| Freedom | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Neil Young | ||||
| Released | October 2, 1989 | |||
| Recorded | July 25, 1988–July 10, 1989 The Barn-Redwood Digital, Arrow Ranch, Woodside, California; Jones Beach, New York (track 1); The Hit Factory, New York (tracks 3 5 8) |
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| Genre | Heartland rock, hard rock | |||
| Length | 61:11 | |||
| Label | Reprise | |||
| Producer | Neil Young, Niko Bolas | |||
| Neil Young chronology | ||||
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Freedom is the nineteenth studio album by Canadian musician Neil Young, released in 1989.
Freedom relaunched Neil Young's career, after a largely unsuccessful decade. After many arguments (and a lawsuit), Young left Geffen Records and returned to his original label, Reprise, in 1988 with This Note's for You. Freedom, however, brought about a new, critical and commercially successful album in the mold of his 1979 classic album, Rust Never Sleeps. Freedom contains one song, "Rockin' in the Free World", bookending the album in acoustic and electric variants, a stylistic choice previously featured on Rust Never Sleeps. "Rockin' in the Free World", despite lyrics critical of the then-new George H. W. Bush administration ("we got a thousand points of light"; "kinder, gentler machine gun hand"), became the de facto anthem of the collapse of communism (specifically the Fall of the Berlin Wall which occurred a month into the album's release) because of its repeated chorus of 'Keep on Rockin' in the Free World'.
An edited cut of the electric version of "Rockin' in The Free World" was also used over the final credits of Michael Moore's film Fahrenheit 9/11, and the song was rereleased as a single at the time of the film's release.
Stylistically the album was one of Young's most diverse records, ranging from acoustic love songs to raging rockers. Three of the songs on Freedom ("Don't Cry," "Eldorado" and "On Broadway") had previously been released on the Japan and Australia-only EP Eldorado, and in a way represented Young's prediction of the Grunge movement, featuring heavy waves of thundering distortion and feedback (often strangely juxtaposed with quieter sections). Two songs featured a brass section, an unusual stylistic departure for Young, but one he had embraced fully on his previous album This Note's For You.
This album was published in US as an LP record and a CD in 1989.
Contents |
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [1] |
| Robert Christgau | A [2] |
| Rolling Stone | [3] |
Freedom has received mainly positive reviews. Allmusic's William Ruhlmann rated the album four-and-a-half out of five stars, explaining that it "was the album Neil Young fans knew he was capable of making, but feared he would never make again." He also stated that "there were tracks that harked back to [his] acoustic-based, country-tinged albums." Robert Christgau, writing for The Village Voice, rated it an A. He declared that it contains a combination of "the folk ditties and rock galumph that made him famous" and "the Nashvillisms and horn charts that made him infamous." He also stated that "it features a bunch of good stuff about a subject almost no rocker white or black has done much with". David Fricke of Rolling Stone rated it five out of five stars. He called it "the sound of Neil Young, another decade on, looking back again in anger and dread." He also explained that it is about "the illusion of freedom" and "Young's refusal to accept that as the last word on the subject." He summed up the review by calling it "a harsh reminder that everything still comes with a price."
All songs written by Neil Young, except as noted. [4]
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | The Billboard 200 (U.S.) | 35 |
Single
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | "No More" | Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 7 |
| "Rockin' in the Free World" (Electric) | Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 2 | |
| 1990 | "Crime in the City" (Electric version) | Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 34 |
| Organization | Level | Date |
|---|---|---|
| BPI – UK | Silver | December 2, 1989 |
| CRIA – Canada | Gold | February 19, 1990 |
| RIAA – U.S. | Gold | February 21, 1990 |
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