Freedom

by Neil Young

Neil Young News

As the 1980's came to a close, Neil Young's 1989 album 'Freedom' marked the return of Young to top form. The 80's are often referred to as Young's "lost" decade after turning out a series of albums which left many fans scratching their heads at his experiments in techno, rockabilly, and country.

The album contains one of Young's most important songs "Rockin in The Free World" with lyrics that have become anthems for major events of 1989.

A ranking of the ten most important albums in the history of alternative music was compiled in 2001 by Pagewise. Listed as the number one most influential album is 'Freedom' by Neil Young. From review:

"Despite what some Nirvana fans might say, this is the album that started it all. Neil Young is the grandfather of grunge. 'Freedom,' which Young released in 1989, was the first true alternative album. It seems a stretch to call an album by someone Young's age alternative, but the label is applied to the music, not the artist. The edgy guitar-driven songs on 'Freedom' set it apart from Young's other albums, which tend toward the mellow folk rock end of the spectrum. If 'Freedom' is the first true alternative album, 'Rockin' in the Free World' is the first true alternative song. Almost as a compromise to his CSN&Y fans, Young put two versions of 'Rockin' in the Free World' on 'Freedom,' a mellow live acoustic version and a more energetic and less refined studio version. 'Rockin' in the Free World' was a largely forgotten song by the time Nirvana released 'Nevermind,' but it was revived by Pearl Jam, who frequently play it live and played it with Young at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards. Thanks to a little campaigning by Pearl Jam, 'Rockin' in the Free World' has been able to take its much-deserved place as an alternative anthem for the ages. "

From the Funhouse! review by Rustie Jeff Dove:

"This collection is in fact quite eclectic, and while that is a trait that we expect from Neil from album to album, it is never found within the boundaries of any other single release quite to the extent that it is here. Freedom seems to be culled from several sources.

A careful listening, and perusal of the liner notes, places the tracks into a few sort of fuzzy categories. 'Rockin' in the Free World,' which opens and closes the album in different versions, recalls Rust Never Sleeps. The parallel goes beyond the similar tactic, used in 'Hey Hey, My My (Out of the Blue) / My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Black),' but the styles of the two recordings on Freedom match Rust Never Sleep's live acoustic A-side and Crazy Horse-raging B-side. As with 'Hey Hey...,' and for that matter as with Tonight's The Night on the album of the same name, the two versions have some lyrical differences. The opening version of 'Rockin' in the Free World' is a live solo acoustic version from a Jones Beach, Long Island, NY show, while the closer is an electric ripper that is right in there with the best of the Horse. "

In a Q Music Magazine review by Mat Snow:

"That two versions of the same song book-end Freedom not only demands comparison to 'Rust Never Sleeps', but likewise invites us to look for a similar unity. Here, though there are songs in delightful exception, the theme is of urban decay, spiralling from bad housing and derelict education to social, moral and spiritual collapse. "Rockin' In The Free World" bitterly contrasts the American dream with the all-too-prevalent reality, first as a plaintive acoustic strum to ironic cheers and then, to close the album, as a gloves-off statement of intent.

"Crime In The City" presents gangs a ghetto hood, a corrupt cop, a psycho and a record industry sleazeball into the cause of expanding this theme. Likewise, a version of The Drifters' On Broadway replaces its original romance with grinding, couldn't-give-a-shit urban squalor, Neil Young's overloaded electric guitar distilling the essence of snarl-up and brutal city roar. In his voice and guitar Neil Young packs a complex of emotions, from terror to bleak resignation to plangent compassion, forcing us to confront again what may seem like over-familiar territory.

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Reviews of Neil Young Albums

Neil Young Archives - Thrasher's Wheat