I'm Coming Home Again

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2] [3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[4]

Cash Box magazine noted that "McRae is one of the most unique song stylists in jazz, with a gruff yet satin voice, expressive phrasing and great story-telling depth. I'm Coming Home Again finds McRae in lush, sympathetic settings that recall the halycon days of Creed Taylor's CTI productions, several of these highly-arranged songs have great black contemporary and adult contemporary potential."^[5] A Record World magazine reviewer stated that MacRae "is in excellent form here. Backed by an all-star gathering of talent, such as Freddie Hubbard, Buster Williams and Hubert Laws, she effortlessly glides through this varied material. This double LP package is a must for jazz airplay and should have a place on all R&B stations that play just good music."^[6] Ron Wynn of AllMusic, commenting on the "stripped-down" reissue, stated that it is "a good compilation of obscure cuts from McRae in different contexts."^[3]

Side A

1. "I'm Coming Home Again" (Bruce Roberts, Carole Bayer Sager) – 4:18
2. "Burst in With the Dawn" (Al Jarreau) – 4:34
3. "I Need You in My Life" (Arthur and Charlotte Schlosser) – 3:58
4. "Come in from the Rain" (Melissa Manchester, Carole Bayer Sager) – 4:18

Side B

1. "I Won't Last a Day Without You" (Roger Nichols, Paul Williams) – 7:06
2. "Won'tcha Stay With Me" (Henry E. Davis) – 6:10
3. "Mr. Magic I" (Ralph MacDonald, William Salter) – 4:54

Side C

1. "Everything Must Change" (Benard Ighner) – 9:10
2. "Sweet Alibis" (Marvin Hamlisch, Carole Bayer Sager) – 4:50
3. "The Masquerade Is Over" (Herbert Magidson, Allie Wrubel) – 4:41
4. "I'd Rather Leave While I'm in Love" (Peter Allen, Carole Bayer Sager) – 4:35

Side D

1. "Mr. Magic II" (Ralph MacDonald, William Salter) – 14:09
2. "New York State of Mind" (Billy Joel) – 7:40

• Carmen McRae – vocals
• George Dalto – acoustic piano
• Mario Sprouse – arrangement, conductor, electric piano
• Terri Gonzalez – arrangement, conductor, backing vocals
• Buster Williams – bass guitar
• Chris Parker – drums
• Cornell Dupree – electric guitar
• Hubert Laws – flute, piccolo flute
• Hank Crawford – saxophone-viola
• Grover Washington, Alex Foster – soprano saxophone
• Akua Dixon, Bernard Zeller, Edith Wint, Garfield Moore, Gayle Dixon, Jenny Koo, John Blake, Johnson Ning, Nina Simon, Tom Suarez, Valerie Collymore, Winterton Garvey – strings
• Errol 'Crusher' Bennett – percussion
• Janice Robinson – trombone
• Freddie Hubbard, Lew Soloff, Virgil Jones – trumpet, flugelhorn