote, "Hand Sown…Home Grown might not quite hit the mark -- it not only has one foot in L.A. and one in Nashville, Ronstadt still has the folk affectations of the Stone Poneys -- but it's often entertaining to hear he stretch out and find her own voice, and its best moments point the way toward her future."

Personnel
All credits are adapted from the liner notes of Hand Sown ... Home Grown.


 * Chip Douglas – producer
 * Ed Caraeff – photography
 * Jerry Hopkins – liner notes