Freedom is an album by Neil Young.
Freedom relaunched Neil Young's career, after a mostly 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. Both albums consist of live songs with the audience track mainly removed. Freedom also 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" became, despite its anti-George H. W. Bush lyrics ("we got a thousand points of light") and intentions, the de facto anthem of the collapse of communism (specifically the Fall of the Berlin Wall) due to 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 reaction to 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.
Track listing
All songs written by Neil Young, except as noted.- "Rockin' in the Free World" (Live Acoustic) – 3:38
- "Crime in the City (Sixty to Zero Part I)" – 8:45
- "Don't Cry" – 4:14
- "Hangin' on a Limb" – 4:18
- "Eldorado" – 6:03
- "The Ways of Love" – 4:29
- "Someday" – 5:40
- "On Broadway" (Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) – 4:57
- "Wrecking Ball" – 5:08
- "No More" – 6:03
- "Too Far Gone" – 2:47
- "Rockin' in the Free World" (Electric) – 4:41
Personnel
- Neil Young - vocals, guitar, piano on 9
- Chad Cromwell - drums
- Rick Rosas - bass
- Frank Sampedro - guitar on 2 5 (as "Poncho Villa") 9 12, keyboards on 5 7, mandolin on 11, vocals on 12
- Ben Keith - alto saxophone on 2 7, pedal steel guitar on 11, keyboards on 10 12, vocals on 11
Additional personnel
- Linda Ronstadt - vocals on 4 & 6
- Tony Marsico - bass on 10
- Steve Lawrence – tenor saxophone on 2 7
- Larry Cragg – baritone saxophone on 2 7
- Claude Cailliet – trombone on 2 7
- John Fumo – trumpet on 2 7
- Tom Bray – trumpet on 2 7
Technical personnel
- Neil Young – producer, mixing engineer
- Niko Bolas – producer, recording engineer except on tracks 1 4, mixing engineer except on tracks 1 4
- Tim Mulligan – digital engineer, recording engineer on 4
- Harry Sitam – senior technical engineer
- Dave Collins – digital editor
- Doug Sax – digital mastering engineer
- Dave Hewitt – recording engineer on 1, mixing engineer on 1
Charts
Album| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | The Billboard 200 (U.S.) | 35 |
Single
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | "No More" | Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 7 |
| 1989 | "Rockin' in the Free World" (Electric) | Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 2 |
| 1990 | "Crime in the City" (Electric version) | Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 34 |
Certifications
| Organization | Level | Date |
|---|---|---|
| BPI – UK | Silver | December 2 1989 |
| CRIA – Canada | Gold | February 19 1990 |
| RIAA – U.S. | Gold | February 21 1990 |
External links
Notes
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Last updated on Wednesday July 09, 2008 at 13:50:05 PDT (GMT -0700)
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